Hello everyone,
I want to start by saying I am SO disappointed in myself for letting this happen.
So I've been keeping Pebble's enclosure outside. Yesterday, it stormed, and when I got home from work (which was early, thank God), there was so much flooding in her enclosure it was covering the top of her shell. Thankfully, her head was stretched out over the water so she could breathe, if she would have drowned I would have never forgiven myself.
She seemed okay yesterday, she just didn't really want to eat. Which is kind of normal for her anyways. But today when I checked on her, she was stuck in between the wall and the top of her cave, and when I picked her up, she was wheezing/sounding and looking like she was gasping for air. I immediately called an animal hospital that sees tortoises, thankfully the nurse that answered has many many tortoises herself so she seemed to know her stuff.
Here's all of the things I noticed while on the phone:
-She was gasping, mouth breathing (holding her mouth open for periods of time)
-She kept flailing her limbs really fast, when I'd put her down she would practically run. To where, I don't know
-She'd paw at her mouth sometimes, not super often
-She didn't want to eat
-Her head would twitch slightly on occasion
-Sometimes it would sound as if she was sneezing?
-This one's a big one: once or twice a tiny bubble would come out of her nostril, this is why I'm very concerned she could have water in her lungs
I've been keeping her inside with me ever since, and she's been acting like her usual self- curled up in her shell sleeping. I haven't noticed any weird breathing since.
I have to add that her enclosure temp was over 100 (in the sunny parts), she's a redfoot. She was in the sun while she was stuck, which I don't know how long that was (I haven't bought a camera to monitor 24/7, since I work full-time, but I'm doing that this friday).
So I want to ask, could she have been overheating, and that's why she was acting funny? Or could it be water damage? The first thought that came to my mind was she had water in her lungs. But she seems to be okay now.
I also want to ask here, are there any major signs that can show she's in immediate danger? I asked the nurse the same question, she replied that it's pretty difficult to determine with reptiles as they don't show a lot of signs for anything. However, she did say that lethargy and refusing to eat are big ones.
I can drop her off at the vet's office tomorrow at 8AM when they open, and they will work her in at some point since they're booked up. If a lot of people here thinks she is fine, then I might not take her. But if this really is a medical emergency, I can certainly go, or try to find another hospital that could take her now.
Info for Pebbles:
She's a redfoot. She's very young, just a few years old. Her diet consists of different fruits and greens, with calcium powder about once a week, as well as dried mealworms and other bugs once a week as well. Since she's been outside she'd obvious had the sun for UVB, but I do have a UVB light for when she's ever inside.
Thank you so much for reading and for future replies.
I want to start by saying I am SO disappointed in myself for letting this happen.
So I've been keeping Pebble's enclosure outside. Yesterday, it stormed, and when I got home from work (which was early, thank God), there was so much flooding in her enclosure it was covering the top of her shell. Thankfully, her head was stretched out over the water so she could breathe, if she would have drowned I would have never forgiven myself.
She seemed okay yesterday, she just didn't really want to eat. Which is kind of normal for her anyways. But today when I checked on her, she was stuck in between the wall and the top of her cave, and when I picked her up, she was wheezing/sounding and looking like she was gasping for air. I immediately called an animal hospital that sees tortoises, thankfully the nurse that answered has many many tortoises herself so she seemed to know her stuff.
Here's all of the things I noticed while on the phone:
-She was gasping, mouth breathing (holding her mouth open for periods of time)
-She kept flailing her limbs really fast, when I'd put her down she would practically run. To where, I don't know
-She'd paw at her mouth sometimes, not super often
-She didn't want to eat
-Her head would twitch slightly on occasion
-Sometimes it would sound as if she was sneezing?
-This one's a big one: once or twice a tiny bubble would come out of her nostril, this is why I'm very concerned she could have water in her lungs
I've been keeping her inside with me ever since, and she's been acting like her usual self- curled up in her shell sleeping. I haven't noticed any weird breathing since.
I have to add that her enclosure temp was over 100 (in the sunny parts), she's a redfoot. She was in the sun while she was stuck, which I don't know how long that was (I haven't bought a camera to monitor 24/7, since I work full-time, but I'm doing that this friday).
So I want to ask, could she have been overheating, and that's why she was acting funny? Or could it be water damage? The first thought that came to my mind was she had water in her lungs. But she seems to be okay now.
I also want to ask here, are there any major signs that can show she's in immediate danger? I asked the nurse the same question, she replied that it's pretty difficult to determine with reptiles as they don't show a lot of signs for anything. However, she did say that lethargy and refusing to eat are big ones.
I can drop her off at the vet's office tomorrow at 8AM when they open, and they will work her in at some point since they're booked up. If a lot of people here thinks she is fine, then I might not take her. But if this really is a medical emergency, I can certainly go, or try to find another hospital that could take her now.
Info for Pebbles:
She's a redfoot. She's very young, just a few years old. Her diet consists of different fruits and greens, with calcium powder about once a week, as well as dried mealworms and other bugs once a week as well. Since she's been outside she'd obvious had the sun for UVB, but I do have a UVB light for when she's ever inside.
Thank you so much for reading and for future replies.