Help! My tortoise has a runny nose, is whistling all the time, and is scratching his face!!!!

Clueless Tortoise

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Hi. I have a 6 year old Russian tortoise named Poseidon. I’ve been staying with my grandma during quarantine on the other side of the country and we safely shipped Poseidon out here about a week ago. He started sniffling and has had snot bubbles. He’s scratching a lot and is eating wayyyyy more than normal. I’m concerned it’s an RI or URTD. My grandma makes me keep him in a terrarium outside on a screened in porch. I have a thermometer and hydrometer and when the humidity gets too high I take him inside. He’s been sleeping with me inside so I can keep an eye on him at night. I thought the whistling would stop in a lower humidity environment that he’s used to, but he whistles all night. Please help. He has a vet appointment coming up but idk what to do until then.
 

nicoleann2214

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Hi. I have a 6 year old Russian tortoise named Poseidon. I’ve been staying with my grandma during quarantine on the other side of the country and we safely shipped Poseidon out here about a week ago. He started sniffling and has had snot bubbles. He’s scratching a lot and is eating wayyyyy more than normal. I’m concerned it’s an RI or URTD. My grandma makes me keep him in a terrarium outside on a screened in porch. I have a thermometer and hydrometer and when the humidity gets too high I take him inside. He’s been sleeping with me inside so I can keep an eye on him at night. I thought the whistling would stop in a lower humidity environment that he’s used to, but he whistles all night. Please help. He has a vet appointment coming up but idk what to do until then.
Are you using any heat sources?
And what type of enclosure are you using when he’s “sleeping inside”
 

TechnoCheese

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Can we see pictures of your tortoise and enclosure?

What are your enclosure temps? Basking, cool side, and night.

What are you using to measure these temps?
 

Minority2

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Hi. I have a 6 year old Russian tortoise named Poseidon. I’ve been staying with my grandma during quarantine on the other side of the country and we safely shipped Poseidon out here about a week ago. He started sniffling and has had snot bubbles. He’s scratching a lot and is eating wayyyyy more than normal. I’m concerned it’s an RI or URTD. My grandma makes me keep him in a terrarium outside on a screened in porch. I have a thermometer and hydrometer and when the humidity gets too high I take him inside. He’s been sleeping with me inside so I can keep an eye on him at night. I thought the whistling would stop in a lower humidity environment that he’s used to, but he whistles all night. Please help. He has a vet appointment coming up but idk what to do until then.

Humidity levels are never going to be an issue for tortoises. Burrowing tortoises such as the Russian tortoises freely pee and poop inside their burrows until the humidity level is well above 80% in nature. There is no downside in keeping humidity relatively high for even adult tortoises well after they've reached their max growth rates.

High humidity levels are only dangerous to a tortoise if your temperature are far too low. If daytime temperatures are well above 80F, basking temperature is around 100F, and nighttime temperature stays above 60F (keep nighttime temperatures at 80F if the tortoise seems sick) then the adult tortoise should be fine.

Please show us a picture of your current setup.
1. Including the bulbs you're using. Links would be a plus.
2. What type of substrate.
3. Specific temperature zones you're working with along with the humidity levels during the day and night.
4. What do you mean sleeping with you inside at night? Do you mean you bring the terrarium inside or?
 

Tom

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Hi. I have a 6 year old Russian tortoise named Poseidon. I’ve been staying with my grandma during quarantine on the other side of the country and we safely shipped Poseidon out here about a week ago. He started sniffling and has had snot bubbles. He’s scratching a lot and is eating wayyyyy more than normal. I’m concerned it’s an RI or URTD. My grandma makes me keep him in a terrarium outside on a screened in porch. I have a thermometer and hydrometer and when the humidity gets too high I take him inside. He’s been sleeping with me inside so I can keep an eye on him at night. I thought the whistling would stop in a lower humidity environment that he’s used to, but he whistles all night. Please help. He has a vet appointment coming up but idk what to do until then.
Where is the tortoise now? And where did it live prior? Your location says S.F., but I don't know if that is where he came from, or where you shipped him to last week.

