I've been experiencing some very severe allergy symptoms. I'm not sure if it's anything tortoise-related. I got the tort 3 months ago, and have been having these symptoms for 2 months. I have read that sphagnum moss can cause allergic reactions.
My symptoms are (sorry to be gross): post-nasal drip, increased mucus development, and coughing (as a result of these things), and a lot of wheezing. Once in a while I'll have an itchy eye, but the symptoms are predominantly respiratory.
For substrate, I was using organic soil (60%) and sphagnum moss (40%) with clumps of the moss on top, and now I've switched to cypress mulch and the sphagnum moss (60%/40%). I still have the reactions. Therefore, if it's tortoise-related, it's gotta be the moss or the very rare allergy to the actual reptile. It's not mildew or anything in the enclosure because it was cleaned.
The enclosure is only a 20x34in rubbermaid for a hatchling-- could that little sphagnum moss cause allergies?
I know that mold is really bad right now where I live in Minnesota with the snow/moisture, so that's also a strong possibility.
Any thoughts? Much appreciated.
My symptoms are (sorry to be gross): post-nasal drip, increased mucus development, and coughing (as a result of these things), and a lot of wheezing. Once in a while I'll have an itchy eye, but the symptoms are predominantly respiratory.
For substrate, I was using organic soil (60%) and sphagnum moss (40%) with clumps of the moss on top, and now I've switched to cypress mulch and the sphagnum moss (60%/40%). I still have the reactions. Therefore, if it's tortoise-related, it's gotta be the moss or the very rare allergy to the actual reptile. It's not mildew or anything in the enclosure because it was cleaned.
The enclosure is only a 20x34in rubbermaid for a hatchling-- could that little sphagnum moss cause allergies?
I know that mold is really bad right now where I live in Minnesota with the snow/moisture, so that's also a strong possibility.
Any thoughts? Much appreciated.