HELP! INFECTION!

[Cicitina]

I need some suggestions until I can get to a vet.

My tortoise has an obvious respiratory infection (wheezing & running nose with occasional bubbles)

He is 3 years old.

When I got him as a hatchling in 2020 he had reoccurring respiratory infections which I treated with antibiotic injections.

His vet would prescribe them to me and I would pick them up as I lived up the street.

Problem is , I have now moved 5 hours away.
Any vet that takes reptiles is about a 2 hour drive and I am currently stuck in my house without a vehicle (mine is completely snowed in with a dead battery and flat tires)

My parents happen to be near my old vet and will be coming here tomorrow, so I thought they’d be able to represcibe me his antibiotics and they’d be able to pick up and drive them to me. Unfortunately they last saw him in 2020 and refuse to prescribe anything without a consultation.

I am at a loss and I’m concerned for his health without receiving his antibiotics.

I have sprayed down his table (which is an enclosed table) and added rainforest floor wood chips that were soaked in warm water to help raise humidity.

I’ve given him a long warm soak to help clear his airways.

He is still active and eating.

I recently changed his substrate to topsoil a month ago to help save on costs, but it dries out quickly and turns to dust. Could this be what caused his respiratory infection?

What else can I do before being able to reach a vet to help prevent his symptoms from getting any worse?


And if anyone knows of any reputable reptile vets around Ottawa or Montreal please send recommendations!

Thank you

 

[wellington]

Top soil not really a good substrate. Raise the temps to be 85 all over day and night and keep the basking temps as is for the day.
What species do you have and how old?
What are you using to read temps?
Something isn't right for him to be getting this

 

[Yvonne G]

Besides RI, stress also causes a runny nose. So unless the mucous has been looked at under a microscope you don't really know if the tortoise has an RI.

I suggest you increase the temperature all over the whole enclosure, day AND night to 85°F and see if that helps relieve the symptoms. You may need to figure out a way to cover the enclosure.

Topsoil is another factor in the runny nose symptom. Dry soil causes allergic reaction. You can buy a bag of Reptibark from chewy.com or amazon.com. That's what I use and never had a problem.

Please take some detailed pictures of the enclosure and tortoise to help us help you.

 

[Cicitina]

Besides RI, stress also causes a runny nose. So unless the mucous has been looked at under a microscope you don't really know if the tortoise has an RI.

I suggest you increase the temperature all over the whole enclosure, day AND night to 85°F and see if that helps relieve the symptoms. You may need to figure out a way to cover the enclosure.

Topsoil is another factor in the runny nose symptom. Dry soil causes allergic reaction. You can buy a bag of Reptibark from chewy.com or amazon.com. That's what I use and never had a problem.

Please take some detailed pictures of the enclosure and tortoise to help us help you.

He’s in a closed enclosure, it’s a table with both wood folding doors on top as well as plexiglass. I had it built this way to hold humidity since he was a sickly hatchling and to keep my cats out.

I have reptibark on the way from Toronto, I already asked my parents to pick it up. Chewy doesn’t ship to Canada unfortunately.

His issues didn’t start until I changed to topsoil. It’s been 2.5 years since he was on antibiotics for his last RI which he already had before I got him.
I’m thinking the topsoil is the culprit. So I’ve tried to cover as much of it up as I could with some leftover bark I had until I can do a full change.

I just ordered new hydrometers/themometers since the batteries in mine seem to have died and corroded.

Have everything on the way, have also just located a vet that I will be taking him to hopefully Monday even though it’s a couple hours away.

He has been very active all afternoon and I watched him eat so I feel a little more relaxed now

 

[Tom]

He’s in a closed enclosure, it’s a table with both wood folding doors on top as well as plexiglass. I had it built this way to hold humidity since he was a sickly hatchling and to keep my cats out.

I have reptibark on the way from Toronto, I already asked my parents to pick it up. Chewy doesn’t ship to Canada unfortunately.

His issues didn’t start until I changed to topsoil. It’s been 2.5 years since he was on antibiotics for his last RI which he already had before I got him.
I’m thinking the topsoil is the culprit. So I’ve tried to cover as much of it up as I could with some leftover bark I had until I can do a full change.

I just ordered new hydrometers/themometers since the batteries in mine seem to have died and corroded.

Have everything on the way, have also just located a vet that I will be taking him to hopefully Monday even though it’s a couple hours away.

He has been very active all afternoon and I watched him eat so I feel a little more relaxed now

What species?

Soil should never be used as a tortoise substrate. I agree with Yvonne that the soil may be your issue.

