Potential cough?

[Turtle2016]

Hello!

I recently adopted a 3 toed box turtle about 2 months ago. He's 23 years old, and is very active and seems to be very healthy (he was pretty pale when we got him, but his colors have really popped over the past month). I feed him crickets, fruit, and veggies (when he decides to eat them!) and change his food daily. He lives in a glass tank with organic soil substrate, which I change out about once a month (not counting the occasional spot cleaning).

Anyway, over the past couple of weeks he has developed what sounds like a cough (it's kind of a squelching noise, like the one he makes when he eats). He doesn't do this continuously (maybe 6 to 10 "coughs" a day) and he otherwise seems healthy (no mucus on his nose, eyes, or mouth, and he's still very active). Should I be worried, and, if so, at what stage should I take him to the vet? I also got coco fiber tonight to add to his soil, just in case he's not getting enough moisture!

Thank you guys so much for your help!!!!

 

[Alexio]

What are the temperatures like in the tank? Does it have a lid or cover on it? Pictures of the turtle and enclosure may be helpful as well.

 

[Turtle2016]

The the tank is 75 gallons, and it does not have a lid. With the heat lamp on the enclosure is about 78-80 degrees, and he has a little "hut" where he can hide away in dig in the dirt as he pleases. He also loves to roam the apartment, so he gets to prowl the living room about every other day in a designated "safe zone". The apartment is always between 71 and 75 degrees. I also spritz down the enclosure about every other day with water, and soak him in warm water about every other day (probably not as long as I should, though; he seems to hate it and prefers to do it himself in his water dish). Right now he only has dirt substrate, but I was going to add the coco fiber in today.

I apologize for the poor photos; I only had the camera on my phone on me. He also decided he needed to get dirty before I took the pictures! If you need more photos let me know!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

That's a very nice looking box turtle. Most of them we see that are that old have some deformity to them, but yours is very pretty. He could use a bit of a beak and nail trim, though.

My adult box turtles live outside 24/7/365, but I keep babies indoors for the first couple of years. My indoor box turtle habitats have dirt for substrate too. The babies love to bury themselves and the dirt is easy.

I can' help with the cough question without being able to see what's going on, sorry.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi

 

[Turtle2016]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

That's a very nice looking box turtle. Most of them we see that are that old have some deformity to them, but yours is very pretty. He could use a bit of a beak and nail trim, though.

My adult box turtles live outside 24/7/365, but I keep babies indoors for the first couple of years. My indoor box turtle habitats have dirt for substrate too. The babies love to bury themselves and the dirt is easy.

I can' help with the cough question without being able to see what's going on, sorry.

I completely understand. Unfortunately his "coughs" are unpredictable and not frequent enough to get on video. I guess my question would be what symptoms should I look out for to justify taking him to the vet (I would rather not take him, if I don't have to, as he seems perfectly healthy otherwise)? Is it just if he has discharge and is inactive?

 

[HI Tortoise Rescue]

Your male is a female (males have red eyes). I've heard a lot of strange noises from our turtles & tortoises, but the only thing sounding like a cough is when they pass gas. Never heard that from boxies, but our Redfoots would easily win the tooting championship! Could that be what you're hearing?

Ken

 

[Turtle2016]

Your male is a female (males have red eyes). I've heard a lot of strange noises from our turtles & tortoises, but the only thing sounding like a cough is when they pass gas. Never heard that from boxies, but our Redfoots would easily win the tooting championship! Could that be what you're hearing?

Ken

Funny! I guess it could be; it sounds like it would come out of his (or maybe her) throat though. It's kind of a harsh squawk (is that what turtle toots sound like?). He/she only did it two times yesterday (that I heard, anyway), so hopefully the issue is resolving itself!!!

 

[Banjos n Boxies]

Could the cough be stridulation? Again, without seeing or hearing what's going on, it's only a guess.
Here's an old thread on this forum about that:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/chirping.71306/

Tl;dr version- it's a sound some turtles and torts make by rubbing their upper and lower beak together. No one is sure why they do it.

 

[Turtle2016]

Hi, guys!

I was searching the web for a sound that resembled Turtle's "cough" (which is a lot harder than I thought it would be!). Though a different kind of tortoise, the below video pretty closely resembles his "cough". He only does this a few times a day, though. He's still been eating and drinking normally, and there are no signs of mucus on him. If he were choking on something I would assume he would be "coughing" more frequently, wouldn't he?

Here's the link to the video: