Breathing noises

[StuMac]

Hey guys. Can u maybe shed some light on something for me. We've had Peaches now for around 6 weeks. She gets out in the sun when possible, has regular UV and heat from her lamps and I soak her every day/ 2nd day. She is drinking well and eats great. Plenty of cabbage, some carrot and fruit and dandelions. Plus she gets all the sleep she needs. Just wondering though...is it normal to hear them breathing? She makes a slight squeaking noise when she exhales. Not too loud but if I'm near her enclosure I can hear it. Doesn't happen all the time, but just wanted to make sure she is ok and this is normal practice. I know about the danger of bacterial infections and bubble blowing and thankfully there is none of this. She looks just as she was when we got her.just an unusual noise I've never noticed before.


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[JoesMum]

The breathing noises are probably nothing to worry about. They are not completely silent when breathing. As long as activity levels and eating are normal, just keep an eye.

I am concerned about diet. Your Hermanns should be on a varied diet of leafy greens. It cannot digest sugars properly; it makes them ill. So fruit, including peppers, carrot and tomato, should only be fed very occasionally. Banana is out completely as it is far too sugary.

Cabbage is high in oxalic acid which can cause kidney problems and again should only be fed occasionally.

Make a list of all the greens that you can pick outside (free of pesticides and herbicides) and the greens that you can buy in the supermarket and look them up on the Tortoise Table Plant Database for suitability to feed: http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plant_database_14.asp

If you buy greens, buy something different each time to make sure that your tort gets variety over a period of time.

 

[hunterk997]

It may be a repiratory infection, but you said there is no bubbling anywhere, so it might not be either. Hopefully someone who experienced this can help. But for the food, I think cabbage is not okay to feed regularly. I think the reasoning is it's high in oxalics or something.


Sent from my Ipod using the tortoiseforum app

 

[StuMac]

Thanks for the info guys. I was told that cabbage was a suitable food for her, but lettuce etc was to be avoided as its too high in water content. What would be the best kind of greens to buy? I'm based in Aberdeenshire so not sure what would be the best. I pick dandelions and weeds from garden. None have any pesticides on them as I only trim them, never spray them.


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[JoesMum]

Like I said, make a list and look on the tortoise table plant database. It's absolutely fantastic. You can look up both shop bought and garden/wild plants and veggies by name or by flower colour.

From outside dandelions, sow thistles, bindweed, clover and plantain (not the banana type thing - look it up on Tortoise Table) are all common in the UK and can be fed including their flowers and these will provide the bulk of the fibre.

This list is by no means complete, but what is available varies from season to season. The lettuce with least nutritional value is iceberg, closely followed by standard lettuce both of which have a high water content and low fibre content. Rocket, romaine, little gem and red gem are all better and are fine as part of a varied diet. Kale, chard, Brussels sprouts can all be fed from time to time (I feed my tort the leaves I trim off the sprouts when the are in season). Bags of mixed salad leaves are fine, but avoid the ones with red cabbage, beetroot and carrot in them. Red salad leaves are fine. "Living lettuce" salad trays that you can get are great as they are a growing plant, so keep it watered and leave it in the enclosure for your tort to browse as he wants.

Strawberries are high in sugar and a small amount very occasionally is the rule, BUT the green bits of the plant make great food... so buy strawberries for you... pull off the green hulls (the stalk and leaf bit) and then feed the hulls to your tort; there's plenty of fibre there!

You can also buy seeds from the Shelled Warriors Shopof tortoise friendly plants to grow for yourself.

 

[StuMac]

Thanks for all the help JoesMum... Superb info. Here's a pic I just took of Peaches. She decided to sleep on her basking logs. So cute! [TURTLE][TURTLE]


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[JoesMum]

Relaxed and happy

 

[StuMac]

these animals crack me up. How can they sleep at that angle? I feel like I should slip a pillow under her head! [TURTLE]


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