Star tortoise diagnoses/help

[Clemmys909]

Hello all,
I'm new to the forum in hopes of solving my star tortoise issue, along with hopefully helping out others with information I can supply.
I acquired about 2 weeks ago two male 5 year old sibling Sri Lankans. The prior owner had them living in a tank on newspaper being fed your typical store bought greens. They both have pretty bad pyramiding and overgrown beaks. Now, since I've acquired them, they are living outside (day & nights) in an out door pen filled with high grasses, beaks are trimmed, and they're soaked every few days. They have been eating very well on weeds and optunia and a once a week treat of arugula with carrots.
Here is the problem, both have a very noticeable wheeze/whistle. I immediately thought UR or worse off LR, but there is no nasal discharge, no puffy eyes, no gaping mouth, etc. They are both active, alert, dispose firm feces, and seem very healthy except for the wheeze. Any ideas??

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome

 

[pfara]

Thought I'd bump this for you. Is the wheezing constant or only when they pull their heads in? I think I've read that hearing your torts breath is normal for some. And if they only wheeze when they pull their heads in, that's normal as well; it's just the sound they make when expelling air quickly. Hopefully you get better answers. In the meantime, if they're alert, eating, drinking and pooping just fine, I wouldn't stress too much.

 

[Clemmys909]

Thanks for the bump.. No, they are wheezing when there head is out and exposed. When there head is retracted I have not noticed it but haven't really specifically listened for it at that point. This is not the typical exhaling sound you hear when a tort is frightened, but more of a high pitch breathing "whistle."

 

[pfara]

I did a search for "whistling breath." Seems like common reasons for it might be a dry environment or something stuck in the nose. Since both of your guys are doing it, chances are they both don't have something in their noses. Maybe, though. How humid is it in their enclosure? Is the substrate a little dusty?

 

[Clemmys909]

The live outside in a pen among weeds and grasses on soil, so the substrate question would be irrelevant. I live in Connecticut, and it has been very very humid lately as well as hot. Today it reached 95°. Maybe the humidity has something to do with it, but I can't imagine that bringing them inside the house to a more dryer climate would be good. As far as air quality goes, nothing can beat real sunshine and fresh "outdoor" air!

I got one other idea I will try tomorrow, I'm going to move them to an area that receives direct sunlight continuously all day with a lower vegetation height. Where they are now, is partial shade/partial sun. I was afraid to put them in direct sunlight all day because they were never outside prior to me having them and I did not want them to overheat. Now since they have been living outside for the last few weeks, maybe they can tolerate higher continuous temps throughout the day. Ill make sure there water bowl is full and there is a hide spot of coarse! Thanks!

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Just a tip.
Even though they have been outside in your care for awhile now, in a full sun area they still need access to shade. So please offer a shaded area in this new location you will try them in.

....Just saw you will provide shade.. Good job!

Heather
Sent from my Android TFO app

 

[tortadise]

Well if it has been very very humid lately its only even more humid down in those thick weeds and grass with morning dew and night time falling temps. Stars prefer a little dryer humidity but rather warm. Extreme drops, like 20 degrees can pose issues and progress an upper respiratory infection. So what's the night drop to the daily drop?

 

[sibi]

I believe your stars have a RI that can become worse if not treated. Wheezing is never a good sign. I just went through my tort having a RI and he was wheezing. Ay first, he didn't show any other signs of illness. He just had that wheezing. Then, he began to gag as though he had something stuck in his throat. When I put him outside to get some sun, he made this awful sound as he threw up some mazuri and greens. When he opened his mouth I tried to get my finger in it to remove a thick mucus clump, but couldn't. I immediately took him to the vet. With 10 days of antibiotic injections, he totally recovered.

Sometimes, all the signs aren't there and they are masters at hiding illness for obvious reasons. I would take them to a vet if the wheezing continues.