Loud breathing, should I be worried

[Smartie123]

Hi guys

A few weeks ago I noticed I could hear Donny breathing quiet loudly so I took him to the vet. He said it sounded a little strained so put him on a 2 week course of antibiotics. During the two weeks he had his good and bad days, his appetite dropped but he was full of energy in fact for the first time ever he has started chasing a ball! (Super cute)
He finished the antibiotics yesterday and I thought they had done the trick but this morning his breathing was once again really loud.
Have you ever come across this?

Thanks

 

[dmmj]

is the breeding her normal? Is it raspy the sound labored? open mouth breathing?

 

[johnandjade]

hi there, how are your temps?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Have you already posted how you are keeping him? (Temps and humidity could be a factor.)
The ball to him looks like another tortoise and his chasing the ball is actually him attacking the intruder. Is it possible that he is stressed?
I wouldn't leave the ball nearby on a regular basis.

 

[HermanniChris]

It would be best if you could take a recording or video of this. Many tortoises will whistle when breathing which is fine and does not require antibiotics. Antibiotics also usually kill appetite so this is why he may have not been eating.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

If he was ill, something caused the illness.
The cause needs to be addressed or it will probably reoccur.
What are your temps ? (basking spot, hot side, cool side, night time).
And humidity ?

 

[Smartie123]

Well his basking spot is at 36 deg, the cool end is 26 degs and I leave on an red light at night if it get cold (we live in the UK) he also has a hide built into his enclosure made out of 1inch thick slate so it's nice and cool if he needs it. He is in a table type set up so humidity can be an issue but I wet the substrate regularly and fine spray often. He also has a running water fountain separate to his water dish which must help.

The ball he "plays" with now is never put in his enclosure but he actively seeks it out when he's out having a run about.

 

[johnandjade]

red bulbs I believe are advised against, che seams the best way to go. nice looking set up though. can you post pics of bulbs?

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Temps seem okay. What is your nighttime temp?
As John says red lights are bad, firstly because tortoises need complete darkness to seep properly and also because they like to eat red objects, so the light can encourage them to eats substrate etc. which is not good.
Do you have any coil or compact bulbs?

 

[Smartie123]

Oh right I was told he could not see the red light only feel it's heat? He has no extra heat on during the night. I was told that was ok as it simulates the natural environment. Even in their natural environment the temperature would drop right down in the night as it does in most warm country's surely?

 

[johnandjade]

Oh right I was told he could not see the red light only feel it's heat? He has no extra heat on during the night. I was told that was ok as it simulates the natural environment. Even in their natural environment the temperature would drop right down in the night as it does in most warm country's surely?

yes a drop in night temp is ok, how is the room temperature over night? if its warm enough then sometimes no heat source is needed. a CHE on a thermostat in my opinion is best way to go. i'll post a couple links for you to have a read through, hopefully it'll help

 

[johnandjade]

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index....ERMANN'S-TORTOISE-CARE-SHEET-*UPDATED.101410/

http://www.hermannihaven.com

 

[johnandjade]

might be an idea to keep night temps up for a while to see if that'll help your tort? sometimes a bump up in temps is all thats needed, someone with more experience will be able to advise more.

 

[ascott]

red bulbs I believe are advised against, che seams the best way to go. nice looking set up though. can you post pics of bulbs?

Just the flip side...a lot of folks use red night bulbs as well as night black bulbs without problem...I have used both and if you keep them changed out correctly then they remain in dark color condition...

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Oh right I was told he could not see the red light only feel it's heat? He has no extra heat on during the night. I was told that was ok as it simulates the natural environment. Even in their natural environment the temperature would drop right down in the night as it does in most warm country's surely?

Yeah, a temperature drop at night, to some extent is fine.
Red light? No.
Not normal or good.

 

[ascott]

Hi guys

A few weeks ago I noticed I could hear Donny breathing quiet loudly so I took him to the vet. He said it sounded a little strained so put him on a 2 week course of antibiotics. During the two weeks he had his good and bad days, his appetite dropped but he was full of energy in fact for the first time ever he has started chasing a ball! (Super cute)
He finished the antibiotics yesterday and I thought they had done the trick but this morning his breathing was once again really loud.
Have you ever come across this?

Thanks

What do you mean by really loud? Like an old man perv breathing or more like when a person is ill with the flu? Dry sound or wet sound?

 

[johnandjade]

What do you mean by really loud? Like an old man perv breathing or more like when a person is ill with the flu? Dry sound or wet sound?

love the description lol

 

[Smartie123]

Hi guys bit late but thought I'd give you an update, I took Donny to the vet just to be on the safe side. He said Donny had a chest infection and gave him antibiotics. He really improved despite the fun and games trying to get it in him lol!
He still sneezes occasionally but his breathing is much better now

 

[Justin 15]

Hi guys bit late but thought I'd give you an update, I took Donny to the vet just to be on the safe side. He said Donny had a chest infection and gave him antibiotics. He really improved despite the fun and games trying to get it in him lol!
He still sneezes occasionally but his breathing is much better now

That's good to hear. My first tortoise had a respiratory infection and he was also given antibiotics. I was told that those types of infections never get better/can't be cured and the antibiotics only prevent it from getting worse. I Don't know how true that is....he did die a few months later (still unsure if it was due to the disease) Also you can never introduce any tortoises to the infected individual as it spreads very easily.

Don't mean to scare you or anything.
Please keep us updated as to how he is doing.