Is there a doctor in the house?

[Wherethetortiroam]

Hello all the guy in my pic is Herbert. A while back I suspected something was wrong with him he just wasn't him self so I took him in and the vet told ask me has he been blowing bubbles or opening his mouth a lot and I hadn't noticed really till she asked. But still I've seen him do it so I said yes but not often so she suspected upper respiratory infection advised me to let him go outside more and soak him more often and also gave me some anti biotics to put in his food which he did not like and eventually got wise as to what fruit I put the meds in.



Long story short he got the med down now totally acts like the silly social tortoise that he is but his bubble blowing and mouth opening is getting worse. I still give him baths regularly and he now is a pic of his home. To help with his mouth opening and squeaky breathing I know he needs humidity so on the bottom shelf in the pic you see in red. I have plans to make a kind of hottub for him with a fogger and heater and drain under neither and all. I'm in the building faze ill post ices of that when I'm done but in the mean time if I could get some advise to help cure this pesky ailment for my Bert I'd be very happy

Thanks for your time : )

 

[mike taylor]

You can usually fix them up just by increasing temperatures in the enclosure . What kind of tortoise is he? What are your four temperature? Hot side, cool side, basking ,and night temperatures? What humidity are you keeping? Did they take a fecal sample to check for parasites?

 

[Wherethetortiroam]

They did take a sample but I never heard anything back on that so I guessed that there was nothing there. He's a South American yellow foot under the bulb where he likes to sit the temp usually sits at 87degrees and a on the half of the bottom where the heat light doesn't hit is in the low 70s but where the red light is there is more humidity and heat n the low 80s and at night on the second story under the stairs going to the third level it's about 68. That's where he sleeps when I go to work. His light comes on at 6:30am and turns off at 7pm. And since its winter and cold as hell his floor is back on and is always in the 80-90 range to mimick that of e ground outside in the summer

 

[mike taylor]

The night time temperatures is to low . That needs to stay in the 80's . High humidity and low temperatures = ri . I would make sure its temps now that he is sick does not drop below 85 at any time . These guys don't need a basking spot . You can make him a hot spot of 90/95 . Then the rest of the enclosure I would keep it 80/85 . At night make sure you are in the 80s. Sould fix him up with the temps .

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The night time temperatures is to low . That needs to stay in the 80's . High humidity and low temperatures = ri . I would make sure its temps now that he is sick does not drop below 85 at any time . These guys don't need a basking spot . You can make him a hot spot of 90/95 . Then the rest of the enclosure I would keep it 80/85 . At night make sure you are in the 80s. Sould fix him up with the temps .

 

[Laura]

cold and humid is bad.. warm or hot and humid is good..
if not taking the meds on food,, you will need to get them into him another way...

 

[Wherethetortiroam]

cold and humid is bad.. warm or hot and humid is good..
if not taking the meds on food,, you will need to get them into him another way...

Ohh he ended up getting it down ok but when he noticed it he'd stop eying it. I'd say, out of this little bottle she gave me, he ingested about 80% of it.


A option I'm considering for winter at least is make some sort of enclosement but it would throw the look and some function way off

 

[Redstrike]

I'd make a closed chamber to keep humidity in. If it's too dry they can blow bubbles too. I know yellowfoots like it warm and humid and there's no better way to achieve this than closing everything up. Maybe you live in a humid portion of the world so the point I'm making is irrelevant but I noticed you have an open top and unless the former is true that's usually poor for humidity retention.

Links to closed chambers below in my signature. The second one is the current setup I'm operating.

 

[Wherethetortiroam]

Red strike I adore your plant and ater dish arrangements what did you use for heat? As that like a water pipe warming cord?

The link didn't work

 

[edwardbo]

Is that tort near the windows ? I'm thinking he's catching a draft.....Mike I think your right about the temps , but I'd go into the 101 103 area give him a man made fever,that will kill those lingering bacteria.this tort is seeking warmth under that light.im also having a feeling that this tort is living up north,the bitterness of the cold is hard to convey,I'm also thinking of much warmer nights ....some of my yellow foots seem to seek cold spots for resting as well, but I haven't figured why yet....I leave dim lights sometimes for nights,the bitterness of this north an cold is hard to believe .it gets into your bones and your thighs fell like slabs of beef.and the arid dryness sucks the moisture out of you so fast it's hard to explain....even your fingernails crack off your hands ,remember torts shells are just like finger nails ....cover those windows with 3m.......

 

[Redstrike]

Red strike I adore your plant and ater dish arrangements what did you use for heat? As that like a water pipe warming cord?

The link didn't work

I use Ceramic Heat Emitters hooked into a thermostat. The spotlight that runs during the day helps, but the CHE's provide heat 24/7 without light pollution at night.

I'm not sure what is going on with the links, when I click on them they work fine. Thanks for the compliments

Those are waterproof heat ropes (big apple herp & Hydrokable).

 

[Wherethetortiroam]

Is that tort near the windows ? I'm thinking he's catching a draft.....Mike I think your right about the temps , but I'd go into the 101 103 area give him a man made fever,that will kill those lingering bacteria.this tort is seeking warmth under that light.im also having a feeling that this tort is living up north,the bitterness of the cold is hard to convey,I'm also thinking of much warmer nights ....some of my yellow foots seem to seek cold spots for resting as well, but I haven't figured why yet....I leave dim lights sometimes for nights,the bitterness of this north an cold is hard to believe .it gets into your bones and your thighs fell like slabs of beef.and the arid dryness sucks the moisture out of you so fast it's hard to explain....even your fingernails crack off your hands ,remember torts shells are just like finger nails ....cover those windows with 3m.......

Yes he is by a window however I have plastic around the windows. No drafts.

I'm looking for those heat ropes I'd like to heat the first and third level and cheap plexy or thicker plastic to wrap around the outside. I want to still be able to see in and him see out.