Tortoise blowing bubbles and not eating

[lacrime]

Hello, my tortoise hadn't moved from his spot since yesterday and now doesn't eat and blowing bubbles out his mouth. I'm not familiar with his breed, or even gender-very newbie-

He makes an attempt to open his mouth but all comes out is bubbles and saliva. Sometimes he makes a move as if to wipe his face on front legs. No idea what's happening. Put him in shallow water at the moment. Can anyone help? Thank you.

 

[JoesMum]

Hello

Your tort probably has a respiratory infection and needs to see a herp vet asap. Please note that not all vets are qualified and experienced with tortoises so be careful who you go to.

Where do you live? We may be able to help recommend one.

In terms of recovery, please post pictures of your enclosure and lighting and we can see what tweaks you can make to help.

There are 4 important temperatures that you need to know: warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum. What are these?

 

[lacrime]

Hello, thank you so much for your reply. Unfortunately I live outside of US and in a small town where vets only care for cats and dogs. I can include a video I shot of him doing that wiping thing.

I keep him outside in the garden, they usually take care of themselves, I just feed it and keep an eye on the tortoises.

I hope it worked when I tried to upload the video.

 

[lacrime]

Unfortunately I couldn't upload the video on here, don't know why.

Here's the update. He's barely moving now, his eyes are closed. When I make a move or any shift happens and he feels it, he moves, opens his eyes but otherwise not much responsive. Not eating.

Like I said, there's no proper vet here, is there any med I can get him to help him get over his problem? I've never resented this town any more than I did now.

Hello

Your tort probably has a respiratory infection and needs to see a herp vet asap. Please note that not all vets are qualified and experienced with tortoises so be careful who you go to.

Where do you live? We may be able to help recommend one.

In terms of recovery, please post pictures of your enclosure and lighting and we can see what tweaks you can make to help.

There are 4 important temperatures that you need to know: warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum. What are these?

 

[JoesMum]

Yout tort needs to be kept warm to help its recovery. What's the weather like where you are? Which state are you in?

Hopefully one of those more experienced in care of a tort with a respiratory infectionlike @Yvonne G will be around shortly

 

[lacrime]

I left him back in the garden for now. It's a bit windy now but he's under a tent-ish thing I arranged for him in case of heavy rain. Other than immediate weather conditions, it's usually humid In Turkey which is where we are. Should I move him in the house for the day, or will the garden be okay? Sorry to keep bombarding you with questions but I'm very new and never encountered anything like this so I just don't want my tortoise to suffer because I lack info.

Thanks again. It's frustrating not to be able to identify the problem and/or have the means to do so. Doctors are inexperienced in any animal other than cats and dogs.

Yout tort needs to be kept warm to help its recovery. What's the weather like where you are? Which state are you in?

Hopefully one of those more experienced in care of a tort with a respiratory infectionlike @Yvonne G will be around shortly

 

[JoesMum]

@Ferretinmyshoes are you able to help with a likely URI in Turkey please?

 

[N2TORTS]

Your tort has a respiratory infection……if left untreated can and will turn to pneumonia very fast and succumb to death. Warm temps and higher heat will not cure the infection but does help (if anything keep the tort at ease). Some older torts maybe able to fight off the infection with higher heats ect….but younger torts are more susceptible. You need an antibiotic (like Baytril.....although there are others) to rid the infection once it sets in. If you own more than one tort – quarantine the sick one as this R.I. can spread very easy to other torts.

 

[lacrime]

Thank you for your reply.

For the moment, I left the tortoise in the garden. The weather is warm and humid though sometimes there could be heavy rain. Should I move him indoors?

And if you don't mind, can you help me how I can give Baytril? I don't trust the pharmacists here, they're inexperienced in a lot of cases. I have no idea in what form it comes, in other forums people talk about injections so I appreciate any help I can get. I don't want to cause my tortoise any more discomfort as he has already.

Your tort has a respiratory infection……if left untreated can and will turn to pneumonia very fast and succumb to death. Warm temps and higher heat will not cure the infection but does help (if anything keep the tort at ease). Some older torts maybe able to fight off the infection with higher heats ect….but younger torts are more susceptible. You need an antibiotic (like Baytril.....although there are others) to rid the infection once it sets in. If you own more than one tort – quarantine the sick one as this R.I. can spread very easy to other torts.

 

[N2TORTS]

Bring the tort in immediately ......you want the temps nice and steady .....no high no lows.... Most meds especially injectable, the dosage is figured by the weight of the animal. Baytril was just an example , as there are some torts/species who do not tolerate that antibiotic too well. There are others......Do some research on old threads within the forum and I'm sure you may find others advice as well. The injection is usually given in the front legs on the animal ...

 

[JoesMum]

Bring the tort in immediately ......you want the temps nice and steady .....no high no lows.... Most meds especially injectable, the dosage is figured by the weight of the animal. Baytril was just an example , as there are some torts/species who do not tolerate that antibiotic too well. There are others......Do some research on old threads within the forum and I'm sure you may find others advice as well. The injection is usually given in the front legs on the animal ...

