# Sulcata problem (open mouth breathing?)



## Sib (Oct 20, 2014)

My 4 year old sulcata had a runny nose and was treated with antibiotic drops which I put in her nostrils 2x a day. Her runny nose is now gone but whenever I pick her up and turn her face up in the air like when I put drops in her nostrils she opens her mouth like she is having a breathing problem I never notice her doing that when I hold her in a normal fashion or at any other time except when I have her head straight up. Is this a sign she might have pneumonia? She is eating well and active.
Sib


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## wellington (Oct 20, 2014)

@Yvonne G can help you with this question.


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## Tom (Oct 20, 2014)

The test for pneumonia is to see if your tortoise floats lopsided. Is she still small enough to fit in a full bathtub?

My concern with this issue is always _why_ did your tortoise get sick in the first place. Treating symptoms is fine, but if you didn't discover and correct the issue, it will continually re-occur.

RI is usually caused by cool night temps, or over all cool temps. Might this be your issue?


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## Sib (Oct 20, 2014)

Tom said:


> The test for pneumonia is to see if your tortoise floats lopsided. Is she still small enough to fit in a full bathtub?
> 
> My concern with this issue is always _why_ did your tortoise get sick in the first place. Treating symptoms is fine, but if you didn't discover and correct the issue, it will continually re-occur.
> 
> RI is usually caused by cool night temps, or over all cool temps. Might this be your issue?


 
No I don't think temps are too low. I keep her on a tort table in my iguana room where it is about 85 degrees during the day and 70 at night. I acquired this sulcata 2 month ago from a petshop in a not so good part of a town I was visiting. She is supposedly 4 years old weighs only 1 3/4 pound and is 8" long. I think she is very small for her age, my adult male sulcata was way heavier and bigger at this age, he is now 12. I just looked at her a few minutes ago and it looks like her runny nose is back. I took her to my vet 2 weeks ago and he prescribed the antibiotic nose drops but I am thinking she might need Baytril injections? He also diagnosed her with pinworms maybe that's why she is so light in weight. Should I treat for the worms first or the nose first? I read a parasite load can sometimes cause a runny nose because it wears down their immune system. Any and all advise is appreciated I want her to get well. She eats good and is pretty active during the day on her tort table, too cold and wet outside for her.
Sib


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## Tom (Oct 21, 2014)

70 is too cold at night. Normally I would not let it drop below 80, but for a sick one, like yours, I'd keep it closer to 85-90, for a couple of weeks after symptoms disappear. 85 ambient during the day is good, but your tortoise still needs a large basking area in which to warm up to near 100 degrees all day. They will move in and out of this warm area as needed to keep their body temperature where they need it. 85 all over is simply not warm enough.

This is why we always ask for the actual temps. People often think their temps are "good, or "spot on" because they read something somewhere that says that temp is ok, but we often have a different opinion of what is "good", or "spot on".

Did you try the float test?

Did you and your vet ever discuss what made her sick in the first place and correct that issue? This is an issue for me with vets. Many of them (not all) throw harsh medicines at symptoms without ever giving a thought to the _CAUSE._ Tortoises don't just get sick for no reason like we seem to. There is always a cause of their sickness. In the case of RI, it is almost always temps that are too cold, and warmer temps usually "cure" the problem with no harsh drugs.


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## Maggie Cummings (Oct 21, 2014)

I have a tortoise with Abscessed sinus's and he only has one nostril to breath thru so daily I pick him up and stick a toothpick in the nares to get out any substrate. He always opens his mouth and takes a big breath when I hold him upright.
Baytril is fairly hard on them, and they usually stop eating. I'd fix your husbandry while you go to the Vet to get something softer than Baytril...Possibly the pills are not as hard as the injections...


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## Sib (Oct 22, 2014)

Tom said:


> 70 is too cold at night. Normally I would not let it drop below 80, but for a sick one, like yours, I'd keep it closer to 85-90, for a couple of weeks after symptoms disappear. 85 ambient during the day is good, but your tortoise still needs a large basking area in which to warm up to near 100 degrees all day. They will move in and out of this warm area as needed to keep their body temperature where they need it. 85 all over is simply not warm enough.
> 
> This is why we always ask for the actual temps. People often think their temps are "good, or "spot on" because they read something somewhere that says that temp is ok, but we often have a different opinion of what is "good", or "spot on".
> 
> ...


I am taking her to a different vet tomorrow she is an actual exotic animal vet that I have used for my reptiles in the past she is an hour away from me that is why I first took her to a


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## Sib (Oct 22, 2014)

Sib said:


> I am taking her to a different vet tomorrow she is an actual exotic animal vet that I have used for my reptiles in the past she is an hour away from me that is why I first took her to a


 local vet that also sees reptiles but does not specialize in them. No I never tried the float test it sounds scary I don't want to drown her. I will raise her temps at night to 80 plus degrees and see it that helps. I am assuming that the day temps are in the nineties under her heat lamp but need to measure them to make sure.
Sib


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## Tom (Oct 22, 2014)

Sib said:


> local vet that also sees reptiles but does not specialize in them. No I never tried the float test it sounds scary I don't want to drown her. I will raise her temps at night to 80 plus degrees and see it that helps. I am assuming that the day temps are in the nineties under her heat lamp but need to measure them to make sure.
> Sib



They can swim. I did a thread on this a few years back. Anyhow, you only take your hands off for a quick few seconds to see if she floats level or lopsided. Lopsided would indicate pneumonia. Your tortoise will most likely start calmly swimming upon you letting go.


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## Sib (Oct 23, 2014)

Tom said:


> They can swim. I did a thread on this a few years back. Anyhow, you only take your hands off for a quick few seconds to see if she floats level or lopsided. Lopsided would indicate pneumonia. Your tortoise will most likely start calmly swimming upon you letting go.


 
Took her to the exotic animal clinic today she did a culture swab in her mouth and she will need antibiotics because she sounds congested the vet said but she does not think it is pneumonia. We will find out what antibiotic will be best in a few days after they culture the swab in a lab. I gave her a dose of panacur today per vet instructions because she has a pretty heavy load of pinworms so while waiting for the antibiotics we can get rid of the worms. Vet was going to run a blood test too to check her calcium/phosphorous levels etc. but I declined. Now I am wondering if I should have done the blood test? 
Sib


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