You need to get him off the porch and bring him inside to a correct and stable environment, or he will likely die.
 

Clueless Tortoise

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Where is the tortoise now? And where did it live prior? Your location says S.F., but I don't know if that is where he came from, or where you shipped him to last week.

You need to get him off the porch and bring him inside to a correct and stable environment, or he will likely die.
I took him to the vet yesterday and the exotic vet said he needs to be inside. He was shipped from San Francisco to Virginia. The vet also told me to add Mazuri tortoise diet as well as his leafy greens. A tiny part of his shell chipped but I was told it’s part of the humidity, but the vet said it’ll grow back. His shell isn’t warped or pyramiding. His whistling and bubbles are caused by humidity. I ordered digital thermometer, heat mat Thermostat, a new uvb light and basking stone, and a better hydrometer and thermometer. We moved him inside and I’ll show pics. He’s temporarily staying in a kiddie pool in my grandmas bath tub that doesn’t work. We’re staying at her house temporarily and she won’t let me get a real tank because she doesn’t want anything touching her furniture.
 

Clueless Tortoise

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Substrate: reptibark
Heating: 75w basking lamp with uva, tank heater underneath
Weight: 15 oz

all of his other stuff was left back in SF so I just ordered a uvb light and clip lamp, heat mat thermostat, digital infrared thermometer, in tank thermometer and hydrometer, cuttlebone, and mazuri tortoise dry diet that the vet told me to add to his leafy greens. The bathroom stays in the 70’s while the humidity is 40-50 %
His whistling and bubbles stopped. He’s only allowed outside max 1 hour per day with supervision
 

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Minority2

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Humidity levels are never going to be an issue for tortoises.

This is an incorrect typo. What I meant to say was that high humidity levels combined with warmer temperatures (70-80F) is not going to be an issue for tortoises. People may probably be able to tell by the additional info provided in that post, however, just to be sure that someone isn't going to come on this site and misuse a quote of mine I'm gonna formally address it using part of this post.

I took him to the vet yesterday and the exotic vet said he needs to be inside. He was shipped from San Francisco to Virginia. The vet also told me to add Mazuri tortoise diet as well as his leafy greens. A tiny part of his shell chipped but I was told it’s part of the humidity, but the vet said it’ll grow back. His shell isn’t warped or pyramiding. His whistling and bubbles are caused by humidity. I ordered digital thermometer, heat mat Thermostat, a new uvb light and basking stone, and a better hydrometer and thermometer. We moved him inside and I’ll show pics. He’s temporarily staying in a kiddie pool in my grandmas bath tub that doesn’t work. We’re staying at her house temporarily and she won’t let me get a real tank because she doesn’t want anything touching her furniture.

His whistling and bubbles is not specifically caused by humidity. I've written above that high humidity levels only become dangerous if day or nighttime temperatures are far too low for far too long, which is more likely the case.

I understand you're in a situation where you're more limited than others as to how much space/area you can use to house your tortoise.

Do know that a single Adult Russian needs at least their own 8ft x 4ft enclosure in order to live actively and peacefully. How long does your family plan to stay in Virginia if you don't mind me asking? How much space and amount of money are you able to spend in order to make your tortoise live a little better than it is currently is now? Not purposely trying to get too personally, just want to help clear that gap between making something impossible seem more possible by giving you different and honest options depending on your answer.

Substrate: reptibark
Heating: 75w basking lamp with uva, tank heater underneath
Weight: 15 oz

all of his other stuff was left back in SF so I just ordered a uvb light and clip lamp, heat mat thermostat, digital infrared thermometer, in tank thermometer and hydrometer, cuttlebone, and mazuri tortoise dry diet that the vet told me to add to his leafy greens. The bathroom stays in the 70’s while the humidity is 40-50 %
His whistling and bubbles stopped. He’s only allowed outside max 1 hour per day with supervision

Do not use the clamp/clip. It will eventually fall. Those clamps have been responsible for killing a good number of tortoises. Plenty of evidence can be found in this forum if searched with the correct key words.

