Concern for an African Spurred Tortoise Baby: Seeking Remedies for a Runny Nose and Unusual Behavior

[FelixMarvin]

Can anyone please help? My African spurred tortoise baby has a runny nose, and he's opening his mouth strangely. What should I do in this case? Any remedies or medicines, or anything else I can try? Please suggest. He's not getting well; it's already been three days with this condition.

 

[wellington]

What kind of lights are you using? The type of bulbs?
Temps?
Basking temp?
All over temps?
Night temp?
What temps are outside in your area?
@Yvonne G

 

[FelixMarvin]

The area temperature decreased due to cold winds before the baby tortoise developed this runny nose.

Uvb
Maintained Temp Day and Night: 26
Room Temp: 24
Area Temp: 29

 

[Tom]

Can anyone please help? My African spurred tortoise baby has a runny nose, and he's opening his mouth strangely. What should I do in this case? Any remedies or medicines, or anything else I can try? Please suggest. He's not getting well; it's already been three days with this condition.View attachment 367952

Respiratory infections are caused by cold temperatures. The cure is warm temperatures. Wellington told you the correct temperatures back in January, but we failed to give you all the correct care info.

An open topped cardboard box with a single heat lamp is not adequate, and you are seeing the result. The temperatures you are reporting don't seem possible in Torrance in winter with that set up. I grew up there. This tortoise needs a proper closed chamber with the heating and lighting inside and the correct temperatures. It needs to be no lower than 27C at night, and the whole enclosure needs to get up to around 30-33C during the day, and it needs to be 36-37 directly under a flood type basking bulb. You need a thermostat controlled ambient heat source that doesn't generate light for night time.

If you want this baby to live, you have to get it warmer and keep it warmer and you have to house it correctly. In the short term, you can move the enclosure into a bathroom with a space heater and close the door. Keep the whole room no lower than around 30-32C day and night. 30C is the LOWEST the temperature in the whole box should ever get, and there needs to be a basking area of 36-37C for 12 hours a day. Its too cold to take a sick baby outside this time of year where you are, so you need indoor UV.

Is that sod in the box? Sod is grown with toxic chemicals. Tortoises shouldn't be on it.

Please read these threads and make the needed changes ASAP:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

 

[FelixMarvin]

Respiratory infections are caused by cold temperatures. The cure is warm temperatures. Wellington told you the correct temperatures back in January, but we failed to give you all the correct care info.

An open topped cardboard box with a single heat lamp is not adequate, and you are seeing the result. The temperatures you are reporting don't seem possible in Torrance in winter with that set up. I grew up there. This tortoise needs a proper closed chamber with the heating and lighting inside and the correct temperatures. It needs to be no lower than 27C at night, and the whole enclosure needs to get up to around 30-33C during the day, and it needs to be 36-37 directly under a flood type basking bulb. You need a thermostat controlled ambient heat source that doesn't generate light for night time.

If you want this baby to live, you have to get it warmer and keep it warmer and you have to house it correctly. In the short term, you can move the enclosure into a bathroom with a space heater and close the door. Keep the whole room no lower than around 30-32C day and night. 30C is the LOWEST the temperature in the whole box should ever get, and there needs to be a basking area of 36-37C for 12 hours a day. Its too cold to take a sick baby outside this time of year where you are, so you need indoor UV.

Is that sod in the box? Sod is grown with toxic chemicals. Tortoises shouldn't be on it.

Please read these threads and make the needed changes ASAP:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

I understand, thank you. Could you also provide guidance on the appropriate humidity levels and how to maintain them?

 

[FelixMarvin]

Also, could you share specific specifications and pictures of the ideal enclosure for a baby tortoise?

 

[ecachuh]

Can anyone please help? My African spurred tortoise baby has a runny nose, and he's opening his mouth strangely. What should I do in this case? Any remedies or medicines, or anything else I can try? Please suggest. He's not getting well; it's already been three days with this condition.View attachment 367952

Poor little guy. Follow Tom's instructions asap so he will get better. Such a little sweet baby.
Tortoises are a LOT of work. I didn't know anything about tortoises until about 6 months ago when I started lurking around this forum. They need very specific care on a daily basis. Glad you are here, please keep us posted on how he's doing.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I understand, thank you. Could you also provide guidance on the appropriate humidity levels and how to maintain them?

Hello!
Tom has shared all the information in his reply (post #4). To be short: "closed" type enclosure, 4 inches of suitable substrat (coco coir, orchid bark or cypress mulch) and pouring water in corners to wet lower substrate layers. Temperatures should be high enough and controlled to avoid respiratory infections (warm and humid environment is safe, but cold and wet - isn't)

 

[TammyJ]

Dehydration is a quick killer. Please make sure to soak him for at least one hour every day, keeping the water warm (not hot) and up to the level where his top and bottom shells meet. Soak him in a small tub that he cannot crawl out of, and watch him in case he flips over.

 

[Tom]

I understand, thank you. Could you also provide guidance on the appropriate humidity levels and how to maintain them?

All of that is explained in detail in the care sheets I linked. Please give those a read, and then we welcome all your questions and can offer tips on implementing the info for your situation.

 

[Yvonne G]

Besides the info you've already been given, I'd like to discuss the orientation of your light. Once you have your enclosure remedied, and the correct type of light bought, the light should be mounted so it hangs straight down. When hanging at an angle the rays and heat just dissipates all over the room. It needs to be directed down onto the floor of the enclosure.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Also, could you share specific specifications and pictures of the ideal enclosure for a baby tortoise?

Here is the "ideal" enclosure out of PVC:

Smart Tortoise Enclosure, even better than anticipated!

I ordered two, 4’ x 3’ Smart Tortoise Enclosures from @Markw84 and I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out. Photos don’t do these justice. Highly recommended! My order varied slight from the standard with upgraded radiant heat panels and humidity control. Humidity is holding perfectly...

tortoiseforum.org

I quoted "ideal", as it's different for each keeper. Generally speaking, go as large as you can (4x8 feet is not a limit), make it "closed chamber" to maintain humidity and temperatures, put correct lightning and heating. You can build your own out of PVC, treated wood or use plastic garden beds, portable greenhouse or something like that.