My baby tortoise open its mouth to breath!

Besh1994

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Hello everyone,
I have a baby tortoise and his health is stable, he’s active and eat very well, but lately he opens his mouth to breath every 30sec with a little bubbles on his nose. I’m so afraid that gets worse and i’m keeping him in a warm place but i don’t think this is enough.. please help what should i do before it gets worse :(
Thank you

1EA6DD01-2245-40FC-8232-C872CE00D625.jpeg
 

Yvonne G

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Sounds like you need to warm up his enclosure. May we please see pictures of where you keep him?
 

Chubbs the tegu

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What are temps in ur enclosure? Raise them no less than 85f through out enclosure. If its doing that every 30 sec i would prob bring to a qualified vet. @Tom
 

Besh1994

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Sounds like you need to warm up his enclosure. May we please see pictures of where you keep him?
Thank you for the fast reply, I’m keeping him indoors and this is his enclousure for now, I was keeping him with a different very large enclousure with other tortoises but since he’s sick now I moved him to this one so they don’t get infected too.

5C682D8D-0836-42B2-8360-D76599B2EEF9.jpeg
 

Besh1994

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What are temps in ur enclosure? Raise them no less than 85f through out enclosure. If its doing that every 30 sec i would prob bring to a qualified vet. @Tom
unfortunately, we’re in quarantine so i can’t visit a vet for probably many months and I also don’t have a thermometer to determine the temps, so how should i know the temp? :(
 

Yvonne G

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I'm sorry to say that a cardboard box with that kind of substrate is totally the wrong way to keep a sick baby tortoise. You need something like this:

1586708615722.png

Then you cut a hole in the lid and hang a light/heat source over the hole like this:

1586708699603.png

Until you can get that baby warmed up in a closed enclosure, he's not going to get any better. He probably could use some antibiotics too, to help with the respiratory infection. But warming him up to 85F degrees, day and night, will help a lot.
 

Chubbs the tegu

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unfortunately, we’re in quarantine so i can’t visit a vet for probably many months and I also don’t have a thermometer to determine the temps, so how should i know the temp? :(
Its impossible to know ur temps without a thermometer.
 

Yvonne G

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Can you shop at amazon.com in Arabia? You can buy almost anything on amazon.
 

Besh1994

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I'm sorry to say that a cardboard box with that kind of substrate is totally the wrong way to keep a sick baby tortoise. You need something like this:

View attachment 290609

Then you cut a hole in the lid and hang a light/heat source over the hole like this:

View attachment 290610

Until you can get that baby warmed up in a closed enclosure, he's not going to get any better. He probably could use some antibiotics too, to help with the respiratory infection. But warming him up to 85F degrees, day and night, will help a lot.
Oh ! I really appreciate your advice and i will set up this enclosure for him ASAP. Also I’ll look for the thermo in Amazon Arabia, thank you so much for your help. I have one last question, should i soak him everyday in warm water or not ?
 

Chubbs the tegu

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Oh ! I really appreciate your advice and i will set up this enclosure for him ASAP. Also I’ll look for the thermo in Amazon Arabia, thank you so much for your help. I have one last question, should i soak him everyday in warm water or not ?
Yes soak him for 30 min everyday.. make sure the water stays warm.. i usually soak mine inside his enclosure and the water tends to stay warm. Until he poops and i have to change it out
 

Besh1994

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I'm sorry to say that a cardboard box with that kind of substrate is totally the wrong way to keep a sick baby tortoise. You need something like this:

View attachment 290609

Then you cut a hole in the lid and hang a light/heat source over the hole like this:

View attachment 290610

Until you can get that baby warmed up in a closed enclosure, he's not going to get any better. He probably could use some antibiotics too, to help with the respiratory infection. But warming him up to 85F degrees, day and night, will help a lot.
Is this good now?

image.jpg
 

Yvonne G

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LOL! I love it!! I'm so glad to see you taking our information to heart, although your cutting skills leave much to be desired! ;)

Can you find a place outside where there's dirt that doesn't have any chemicals on it? I know it's an oxymoron, but 'clean' dirt? I'd change out that shredded stuff you have for just plain dirt. It really would help if you actually can check the temperature inside the enclosure.
 

Besh1994

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LOL! I love it!! I'm so glad to see you taking our information to heart, although your cutting skills leave much to be desired! ;)

Can you find a place outside where there's dirt that doesn't have any chemicals on it? I know it's an oxymoron, but 'clean' dirt? I'd change out that shredded stuff you have for just plain dirt. It really would help if you actually can check the temperature inside the enclosure.
well, i was struggling to cut this one but i’m glad you liked it ? And i will look now for plain dirt, but can you let me know why is it better than the shredded wood? Thanx
 

Yvonne G

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That aspen bedding is ok for grown tortoises, but babies need a bit of humidity, and you can't moisten the aspen.
 

Besh1994

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That aspen bedding is ok for grown tortoises, but babies need a bit of humidity, and you can't moisten the aspen.
Good to know, and sorry for the late reply, but I have very happy news for you guys! My baby tortoise is getting better now he only opens his mouth between 2-4 minutes !! And he opens it so little not like before he was opening it so wide. ?? Also I have a qsn, after the recovery what precautions should I take to limit the chances of getting affected again ?
 

MichaelL

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Good to know, and sorry for the late reply, but I have very happy news for you guys! My baby tortoise is getting better now he only opens his mouth between 2-4 minutes !! And he opens it so little not like before he was opening it so wide. ?? Also I have a qsn, after the recovery what precautions should I take to limit the chances of getting affected again ?
Awesome news! And to prevent it from happening again in the future, make a permanent enclosure (until the baby outgrows it) like the one Yvonne showed, and keep it VERY humid and warm. After you've added the dirt, I would add some plants so the tortoise is able to hide and feel secure. Make sure they are not toxic, and just replace them if they keep dying. The plants also help with humidity. Also, I would soak the dirt so the bottom layers are pretty wet but the top layer is moist, and not mud on the top. Then I would constantly being misting the enclosure. Good luck!
 

Besh1994

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Awesome news! And to prevent it from happening again in the future, make a permanent enclosure (until the baby outgrows it) like the one Yvonne showed, and keep it VERY humid and warm. After you've added the dirt, I would add some plants so the tortoise is able to hide and feel secure. Make sure they are not toxic, and just replace them if they keep dying. The plants also help with humidity. Also, I would soak the dirt so the bottom layers are pretty wet but the top layer is moist, and not mud on the top. Then I would constantly being misting the enclosure. Good luck!
Very helpful advices, I will follow it for sure, Thank you so much! ?
 

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