Nose and shell!

[yillt]

Hello. I am very worried as Billy has been breathing funny ever since I took him out of hibernation. Before it was a wierd clicking noise and now it had turned to frequent whistling like a rush of air. He has no discharge and is still eating LOADs, he has gaines about 50 grams in a month and is growing fast. (Although last time I weighed him before he had eaten and this time was before he was going to bed. So that is the first concern, the second is wierd ehite lines between his scutes. I know that growth lines are good but these look different. I'm so worried about everything (probably over worrying.) Thank you also, the first picture is the wierd white line, the second is his clear discharge-free nose and the third is this small thing that may be the start of shell rot and that's another worry.

 

[jockma]

I can't see any problems with his shell, but when in doubt, put athlete's foot cream on it.

The breathing worries me more than the shell. RIs don't always follow the same formula, sometimes you get discharge before the clicking sounds and labored breathing and sometimes you get the breathing problems before the discharge. I HIGHLY recommend getting him to a vet to check for an RI. Since he's behaving normally so far I'd get some tests done to check for infection instead of immediately jumping to antibiotics. Are there any irritants in his enclosure that could be causing the respiratory distress?

 

[yillt]

I can't see any problems with his shell, but when in doubt, put athlete's foot cream on it.

The breathing worries me more than the shell. RIs don't always follow the same formula, sometimes you get discharge before the clicking sounds and labored breathing and sometimes you get the breathing problems before the discharge. I HIGHLY recommend getting him to a vet to check for an RI. Since he's behaving normally so far I'd get some tests done to check for infection instead of immediately jumping to antibiotics. Are there any irritants in his enclosure that could be causing the respiratory distress?

Thank you SO much. The thing is, we took him to a vet and he stopped breathing wierd when we were there. They said he was fine. But all he did was listen to his breathing and that doesn't seem enough. It may be because of a lack of humidity so today I'm buying some moss to put in a hide for him.

 

[dmmj]

tortoises are just like cars they never act up when you take them in. I honestly don't know if I would jump to respiratory infection just yet the breathing does bother me but since he is still eating and active I can't say because those are two usually very big signs not eating and inactivity.

 

[JoesMum]

The best way to raise humidity is to dump water in the substrate and give it a good mix with your hands. Spraying isn't enough. You want damp as the end result, not wet though

Obviously a closed chamber is easier to maintain.

Why not post some photos of your setup and we can advise on improvements?