Bleeding from mouth/nose

[turtlelady80]

I have a group of Cherryheads that are all doing fine, except one. I pulled her from the group and brought her inside for close examination. I first noticed that she could hardly get around as her back legs were splayed and her front didn't work very well either. She was still eating and drinking a week ago. Last night I was laying down to go to sleep and I heard her gurgling. So I got up and saw that she had blood coming from her nose and mouth. I have never experienced this before and cannot figure out what went wrong! Has anyone heard of this and do you know what could have caused this?

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

I have zero experience with cherry heads, but is there a chance this could be a ramming injury from one of the other tortoises?

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

Just a small thought, are you sure it was blood? I am not sure but I have a feeling you will find the source of this mishap.

 

[Thalatte]

If t really is blood your gonna need to take them to a vet as it could be a sign of internal bleeding.

 

[luvpetz27]

I hope he is ok. Please keep us updated!!

 

[cemmons12]

Uggg, I hope lil one is ok. A vet visit is what I would do, of course. Please update this post when u can. I hate hearing about another death so I am hoping for a happy ending for sure!

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Ummm, update please. How's it doing now. It's been a week, right?

 

[cemmons12]

Yeah, I too would like to know how lil one is doing? Please...

 

[turtlelady80]

Sorry took so long. I'm not on here much. Ok, so she had just that one episode of coughing blood. Kept a close eye on her and she ended up open mouth breathing which then indicated to me RI. I don't have a good reptile vet around here and I hate that. Still on the search. But anyway, jacked the heat up and giving her soakings 3 times a day got her back on track. She isn't totally out of the woods yet but doing much better. Drinking and eating on her own.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Thanks for this and future updates!

 

[cemmons12]

Well at least thats some good news, glad to hear it! Keep us posted when u have time.

 

[tortadise]

Blood coming from mouth and nostril (if both) will indicate a few different things. Either something is lodged in the back of the mouth causing bleeding. Or its coming from the lungs. Which is not good at all. If you can open her mouth and see if at all possible if anything is in the mouth, try and remove it. If gurgling persist and blood is evident you need to get a sonogram of the lungs. What are your temps and relative humidity in the environment they are being kept? Sometimes extreme air conditions in the winter can cause a more severe Upper Respiratory infection that can lead to pneumonia or Pseudomonas, However the latter of the two would be pretty extreme to cause blood.

 

[AZtortMom]

Still sounds very scary!! I hope everything is ok. I would be worried she got into something too...

 

[sibi]

I would separate her for now until you know for sure what's going on with her.

 

[Jacqui]

It's good to hear that the overall picture is seeming to be getting better.

 

[AZtortMom]

How's your baby?

 

[luvpetz27]

I was wondering the same thing!!! Please update us!!