Try to keep your tortoise's entire enclosure above 80F for the next week or two to make sure that the whistling and bubbles are completely gone for good. Better safe than sorry when it comes to a possible respiratory infection.

If you're regularly taking your tortoise outside for some supervised sun you don't necessarily need to have a uv(B) lighting fixture. That'll be a whole different story during the wintertime so it's up to you to know whether or not you'll need such a fixture depending on how long you're going to stay in Virginia.

If your heat mat is specifically a reptile heat panel, make sure it does not ever touch your tortoise's skin. It will burn them.

I suggest purchasing a separate basking bulb (cheap found in hardware stores - incandescent flood style light bulb) and a uv(B) tubular style bulb and fixture (T5 fixture and reptile rated uv(B) bulb) instead of a 2 in one product like a mercury vapor bulb. Mercury vapor bulbs in general do more harm to tortoises than good. If you want a better explanation I can do so but I just wanna move and try to keep this reply as short as I can. The short answer is that this separate setup is going to last longer, reach farther, and be more energy efficient (lower electricity cost) than a single mercury vapor bulb can reasonably provide.

Most updated guide on Russian tortoise care. Read it and follow the instructions:
 

Clueless Tortoise

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We are not sure how long we’ll be here. I have plenty of money saved up so I have no problem with expenses. What lamp / stand do u recommend. Please let me know what I can do to improve his habitat and health. Nothing is off limits. Also how should I raise the temp in the bathroom?
 

Minority2

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We are not sure how long we’ll be here. I have plenty of money saved up so I have no problem with expenses. What lamp / stand do u recommend. Please let me know what I can do to improve his habitat and health. Nothing is off limits. Also how should I raise the temp in the bathroom?

Okay you said it. :)

There's several options to make a suitable tortoise enclosure provided that your grandmother is okay with having something like a 8ft x 4ft piece of furniture somewhere inside or outside her home.

You can:
1. You can build an outdoor enclosure along with a night time heating box similar to the one linked in the guide I posted in one of my previous posts.
2. You can build an indoor closed chamber style enclosure out of lumber. You can make any of the two into a family project.
3. You can purchase a custom pre-made enclosure from either https://apcages.com/ or @Markw84 but the turn around time could take a number of months before the either the product is able to be completed and or shipped to your location.

This is what I would usually recommend for a general heat and uv(B) setup. I'm only using two feet as a general standard. Depending on the enclosure size and lighting configuration you can go as high as 3-4 feet in lighting fixtures.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0721TG86M/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20 Arcadia has complete T5 fixture and bulb kit which is also a very good alternative. I'm still not convinced that it's the top overall choice yet unless more comparisons are shown.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PNK42W8/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BM5YZW/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002CZ1E4M/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Optional equipment depending on how cool temperatures get during night time.
https://www.reptilebasics.com/rbi-radiant-heat-panels or https://www.reptilebasics.com/60watt-heat-emitter (will need additional lamp fixture and possibly a protective cage to prevent the tortoise from touching the emitter if it accidentally falls into the enclosure.

To raise the overall temperature in your enclosure all you need to do is make a top lid for it. Something as simple as a cardboard top covering the pool with cutouts to allow your light fixtures to heat and shine through is going to help stabilize your temperature and humidity levels far better than if you would've kept the enclosure completely open and exposed.
 

