please help, worried!

[teq1]

So I noticed that my tortoise had a bit swollen eyes. (At least that's what I think I see.) He's been acting normal and eating fine. It's just that now in the mornings, he sits under the light bulb for a while. But he goes back to sleep like always. Only that has changed. He eats normally and everything. And I can see bubbles on his nose. And he once in a while opens his mouth real wide (maybe he has trouble breathing?, RI?) I'm worried about him. Does that sound like a respiratory infection?

I used to have all my torts on crushed oyster shell. The only problem I had with them while on the oyster shells is that they had parasites. They're all cured now. After that, I decided to give shredded aspen a try. I wonder if the aspen is affecting him? Maybe it's the dust from it or something. I did notice occasional bubbles in his nose since the switch to aspen, but I didn't think much of it. He is the only one affected though. The other 3 torts he is housed with are fine. Now I see him with swollen eyes and bubbles in his nose, and him sitting under the heat lamp in the morning with the occasional mouth open breathing, and I'm worried!

I was thinking of switching them back to oyster shells. I already rinsed them all out and have them ready to go. I wonder if it will help. I may just have to take him to the vet though. If it does turn out to be a ri, what can i expect? Should I try switching the bedding first? Please help! Any comments/suggestions are appreciated!

 

[Edna]

Someone who really knows what they are talking about will jump on here pretty quick, but until then, don't switch back to oyster shells. The aspen didn't cause the RI, and if that's what your tort has going back to oyster shell won't help. Please tell us what kind of tortoise you have, and all about the set-up. Temp readings will help, too. You've come to the right place; there's a lot of help for you here.

---

Here is a link to a thread about RI in tortoises.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Respiratory-Infections-for-Tortoise-Keepers

I hope that helps!

 

[egyptiandan]

With the swollen eyes and the nose bubbles says RI and not an allergic reaction to the aspen. The change to the aspen or the company has stressed him/her and has lowered the immune system and let the bacteria in the body take over.
I'd get to a good reptile vet fairly soon.

Danny

 

[yagyujubei]

I would schedule an appointment with your vet asap.

 

[Yvonne G]

Teq1 has Egyptian tortoises.

I don't know how to care for Egyptian tortoises, so I don't know what kind of substrate you need for them...but my instinct tells me that you are probably using what other Egyptian keepers told you to use.

I'm with Danny on this one. Sounds like a respiratory infection to me. You will need to get some antibiotics from the vet in order to get your tortoise well.

 

[N2TORTS]

ya never mentioned what kind of tort .. or I missed it ,Second if he is housed with other torts ..IMMEDITLY remove and put up in "re hab
enclosure.... RI's ..are very contagious,and yes sounds like your lil guy might have an RI. Keep the temps up , and well hydrated with warm soakings. Positive note is he is still eating.....
If it gets worse you might try an antibiotic , such as Batryl for the RI....
and if eyes get infected, warm Q tips to moisten eyelids and then thin coat of Terramycin.

JD~

 

[teq1]

Thanks for responding. Sorry, forgot to put more info but here it goes. So they are all Egyptian torts. I have two older ones about a 1.5 yrs old and the other two are under a year, maybe about 6 months old. The one that i think is sick is one of the older ones. They are all housed together in a 4x3 ft enclosure. They have their basking spot on one side of the enclosure which ranges from 100 to 105 F. And at the other end of the enclosure the temperature is lower 70's. They have hiding spots with sphagnum moss for humidity. Hiding spots are both at warm and cool ends. I use a 24" 10.0 Reptisun fluorescent bulb. When they were younger i used the 5.0 bulbs but now switched to 10.0. I've basically kept the enclosure setup the same all this time, except for the bedding switch. I was going to setup their old enclosure outside so that whenever the weather permits, I can leave them out there for a few hours a day. Its been crazy weather here in south texas. One day its sunny, the next really cold, the next rainy. It's frustrating! But I'll take them outside to get natural sun whenever I can instead of buying those expensive bulbs . And I'll just leave the bulb they have now to go with their intake of natural sunlight : )

---

After posting i read the new replies. I was thinking about isolating him but i will go ahead and do that now. Ill isolate him. I'll take him to the vet asap. I'm going to call the vet right now and see if she's available. Will he get antibiotic shots? Will i have to inject him? : o

---

Well my vet wasn't available today . I'll have to wait till tomorrow. Is there anything else I can do in the meantime for him? I'll isolate him and keep him warm. I'll do a few warm soaks. Poor tortoise . I feel so bad for him . I've never had to deal with respiratory infections with tortoises so I'm a little freaked out

 

[jrholls]

My russian tortoise Lily had a RI along w/ an eye infection when we first got her. I had to give her five shots total once every third day. Our vet showed us how to do it when she gave the first injection. The antibiotics worked and she started improving within about a day after her first shot. I think we paid around 50 bucks for the antibiotics. We found that a 20 minute soak helped her relax before her shot, and definitely have someone help hold him for you. Giving the shots was no fun at all, but in our case it had to be done. I don't really know much about egyptian torts, but maybe they can take antibiotics orally? Best of luck to you.

