My Moe is sick :(

[AZtortMom]

Ok, I know you guys see sick turtles all the time here, but I'm don't want to do anything wrong with him. I noticed the clicking and some open mouth breathing last night with him. Moe is a 1 1/2 old sulcta. He has a sister Jay the same age too. Their indoor enclosure has a humifer but the temp is at 90 with a basking spot of 100. So my only conclusion is that moe may have gotten sick when he was in his outdoor enclosure when it got cooler.. Any suggestions, thoughts??

 

[Dizisdalife]

Open mouth breathing can be a symptom of respiratory infection. Are there any other symptoms, like nasal discharge? Is he eating normal? Active? Keep him warm ( 85* or so) until you know for sure.

 

[wellington]

Please give us as much info as possible of anything he is or isn't doing and also your set up. For now keep him warm. I would also keep them separated if they aren't already. The one that isn't sick should be in temps of 80-85 all over day and night temp, and a 95-100 basking temp, this is with a humidity not less then 80. Your temps seem a little high with it at 90. What is the humidity? The high temps are for a high humidity.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

open mouth breathing

Could be an indicator of a RI, check for discharge from the nasal and mouth area. Next stages could be not eating and weakness in the hind legs. Best and safe thing to do is a culture of the nasal area and blood work. Isolate, Keep warm, and hydrated. Avoid any unnecessary stressful events if possible!

If you are in Florida, PM me and i will forward the very best tortoise vet we have knowledge of and experience with.

 

[AZtortMom]

He doesn't have any nasal discharge and he is eating normally and does not seem to have any weakness in his hind legs at all . I did a soak on him earlier and he did perk up from that. The open mouth breathing seem to lessen

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His set up is a 80 gal rubber mate tote with a ceramic 100 watt bulb(?) with about 50-60% humity with a humidifier as an indoor enclosure. With coco nut mix for substrate and moss in his hide and a basking spot. His outdoor enclosure is a 150 gal with coco mixture and moss for hiding

 

[TortieLuver]

Hmmm. Is/was there any discharge (saliva) or bubbles coming from the mouth atthe time he was mouth breathing?

 

[AZtortMom]

None that I saw, but he was hiding a lot :/

 

[mainey34]

My suggestion, keep him warm, warm soaks keep an eye on him. See how he does. If he gets any worse let us know.

 

[AZtortMom]

Thanks everyone Moe is not open mouth breathing anymore, but still lethargic. I'm really wondering if I should change out his enclosure and put in new substrate. I noticed there were little bugs in the grass section of his enclosure

 

[Tom]

The little substrate bugs are harmless and have nothing to do with Moe's lethargy. This sort of thing is usually caused by temps being too low, and usually can be corrected (if caught early) by warming things back up.

We need to know your four temps: Basking, warm side cool side and night. One 100 watt CHE over an 80 gallon open topped tub is probably not going to do it. You need to put your CHE on a thermostat over the middle of the enclosure. I'd set it to 85 until this clears up and then 80 until he gets a little bigger. Then you need a basking bulb over one end set on a timer for 12 hours a day. I'd start with a 65 watt flood or a 100 watt MVB if your area doesn't stay warm enough for sunshine in the winter. Adjust the height of the bulb to get a 100 degree basking spot.

Come back and ask lots of questions for anything that is not clear here.

 

[Dizisdalife]

Keep him warm and continue to observe him. Tortoises don't get "well" quickly. The open mouth breathing, while not present this morning, may return. Watch for one of the other indicators of RI, such as, nasal discharge. If he was breathing through his mouth it is likely that his nasal passages were blocked.

Clean substrate may help the situation. If it has been used for any lenght of time it may be time to change it. In some cases keepers set up a "hospital" enclosure for sickly tortoises. Generally it is to seperate the tortoise that has a problem from other tortoises and provide a more sterile environment during treatment.

 

[AZtortMom]

Thanks guys! I just added the 100 watt MVB bulb and in the process of putting a top on the enclosure. Moe is more active right now after his soak and is eating quite a bit. . I will keep you posted

 

[AZtortMom]

Moe is pigging out with his sister

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[Tom]

Do they live together all the time? Which one is sick? Do you know your four temps?

 

[AZtortMom]

Hi Tom, I did get my new temps with the addition of the other lamp. 95 on the hot side. Basking spot 100. Cold side 85 humidity 75%

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The two do live together and Moe is the larger turtle

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Should I be leaving the humidifier on all the time?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Tortoises thermoregulate their body temperatures and in your case I think he needs a cooler zone. They like to cool off then warm up under a basking light and that goes on all day back and forth. I think your ambient air temp is too hot and quite possibly he was gaping simply because he's too hot. Make your ambient temp around 70. Anyhow that's what I would do.

 

[Annaliisas]

Oh, you live near me. Relatively. I'm in Cave Creek. I hope he's doing better! I'm new too, so I would be of no help. But I read everything.

 

[Tom]

Those temps are perfect while you are trying to get past your little problem.

What is your night temp?

Do the two of them live together all the time?

 

[AZtortMom]

Thanks Ann! @ Tom, the night temp looks like its hanging around 85-88 Moe even moved back into his hide, which he hasn't done in a couple weeks

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Yes, the two turtles live together all the time and they have since birth

 

[AZtortMom]

Moe is getting better he had a carrot juice soak last night and is eating and is very active this morning. Ate all of his food from last night including the carrots Yay Moe