question for Danny

[Maggie Cummings]

Hey Danny...what is the difference in a lower or upper respiratory tract infection?
If one in a group gets an URTI does that mean the rest can get it? Contagious?

 

[egyptiandan]

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo questions

Well a lower respiratory infection manifests with a runny nose and sometimes puffy eyes. I've also seen excess saliva from the mouth with an upper respiratory infection. If left tortoises usually go off food and sleep more.
Upper respiratory infections show none of these signs. One of the few signs is pulling the head in quickly with an open mouth. The accompanying sound, sounds like someone trying to bring up phlem.

It's not contagious as such, as all tortoises harbor the bacteria that cause respiratory infections. It can be just one tortoises in a group that gets it (usually stressed by a group mate) or the whole group if stressed by how they are being kept.
Stress causes all respiratory infections as the stress lowers the immune system and lets the bacteria flourish.

Danny

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo questions

Well a lower respiratory infection manifests with a runny nose and sometimes puffy eyes. I've also seen excess saliva from the mouth with an upper respiratory infection. If left tortoises usually go off food and sleep more.
Upper respiratory infections show none of these signs. One of the few signs is pulling the head in quickly with an open mouth. The accompanying sound, sounds like someone trying to bring up phlem.

It's not contagious as such, as all tortoises harbor the bacteria that cause respiratory infections. It can be just one tortoises in a group that gets it (usually stressed by a group mate) or the whole group if stressed by how they are being kept.
Stress causes all respiratory infections as the stress lowers the immune system and lets the bacteria flourish.

Danny

Thanks, I knew you would explain so well!!!

 

[Crazy1]

Danny, I know you stated that stress is the main cause of all respiratory infections, due to it lowing the immune system, and as such RI's are not contagious. That would certainly explain how a tort that is prone to RI’s would get them over and over, or how a tort that has had no contact with another can get a RI. However, my vet stated that RI that are caused by organisms such as Chryseobacterium Spp., Coagulase Negative Staph, and Enterococcus species could be contagious especially if the torts have nose to nose contact. Would this be due to the already excessive bacterial growth triggering it in another tort? Or are organism such as these, like within ourselves, triggered to excessive growth by other factors, and are just opportunistic bacteria that can be triggered by things like cold, bad diet, etc. besides stress? And if a tort is CB and never in contact with another would they naturally carry any of these organisms? Your thoughts?

 

[egyptiandan]

I did mean upper Yvonne All fixed now

I've never had another tortoise (kept in a group) "catch" a respiratory infection from another tortoise. This though pertains to WC tortoises. It's totally different when it comes to CB animals. CB animals have never been exposed to the bacterias that the WC animals have been and when they are they will pick them up and usually the body will be overwhelmed as there are no antibodies in the CB animal.
I had this happen with a CB Libyan greek. I had her alone for 10 years, as I didn't have a male, and she was never sick. When I did finally get males they were WC. I put her into the group and within a month she had a respiratory infection. It's been cleared up and I have never had anymore trouble with her. Now though I have to consider her WC. I have since gotten a CB male and have taken her out of the group. She did though pass on the bacteria to the CB male , so now he is WC also. He's fine now and they probably will be from now on. No more CB animals will come in contact with this pair though. Their babies will be fine though.

Danny