 

[egyptiandan]

Oral medications are extremely hard to give to an Egyptian tortoise because of their size, especially younger animals.
Frequency of shots depends on the antibiotic given.
Setting up a small hospital enclosure will help quite a bit. Keep the temperatures between 84 and 86F 24/7 and keep well hydrated. You will also need to use this when giving the antibiotics as this will help the immune system fight the infection along with the antibiotics.

Danny

 

[teq1]

Thanks everyone for your help! I love this forum, everyone is so helpful .

So I isolated the tort. I set him up in a big cardboard box with everything he needs. I gave him his favorite food ever (rhadiccio?) And he started eating like a pig! I also gave him his other favorite, a piece of fresh nopal and he is eatin fine. I hope that him eating is a sign that he is not all that sick. But I guess I'll find out tomorrow. It'll take all my Christmas money, but I don't mind spending whatever it takes to get my torts all better . I feel so bad when they get sick.

So there is definitely no way that the aspen could have caused any problems? Both oyster shells and aspen have there pros and cons. Aspen is obviously light compared to oyster shells. Aspen I think is a bit dustier and it tends to stick to their food sometimes. Oystershells are REALLY heavy and I have to rinse all of them to get rid of the dust. The shells don't grow mold like aspen if they get wet. I kinda like the shells more though because it seems like it lessens the humidity because here its very humid. So, I don't know if I should change it or not

How long until my tort gets better? How soon can I put him back with the others?

---

I'm scared just thinking about me injecting them. But if it has to be done, I'll do it. I'll take one for the tort

So if my vet for some reason gives me oral meds for the tort, should I just request injections?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Just a suggestion, but you stated you put him in a big cardboard box, I would put him in a smaller box that is easier to heat and make sure to keep him warm. In a smaller container you can cover the top with aluminum foil and help keep it warmer. He needs to be warmer than normal so the antibiotic works. A regular incandescent 100 watt or 75 watt bulb will give him light and heat as well... good luck with him, have the vet show you how to give the injections...

 

[teq1]

Thanks Maggie for that suggestion. Well since I already set everything up,I'll just divide the box in half with a piece of cardboard and try to keep it as warm as I can for him. I really have to get a good temp gun. I'm tired of those thermometers from pet stores . Any suggestions for a temp gun that works well?

 

[Tom]

The most common one in use is the PE1. Its really good, inexpensive, reliable and easy to use.

 

[teq1]

The most common one in use is the PE1. Its really good, inexpensive, reliable and easy to use.

I went to tempgun.com and I saw the ones available. PE1 seems pretty good. Good prices also. Anyone use the laser one, PE2? Or or the PE1 and PE2 both just as accurate?

 

[Tom]

My nephew has the laser one. It works, but I found the laser and the extra expense totally unnecessary.

 

[yagyujubei]

Take a sample with you to the vet, and have him do a fecal as well. Sometimes a load of parasites can weaken them enough to be more suseptable to respiritory infections. Also, keep an eye on the others for symptoms. He might stop eating for a few days, while on the antibiotics. At least, that has been my experience.

 

[teq1]

I've been monitoring the other torts but I haven't seen any symptoms. They are all behaving exactly the same. They each have their own personalities and have not seen any changes physically and in their behavior. I just cleaned the tort's enclosure and put in brand new bedding. So they are all clean. I'll keep monitoring though.

I should take a sample of what to the vet? Not too long ago he had a fecal done and he did have parasites. But the vet gave me panacur to give him and they are now parasite free. I check their poo everytime to see if I see anything that's not supposed to be there. So far things lookgood. But I'll tell the vet to do a fecal just in case. Maybe I'm missing something that a microscope can catch.

 

[teq1]

I saw the other older tort yawning. He didn't have any bubbles or anything coming from is nose and doesn't have swollen eyes. Should I take him too just in case? Maybe the vet can take a look at both of them. Or should I take them all? Lol I just want to be sure they are all okay. :shy:

 

[Tom]

There is an important point I want to make. I don't know egyptians at all, but in general torts don't just get sick for no reason. Rather than just treating symptoms, I would try to find, and eliminate, the CAUSE. It seems likely that its temps to me, but since I don't know what that species requires, or what you have offered, I can't say for sure. If I were you, I'd go into the egyptian tortoise section, find someone knowledgeable and PM them. I hate to mention names and volunteer anyone, but "EgyptianDan" seems like a good choice. He's very experienced and usually very helpful. For temps you'll need to know cool side, warm side, basking spot and night. I wish you good luck.

 

[teq1]

There is an important point I want to make. I don't know egyptians at all, but in general torts don't just get sick for no reason. Rather than just treating symptoms, I would try to find, and eliminate, the CAUSE. It seems likely that its temps to me, but since I don't know what that species requires, or what you have offered, I can't say for sure. If I were you, I'd go into the egyptian tortoise section, find someone knowledgeable and PM them. I hate to mention names and volunteer anyone, but "EgyptianDan" seems like a good choice. He's very experienced and usually very helpful. For temps you'll need to know cool side, warm side, basking spot and night. I wish you good luck.

I totally get what you're saying. I've been keeping the same temps this whole time but maybe there is something off. I will definitely take your advice. Thanks alot. And I will be buying that temp gun asap to better monitor their temps.