Sick redfooted tortoise

[jlb1077]

Any advice would be greatly appreciative... I have a 1 year old red footed tortoise that had thick mucus coming out of his mouth this am. I turned up the heat today in his pool. He ate well, had several bowel movements, and has been drinking lots. Now he has some bubbles coming out of his nose. What else can I do to help him?

 

[wellington]

Until others with more experience with sick RF join in keep him warm. Sounds like he is acting normal. Hang on more will be on to offer up advice.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi jlb1077:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Raise the temperature in the habitat. But, if the tortoise stops eating, or if the mucous changes color or gets thick, you'll need to take it to the vet.

What would you like us to call you?

...and may we know appx. where in the world you are?

 

[jlb1077]

I have raised his temp to 95-100. He seems to have lots of fluid coming out his mouth that is clear. I am having a hard time finding a vet that cares for tortoises... I have his UVB bulb on and his heat lamp...

Thanks for your help,
Jamie

 

[ascott]

I would not have the temps that high as the overall temp....I would bring the overall enclosure temp to 80-85ish and continue to leave the hot spot up around the 95 mark....

When you say

He seems to have lots of fluid coming out his mouth that is clear

When I see someone say this I first think of an overheating tort....please don't have him in a space that is kept 95-100, this extreme heat can cause death if your tort is dehydrated especially...

I would also soak him each day to assure he stays hydrated....

May we see a pic of your little one?

 

[jlb1077]

Thanks for responding. I only had his temp up to 95 yesterday. Usually stays around 90 in warm spot and 70-75 in the cool area. He still has some clear fluid coming out his nose and mouth but nothing like yesterday. I am having a hell of a time trying to find a tort vet in my area. How do you add a pic?

 

[Redstrike]

Anyway your hide(s) are positioned directly under a heat source? Could have led to the proposed overheating (I thought the same Angela). Bump down the temps to what Angela recommended, 95-100 is too warm for overall temps.

 

[Madkins007]

There are several lists of herp vets by state- http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Info/state_resources.htm and our own http://tortoiseforum.org/tortoisevetlist.html

 

[ascott]

To post a pic on the Forum here;

You have to be working from a device that has the pic you want to post....on the device

Then go to new reply
Scroll down past the reply box a little under the reply box
Go to the bold New Attachment
Select Choose File
Then pick the one you want and once it sets it up next to the Choose File tab
Go to the right of the Choose File tab and Add Attachment
Then go to Post Reply tab and click it

Some folks also use photobucket and some other photo storage sites but I have never been successful at that (never tried to hard actually).

 

[jlb1077]

His hide is not under the lights. I have finally found a vet & take him today at 3!!! Sammy is on the left & Timmy is on the right!!!

 

[ascott]

Ahhh...the pic did not show up...

 

[Redstrike]

Try tinypic.com - it's simple and you don't need to join the site to use it.

 

[jlb1077]

So an update in Timmy & Sammy. Took them to vet 2 weeks ago. They both got a 1 time antibiotic & 1 shot of antibiotic that I give every 3 days & also got wormed. The little one still has bubbles coming out of her nose.... Very concerned I called the vet & they said it would take time & there isn't much else they could do. How much time should this take to start working??? I feel so bad for the little tort. He isn't wanting to eat as much as usual. Any suggestions? Thanks so much