Clueless Tortoise

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We don’t have the space for an 8ft x 4 ft enclosure. Being at my grandma’s is temporary, so for now he has to stay in the kiddie pool which is 2ft x 2ft ( I know, it’s super small ). His terrarium is 80 degrees while his hotspot is 90 - 100. The humidity is 40 - 50 percent. He gets bathed several times a week ( almost every day ) with lukewarm water. His bubbles are gone but his whistling is still there sometimes. Until his tortoise diet comes, he’s eating his leafy greens with fresh non toxic weeds ( no chemicals at all ) and has his calcium dust and multivitamins 2x per week. He gets one hour of supervised exercise outside a day, and overall is doing a much better. I wanted to know what you guys thought of his shell and if anything is wrong, besides the chipping due to humidity.

in his permanent enclosure when we leave I will 100% get a 8ft x 4ft.
 
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Minority2

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We don’t have the space for an 8ft x 4 ft enclosure. Being at my grandma’s is temporary, so for now he has to stay in the kiddie pool which is 2ft x 2ft ( I know, it’s super small ). His terrarium is 80 degrees while his hotspot is 90 - 100. The humidity is 40 - 50 percent. He gets bathed several times a week ( almost every day ) with lukewarm water. His bubbles are gone but his whistling is still there sometimes. Until his tortoise diet comes, he’s eating his leafy greens with fresh non toxic weeds ( no chemicals at all ) and has his calcium dust and multivitamins 2x per week. He gets one hour of supervised exercise outside a day, and overall is doing a much better. I wanted to know what you guys thought of his shell and if anything is wrong, besides the chipping due to humidity.

in his permanent enclosure when we leave I will 100% get a 8ft x 4ft.

Are you not allowed to buy something larger like a stock tank and keep that outside?

Humidity levels should stay well above 60% even for adult Russians. 80%100% humidity levels, while not required for adult Russians is beneficial as it helps keep their carapace from fully drying out from various heat sources in a captive environment. Russian hatchlings started under a 100/80/80 setting which is 100 basking temp/80 cool side temp/80% humidity level are generally going to stay healthy.

Healthy, well hydrated shells glisten and look rather pristine. They don't look chipped, at least not from captive bred specimens. Can you show more pictures of your tortoise so others can members can get a better idea of what's causing the chipping?
 

Clueless Tortoise

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I don’t think so. I’ll talk with my grandma but she doesn’t understand anything about reptiles. She is only concerned about her furniture, not his health. The exotic vet said to keep him inside because the humidity is too high for him. He also said to keep him in 40 - 50 % humidity. I upped it to about 50 - 60 % and he’s doing even better. His energy is back. Vet said chipping is caused by too high humidity outside. His chips are slowly growing back. I’ll send pics in a little bit. Other than that he has no other problems. It takes some trial and error but I’m doing everything I can to do things right and correct my mistakes as well as provide him with the best life possible :)
 

Clueless Tortoise

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I mean, she’s been very gracious to let him be here, but it’s frustrating because he needs to be healthy

speaking of healthy please let me know about his shell. Here are some pics and let me know what I can do to improve. His shell seems kind of dry looking, but it feels smooth and I bathe him almost every day. It makes me anxious though because his shell doesn’t seem right up close. What can I do to fix it ? I heard u can use olive oil or vita shell? What do u guys recommend?
 

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Minority2

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Can you hold the tortoise up and take a picture of the top (carapace) and the bottom (plastron) of the tortoise? I personally cannot tell how pronounced the damage is when the basking lamp is interfering with the natural color of the shell.

I do see some visible damage of flaking going straight to the bone. This to me seems more like the cause of new or old injuries and general dryness than shell rot to me because shell rot usually starts from the plastron (bottom shell) and is commonly caused by the tortoise sitting on a very wet substance for long periods at a time. Shell rot in itself is not too serious if treated and is not caused by humidity as I said numerously times before.

If it is indeed shell rot what you do is:

1. Scrub the affected areas with peroxide.
2. Rinse with water and dry off tortoise with a clean towel.
3. Apply a thin layer of anti-fungal cream in the affected areas.
4. Continue this treatment for at least a week in order to see improvement which is the light whitish cloudy parts slowly disappearing from the shell.

I still think that carapace is really dry.
 

