Respiratory infection?

[Danielle148]

I have a hatchling sulcata 9 months of age. I have plenty of lights in the enclosure. He eats a diet of mazuri mostly and fresh greens. He has been whistling while breathing occasionally it isn't 24/7 it's like every once and a whIle. Also some nasal discharge I've noticed it's not always there sometimes I'll see it and then nothing for a few days. He eats fine I soak him often. He isn't struggling to breathe at all. And he hasn't declined in weight at all. I'm not sure if I should take him in or not. I was thinking maybe the top soil I use is too dusty can that be causing it? Also my other tortoise is completely fine. I don't know if this is a problem or not because he is small but I can't really tell where his nostrils are. And on my other tortoise you can definitely see (yet he is older and bigger) any advice is great. (Sorry for this messy post)

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Dusty?
Are you not keeping the area humid?
Baby Sulcatas need high humidity. Contrary to what a lot of the "old" information said.

 

[Yvonne G]

Right. If you were keeping the substrate moist, there would be no dust. Please re-read the care sheet for young sulcatas.

 

[Danielle148]

Dusty?
Are you not keeping the area humid?
Baby Sulcatas need high humidity. Contrary to what a lot of the "old" information said.

I can't get it to stay humid where the heat bulbs are

 

[Danielle148]

Right. If you were keeping the substrate moist, there would be no dust. Please re-read the care sheet for young sulcatas.

My vet said it was controversal and it wouldn't be a problem. He's the online reptile vet I have here

 

[Maro2Bear]

Hey Danielle, welcome. You dont mention the temps that you're maintaining in the enclosure. What kind of overnight temps are you maintaining? Heat bulbs or CHEs on a thermostat?

Id suggest attaching a pix of the enclosure so we get an idea. Only one sully in the enclosure, right?

Best of luck.

 

[Danielle148]

Hey Danielle, welcome. You dont mention the temps that you're maintaining in the enclosure. What kind of overnight temps are you maintaining? Heat bulbs or CHEs on a thermostat?

Id suggest attaching a pix of the enclosure so we get an idea. Only one sully in the enclosure, right?

Best of luck.

I'm not home at the moment. I keep the room at 70 and I have a ceramic heater on at night. I have 2 sullys in there it's pretty big. They really just do their own thing I do feed them separately though. My other sulcata it's totally fine it's an open top because my vet told me humidity was controversial.. so it's hard to hold humidity. I'm thinking of getting a giant plastic storage bin and keeping him in there and cut holes in the lid for lights. So it would hold humidity because I'm not sure if it's a ri or just irritation from dusty substrate. Or I may put plastic over the bigger one but I'm not sure i definitely don't have enough room to build another enclosure. The one we already have takes up most of the room. Since it's bigger I have lots of heat lamps on. He eats great, and is gaining weight nothing else worries me about him

 

[Yvonne G]

Your sulcata might be suffering from the dreaded inferior tortoise syndrome. When two tortoises are kept in the same indoor habitat, one is dominant and one is submissive. The dominant tortoise mentally (you can't see it) tells the submissive tortoise to get out of the territory. Because Mr. Submissive is stuck in there and can't get out, he starts staying hidden all the time, tries to stay out of Mr. Dominant's way, stops eating and maybe even develops R.I symptoms. I think if you set Mr. Submissive up in his own habitat, you'll see a marked improvement in him.

 

[Danielle148]

Your sulcata might be suffering from the dreaded inferior tortoise syndrome. When two tortoises are kept in the same indoor habitat, one is dominant and one is submissive. The dominant tortoise mentally (you can't see it) tells the submissive tortoise to get out of the territory. Because Mr. Submissive is stuck in there and can't get out, he starts staying hidden all the time, tries to stay out of Mr. Dominant's way, stops eating and maybe even develops R.I symptoms. I think if you set Mr. Submissive up in his own habitat, you'll see a marked improvement in him.

Okay I'll do that. What do i do when they will eventually be housed outside together? Can I like put a board in between and have one live on one side of the enclosure and the other on the other side of the board?

 

[Yvonne G]

Sometimes it works ok in a real large outdoor enclosure because they can establish their territories. You can try it, but be prepared to separate the yard.

 

[Danielle148]

Okay I'll keep that in mind