If not, RIs are typically caused by low temperatures? What is the over night low temp? What is the typical day time ambient temp? What is the temperature directly under the basking bulb?

 

[Cicitina]

What species?

Soil should never be used as a tortoise substrate. I agree with Yvonne that the soil may be your issue.

If not, RIs are typically caused by low temperatures? What is the over night low temp? What is the typical day time ambient temp? What is the temperature directly under the basking bulb?

I was recommended topsoil by numerous people, I had never used it before or even considered it because it’s messy. I didn’t think it would even get so dusty.
I immediately hated it when I added it because it seemed too soft for him to even walk in and I noticed right away he was sniffing it as he does with everything I put in his enclosure. He’s little a little scent hound.

It’s 100-102 under the basking light, in the mid 80s in the rest of his enclosure. Night time never dips below 74
I did just have to order new thermometers though because my old ones were faded and I’m not sure on their accuracy but I know they’re relatively close

 

[Maro2Bear]

What species of tortoise?

Where did you get your “top soil”. Other than it drying out & creating a dusty habitat, one never really knows what’s in garden top soil if purchased at a garden center.

 

[Lyn W]

Do you still have a marginated tortoise?

 

[Cicitina]

He’s a Marginated tortoise, and it’s an organic topsoil with 0 additives. I did copious amounts of research on it to be 100% sure and spoke with other tortoise users that had been using it for years

What species of tortoise?

Where did you get your “top soil”. Other than it drying out & creating a dusty habitat, one never really knows what’s in garden top soil if purchased at a garden center

 

[Cicitina]

Do you still have a marginated tortoise?

Yes, he is a Marginated

 

[Lyn W]

Do you still have a marginated tortoise?

This is the caresheet to follow to make sure your tort has everything he needs and covers substrates and best temps, diet and lamps etc

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? 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. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

and Tom has collated all the best practices for tort keeping here

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

- very important to know.

 

[Cicitina]

Yes

This is the caresheet to follow to make sure your tort has everything he needs and covers substrates and best temps, diet and lamps etc

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? 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. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

and Tom has collated all the best practices for tort keeping here

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

- very important to know.

Yes, thank you, I went through all these when I joined in 2020

 

[MarginatedMooney]

Hopefully he doesn't actually have a RI and it's a reaction to the top soil and he'll get better after replacing the top soil with repti-bark. I hope Poe feels better soon!

 

[TammyJ]

Sometimes, or even most times when you make the right changes and begin to see improvement, there is actually no need for a vet visit, particularly to one you don't know.

 

[Maggie3fan]

I was recommended topsoil by numerous people, I had never used it before or even considered it because it’s messy. I didn’t think it would even get so dusty.
I immediately hated it when I added it because it seemed too soft for him to even walk in and I noticed right away he was sniffing it as he does with everything I put in his enclosure. He’s little a little scent hound.

It’s 100-102 under the basking light, in the mid 80s in the rest of his enclosure. Night time never dips below 74
I did just have to order new thermometers though because my old ones were faded and I’m not sure on their accuracy but I know they’re relatively close

74 is TOO COLD, reread the advice...raise the temps to 85 over the whole enclosure day and night. Too cold with added humidity causes respiratory problems, dry fly-away soil causes mucusie problems, and listening to people on other forums causes trouble...lol

 

[Cicitina]

Sometimes, or even most times when you make the right changes and begin to see improvement, there is actually no need for a vet visit, particularly to one you don't know.

With all the adjustments I made yesterday I already see a change this morning, by 7:30-8am he was already active wandering around making noise in his table,
I fed him and checked him and his nose was nice and dry this morning.
Will continue to be more vigilant with humidity control and watching him closely but have a couple vets written down I can call.
Vets are still a couple hours drive from me now but it’s better than nothing

 

[Lyn W]

Yes

Yes, thank you, I went through all these when I joined in 2020

It's worth a read again to check the recommendations for substrates and temps and if you follow the advice your tort should be healthier.
The Info for New People thread is quite a new addition to help keepers avoid mistakes that could affect tortoises.

 

[Maggie3fan]

With all the adjustments I made yesterday I already see a change this morning, by 7:30-8am he was already active wandering around making noise in his table,
I fed him and checked him and his nose was nice and dry this morning.
Will continue to be more vigilant with humidity control and watching him closely but have a couple vets written down I can call.
Vets are still a couple hours drive from me now but it’s better than nothing

No they are NOT...our experts here can and will help you better than most Vets. Don't waste your money yet...this is Mary