Clueless Tortoise

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Those little chips are definitely new. And his shell seems really dry even though I bathe him all the time. I was told the chipping is from humidity by the vet and that it’ll grow back. The vet also said there was no shell rot. Sorry if the pics aren’t clear. He keeps wiggling. What can I do to make his shell and him healthy again? He hasn’t been with me for 5 months because of staying at my grandmas and corona. He didn’t have vitamins or calcium, prob not even the right diet, for 5 months. :(
 

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Clueless Tortoise

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I’m thinking of changing his substrate back to eco earth. Also can I put a little bit of olive oil on his shell? Or mineral oil? I read here on the forum it can help dryness
 

Minority2

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Those little chips are definitely new. And his shell seems really dry even though I bathe him all the time. I was told the chipping is from humidity by the vet and that it’ll grow back. The vet also said there was no shell rot. Sorry if the pics aren’t clear. He keeps wiggling. What can I do to make his shell and him healthy again? He hasn’t been with me for 5 months because of staying at my grandmas and corona. He didn’t have vitamins or calcium, prob not even the right diet, for 5 months. :(

I don't know how the tortoise got injured but that looks like damage and dryness to me. The white bone parts will regrow in time.

Keep your light fixtures as high as it can go while also being in the correct temperature. Have it pointed downwards and not at an angle. I don't know if you're using one of those reptile double reflector basking bulbs or a regular incandescent flood bulb. My guess is that the bulb is likely contributing to the tortoise's dryness. That enclosure is so small that your tortoise has nowhere to go to move away from that single heating source.

Soak your tortoise daily for 20-30 minutes. If you don't have a uv(B) source at hand the tortoise needs to go outside and have contact with the sun at least 2-3 times a week, the more the better.

Does the shell feel weak? As in vulnerable like a newborn baby, like you if you press it hard enough it might lump?

I’m thinking of changing his substrate back to eco earth. Also can I put a little bit of olive oil on his shell? Or mineral oil? I read here on the forum it can help dryness

The substrate is too low for one. An adult Russian requires a deep substrate to submerge themselves into. Try to achieve at least 4 inches deep. 6 inches or more would be better. I'm surprised I missed this. No wonder humidity levels are so low. This type of information should already be covered in one of this guide linked in this thread.

There's no space there to allow your tortoise to thermoregulate between different temperature zones because it's either basking hot or the cold side in that little pool and there isn't enough substrate for the tortoise to burrow into to escape the heat with.

I don't use olive oil or anything like that so I personally can't comment on how effective it can be. I don't think such a product would be necessary if changes were made.
 

Clueless Tortoise

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Ok great. Thank u so much. UVB lights are on the way. Giving him daily soaks. I’m going to clean the chipped part with water and add neosporin to the chipped parts and bandage it. Tomorrow first thing I’m going to get better substrate. I’m also looking for a bigger enclosure. I’ll keep updating on him and will continue to ask questions. Please let me know what else I can do and any articles or care guides I could read. :)
 

Minority2

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Ok great. Thank u so much. UVB lights are on the way. Giving him daily soaks. I’m going to clean the chipped part with water and add neosporin to the chipped parts and bandage it. Tomorrow first thing I’m going to get better substrate. I’m also looking for a bigger enclosure. I’ll keep updating on him and will continue to ask questions. Please let me know what else I can do and any articles or care guides I could read. :)

Your tortoise is likely fine now if the runny nose is gone. The best substrate is either orchid/fir bark and or coco coir, not any reptile pet branded mixture. Make sure to pour a jug of water over the substrate daily if needed to keep humidity levels up. 100% humidity with damp but not wet substrate is not going to harm your tortoise. I don't care what the exotic veteranarian you saw told you it's safe.

Pet branded mixtures are fine but sometimes you can find metal pieces, plastic pieces, and even mites in there because some companies don't clean it properly before shipping. Best thing to do is to put the substrate you're planning to use in a 5lb bucket and pour boiling water over it to kill any possible leftover mites.
 
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