I am not sure how easily available Baytril is in Turkey and we need to take care not to get into the antibiotic choice/dosage mess that we have had with an Egytptian tort owner on here.

 

[lacrime]

Alright alright then, I'll move him in now. Since I usually keep tortoises in the garden, I have no indoor arrangements. All I have is a box to keep him. Should I put soil in the box as well? Because in that case all I have is that of indoor plant soil, if that makes any sense?

In the meantime, I'll try and look through antibiotics to see which one I can get here.

Thanks again for your reply and help. I really appreciate you guys as I'm clueless and out of resources.

Bring the tort in immediately ......you want the temps nice and steady .....no high no lows.... Most meds especially injectable, the dosage is figured by the weight of the animal. Baytril was just an example , as there are some torts/species who do not tolerate that antibiotic too well. There are others......Do some research on old threads within the forum and I'm sure you may find others advice as well. The injection is usually given in the front legs on the animal ...

 

[N2TORTS]

Depends on "Customs" I guess......but there are many Bird (yes I said Bird...as they use the same antibiotics in fowl) websites in which you can order it online. Unless experienced or not talking with a Professional Vet first , I would not start any kind of Med regime yet, as you can do just as much harm or more. Good luck ...and keep us updated. Get the little guy in with steady temps and keep him well hydrated.

 

[N2TORTS]

Watch out for "potting soil" as it usually contains vermiculite and perlite , which is non break down ingestible for your tort. Moss will work better as a floor substrate. Use plenty as this will aid in humidity as well as give the little one something to snuggle down under to help regulate his own body temps and keep steady.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

Could you also let us know the temperature in your house and outside in the garden?

 

[Tom]

He needs warm temperatures day and night. He needs an indoor basking area of around 37 C. And the rest of the enclosure needs to stay around 29-30 C all day and all night to help him fight the infection.

 

[lacrime]

I don't know if I can find moss around here. I'm thinking through all my options and see what's best. I've asked our pharmacist of they can find me Baytril but they haven't gotten back to me yet.

In the meantime I'm keeping an eye on Tiny. Not moving, head's out, every once in a while he does that wiping face thing but that's all. Keeping very still at the moment, unless he senses anything nearby. i'll soak him in warm water as well.

I read that Baytril, or some antibiotics can be given through mouth instead of an injection. I fear of doing things wrong, and I'm completely inexperienced in giving injections

Thank you again, I really appreciate people replying and trying to help me.

Watch out for "potting soil" as it usually contains vermiculite and perlite , which is non break down ingestible for your tort. Moss will work better as a floor substrate. Use plenty as this will aid in humidity as well as give the little one something to snuggle down under to help regulate his own body temps and keep steady.

 

[lacrime]

The temperature in and out varies between 25-29 C but the humidity is probably higher than usual in those temperatures.

Could you also let us know the temperature in your house and outside in the garden?

He needs warm temperatures day and night. He needs an indoor basking area of around 37 C. And the rest of the enclosure needs to stay around 29-30 C all day and all night to help him fight the infection.

 

[N2TORTS]

I don't know if I can find moss around here. I'm thinking through all my options and see what's best. I've asked our pharmacist of they can find me Baytril but they haven't gotten back to me yet.

In the meantime I'm keeping an eye on Tiny. Not moving, head's out, every once in a while he does that wiping face thing but that's all. Keeping very still at the moment, unless he senses anything nearby. i'll soak him in warm water as well.

I read that Baytril, or some antibiotics can be given through mouth instead of an injection. I fear of doing things wrong, and I'm completely inexperienced in giving injections

Thank you again, I really appreciate people replying and trying to help me.

Yes ...you can give it orally ....But.....torts can smell and taste it a mile away - and it must be awful ! As they will not go near the stuff nor eat anything (which is a problem with a sick tort to begin with....they will not eat- so injections is the next option) with the smell / taste on it . If your RF LOVES bananas and is a "treat" for him, take a small chunk of banana about 1-2" long . Carefully hollow out by cutting a small inner circle within your piece- do not puncture through as your basically going to be making a cup/vase type container with the fruit. Save the piece you cut out....put your meds down inside of the hole of the large remaining chuck ....let it soak a few mins (not too long) cap off hole with the piece you saved. Being aggressive feeders on favorite items (Banana was just an example and easy to work with) they usually will gorge themselves before realizing the just swallowed a bunch of nasty tasting meds they desperately need.

 

[Tom]

Here is a care sheet and some info that will work for your species. Remember that because he is sick, you need the much higher temperatures that I mentioned, and not the ones listed in the care sheet. Once he is healthy again and you've had no symptoms for at least two weeks, you can drop back down to normal temperatures.

It would be a good idea to maintain an indoor enclosure with the correct temperatures and lighting for nighttime and cold or rainy days, and use the outside enclosure for fair weather.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/