Help

[erikacs]

Hi My name is Erika and I just bought a baby Sulcata Tortoise (Corneilius) last Friday. I have him in 100% Fir substrate. I'm brand new to owning a tortoise and have a few concerns. Often time Corneilius makes a little squeak noise. He bobs his head a little bit and in the light I can sometimes see that he blows bubbles out of his nose, but most of the time it is dry. His eyes also look a little darker than when I bought him, but he hasn't lost his appetite; he eats grass and mostly clover all day in my backyard and when it's starting to get dark I bring him in and have him under a 100 watt heat lamp. He runs laps outside and in his tank so he's very energetic and I've soaked him 3-4 times since I bought him. I also put cuttlebone powder on his food and he has a little hide box in his tank that has a wet sponge on top incase he gets dehydrated. I'm very concerned about his nose and his squeaking and his head bobbing and would really appreciate someone's advice. I have no money to take him to a vet! Please help, thanks!!!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

It sounds to me like an Upper Respiratory Infection and I'm afraid he needs a Vet and antibiotics. Find an exotics Vet and talk to them about your money situation and just maybe they will let you make payments.
Sulcata babies are very fragile and just possibly he could die from this.
Or he might just be too dry, so moisten his substrate and spray him several times a day and see if that makes a difference. He should have about 80% humidity and I'm not too sure if fir makes a good substrate, is that pine or cedar? Those are bad for tortoises...keep him warm when you are spraying him. Warm and wet is good, cool and wet is not...

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Here are the details for how I like to care for them.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies#axzz1GM79aqP4

The bubbles are an indicator of a respiratory infection. They usually get these when they catch a chill or are kept too cold for too long. Where did you buy him? Where do you live? If it was at a show and he had a long, cold car ride to get there or to your house, that could do it. Check all your temps with a remote probe and a infrared temp gun and make sure they are warm enough, day and night. Since he is already sick, I'd keep him around 85 all the time with a 100 hot spot for 13 hours a day. That means night time too. With the warmer temps you'll need to soak him everyday to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated. I'd also use a mercury vapor bulb (MVB) for making his hot spot. This will give him much needed UV at the same time. Post pics of your set ups and we can give you tips. Everybody does things a little differently and you'll get some good advice.

 

[erikacs]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Here are the details for how I like to care for them.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies#axzz1GM79aqP4

The bubbles are an indicator of a respiratory infection. They usually get these when they catch a chill or are kept too cold for too long. Where did you buy him? Where do you live? If it was at a show and he had a long, cold car ride to get there or to your house, that could do it. Check all your temps with a remote probe and a infrared temp gun and make sure they are warm enough, day and night. Since he is already sick, I'd keep him around 85 all the time with a 100 hot spot for 13 hours a day. That means night time too. With the warmer temps you'll need to soak him everyday to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated. I'd also use a mercury vapor bulb (MVB) for making his hot spot. This will give him much needed UV at the same time. Post pics of your set ups and we can give you tips. Everybody does things a little differently and you'll get some good advice.

I live in Orange County and it's been very warm lately so I keep him outside during the day and bring him in right when it gets dark so that he doesn't get cold. When I bring him in I put him in his tank with his heat lamp on and he runs around for a long time, it's actually kinda funny. I bought him from a tropical fish store in La Habra. Have there ever been cases where the bubbles from a tortoise's nose have gone away with proper care and without treatment from a vet?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

You might be able to get an antibiotic powder from a feed store and then you can soak him in that and see if the bubbles go away.
But before you do that moisten his substrate and up his basking temps to 100 degrees. make his cool end 80 degrees. He just might be too dry and what I have told you will change him .Read the link that Tom gave you and see if setting him up like that doesn't make the bubbles go away. You have to do a few things to make him better, he will not get better on his own, YOU must do the things that the link tells you to do.

 

[Tom]

Yes, it can happen, if you are lucky and catch it early.

I don't like those red bulbs. I think it makes everything look funny to them during the day and it keeps them up at night. I much prefer an MVB for day and a CHE for night. Your substrate looks dry, but that may just be the picture. Do you know your four temps? Warm side, cool side, basking spot and night?

If you are bringing him in after or just before dark, then that is probably your problem. Usually by 3:30-4:00 here, just a little North of you, its too cool outside for them. Get a temp gun and check the substrate temp all over the are where you are putting him for sun. Check the shady areas too. I bet its too cold in the morning and later in the evening.

Tortoises NEED sunshine, so it pains me to say this, but get the right lighting and leave him alone in his indoor set up with the right temps for a couple of weeks to recover. After the bubbles stop and you don't see the head bobbing and wheezing, you can start putting him out for an hour or two during the warmest part of the day. I'm in Santa Clarita and I've only been able to put them out from about 11-3 lately. Too cool before and after that.

 

[erikacs]

Thank you both so much! This really helps =]

---

Oh and 1 more question: could moistening the substrate possibly worsen an URI?

---

What is the antibiotic powder called that I would use in this case?

 

[Laura]

damp and WARM is ok.. damp and cool is not...

If he stops eating, that is not good. so watch him closely..
They will hide the fact they are sick as long as they can.. A sick tortoise in the wild is a dead one.
The powder can be found at a feed store. Terramycin powder. mix it in his soaking water. Also maybe consider doing baby food soaks.. Instead of letting him be outside.. get him grocery store greens.. Spring Mix is good to start. dampen it and sprinkle the calcium on it..

 

[Tom]

Humid or not for URTIs is a big debate. Some say it makes it better, some say worse. I honestly don't know. I keep mine humid all the time, but mine aren't sick. If I had to take care of a tort with a respiratory infection, I would try warm and humid first and change as needed. I'm not recommending you do it either way, I'm just saying what I would do. One of our members with a young star tortoise was told by his experienced tortoise vet to put his tortoise in an incubator (warm and humid) while it was being treated. The tort was all healed up and good as new within a couple of days. Most vets say to keep them dry during treatment. But most people in general recommend you keep them dry and we now know that to be totally wrong.

 

[shellysmom]

He's sick. Take him to a vet. ASAP.

 

[yagyujubei]

Take him back to where you bought him from, and demand a refund.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Erika:

Welcome to the forum!!

Just so we're all on the same page: fir bark is what my favorite, orchid bark is composed of, so its a good substrate.

Make sure your little baby is warm. Don't let him get below 80 degrees. If that means keeping him indoors for a week or two, then so be it. If you catch a respiratory infection in the early stages, you can help the tortoise to get better by leaving it alone (no handling), keep it warm day and night, soak it every day. But your best course of action would be to find a good tortoise vet and see if you can make payments. He needs antibiotics.

 

[Robert]

But your best course of action would be to find a good tortoise vet and see if you can make payments. He needs antibiotics.

I agree with Yvonne. Usually a vets office will work with you when it comes to pricing. Just be upfront and honest about your financial situation I say, get your tort healthy and worry about how to pay for it later.

There is a list here on the forum that can help you find a local vet.

Good luck.

 

[Livingstone]

Take him back to where you bought him from, and demand a refund.

Wow. Just wow!

 

[erikacs]

Take him back to where you bought him from, and demand a refund.

Wow. Just wow!

Yea lol I'm already attached to him =] Thanks to all the advice, he's actually looking better. I'll update if he seems to be sick again.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome, hope he is better.