# Indian star tortoise suffering from cold



## jatin sharma (Oct 27, 2017)

hey I have Indian star tortoise of 1 yr. I guess he is suffering from cold from yesterday. Sometimes Bubbles are coming from his nose while he is breathing and I can see water in his nose.when I searched then I came to know that cold is very dangerous for tortoise.They even can die due to it if it doesn't treated.I contacted a vet he told me as tortoises are very rare as pet,so vets don't have experience to treat them eventually no will give see treat him. He suggested me to give him 0.5ml/ 1 drop of paracatomol syrup which we usually give to children. Is this safe?? do you people know any other treatment? I'm keeping him sun rays also so that he can feel warm.


----------



## JoesMum (Oct 27, 2017)

Paracetamol syrup is no use whatsoever. In fact it will probably do more harm than good. 

And as it’s illegal to keep a pet tortoise in India that is why there are few vets... people clearly ignore the law a lot judging by the number of people from India on this forum. 

Your tortoise needs to be kept warm day and night. This means a minimum of 27C while it recovers and it must be able to bask at 30-35C by day now and when it recovers. 

If your tortoise is kept indoors, this will mean purchasing a 100W reflector bulb and hanging it from a lamp stand so it is around 30cm above the floor. The exact height will depend on the temperature you measure underneath. 

You need to soak your tortoise daily in warm water for at least 30 minutes while it is not eating properly. Use a large flat bottomed bowl like a washing up bowl. The water should be deep enough to come just up over the join between the shell and the plastron. 

Your tortoise really needs antibiotics prescribed by a vet so the type is correct for the infection and the dose correct for the size of your tortoise. Unfortunately it seems you will not be able to do this, so you will have to hope that time and warmth will be enough.


----------



## jatin sharma (Oct 27, 2017)

JoesMum said:


> Paracetamol syrup is no use whatsoever. In fact it will probably do more harm than good.
> 
> And as it’s illegal to keep a pet tortoise in India that is why there are few vets... people clearly ignore the law a lot judging by the number of people from India on this forum.
> 
> ...


The only good things are that he is eating well and he is active also otherwise I have read if tortoises loses his appetite and he is not active then things are very bad. I am keeping him warm day and night by sunlight and bulb.Can you suggest me any antibiotics which probably you have given to your tortoise. I'll tell it to vet and he'll give to my tortoise according to his size!.


----------



## JoesMum (Oct 27, 2017)

Antibiotics need to be targeted to the infection. Giving the wrong one will do no good.

Also, antibiotics are becoming increasingly ineffective around the world due to their overuse causing resistance.

I don't recommend the use of antibiotics unless they are definitely needed. And I will never recommend trying any old antibiotic just to see if it works.


----------



## jatin sharma (Oct 28, 2017)

JoesMum said:


> Antibiotics need to be targeted to the infection. Giving the wrong one will do no good.
> 
> Also, antibiotics are becoming increasingly ineffective around the world due to their overuse causing resistance.
> 
> I don't recommend the use of antibiotics unless they are definitely needed. And I will never recommend trying any old antibiotic just to see if it works.


Sure.. then I'll give him heat only. Let's see if it works


----------



## Tom (Oct 28, 2017)

You need to set up an indoor closed chamber enclosure with a heat lamp like Joe's Mum described and also night heat controlled by a thermostat. While this tortoise is sick, the temperature should never drop below 29-30C in any part of the entire enclosure, and the tortoise should still have a 37-38C basking area all day long for 12-13 hours. If ambient get higher than 30C during the day, that is good too, but don't let it drop below 29C at night. Soak the tortoise every day with this increased heat, and keep the enclosure humid to simulate monsoon conditions. Do NOT keep things humid and damp until you have the heat sorted out and set correctly. Keep these temperatures going for at least two weeks after the symptoms disappear.

Like this:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

This might help too:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/


----------



## Prashant (Nov 3, 2017)

give them little more exposure to the sunlight. if indoor make sure to increase temperature by 2-3 degrees arnd between 30 to 33 degrees Celsius.
if they are not well they will stay more time in high temperature under heating bulb.
feed them carrots little more increasing Vitamin A might help. i hope you are giving them enough basking time under sun and calcium supplements.


another general question what will happen if humidity drops below 20%. @JoesMum @Tom


----------



## Tom (Nov 3, 2017)

Prashant said:


> another general question what will happen if humidity drops below 20%. @Tom



They will dehydrate quicker and if humidity stays that low for a long time, new growth will begin to pyramid.


----------



## Gattu N'Coco (Nov 3, 2017)

You can try giving them heat also by keeping them on heat sheets if you know the "sek ki theli" thing it has Helped my torts many times


----------



## jatin sharma (Nov 5, 2017)

Gattu N'Coco said:


> You can try giving them heat also by keeping them on heat sheets if you know the "sek ki theli" thing it has Helped my torts many times


What's sek ki theli? I searched on google but I didn't find anything [emoji29]


----------



## Gattu N'Coco (Nov 7, 2017)

jatin sharma said:


> What's sek ki theli? I searched on google but I didn't find anything [emoji29]


Sorry I thought you know hindi. It's an electrical Heating pad. I keep them on it so that they don't catch cold in winters or if we switch on ac anytime and they are in same room.. hope it helps


----------



## jatin sharma (Nov 7, 2017)

Gattu N'Coco said:


> Sorry I thought you know hindi. It's an electrical Heating pad. I keep them on it so that they don't catch cold in winters or if we switch on ac anytime and they are in same room.. hope it helps


Buddy I know hindi very well but I haven't heard about it earlier. Can you send me link of it?


----------



## Gattu N'Coco (Nov 7, 2017)

jatin sharma said:


> Buddy I know hindi very well but I haven't heard about it earlier. Can you send me link of it?


Flamingo HC 1002 Orthopaedic Heating Belt (X-Large) https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00E3KYN9M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_opEaAbZJTTRKG ... I have similar to this one.. keep the heat on minimum level since we're in India it's already pretty humid


----------



## jatin sharma (Nov 7, 2017)

Well thanks a lot buddy [emoji846]


----------



## Markw84 (Nov 7, 2017)

Heating pads are not a good option for heating a tortoise. They need heat from above to heat their core body temperature and they are not created to sense heat from below. A star tortoise needs to be in an enclosure that has overall ambient heat controlled and kept above 27°C with a basking spot they can get under that is 35°-38°. A heating pad can slowly keep the bottom of their shell hotter than normal and slowly kill the cells of the plastron before the tortoise would sense the core body temperature getting warm enough to want to move off the pad.

Having a tortoise set up in a proper enclosure that has controlled heat is by far the best approach.


----------



## Gattu N'Coco (Nov 7, 2017)

Markw84 said:


> Heating pads are not a good option for heating a tortoise. They need heat from above to heat their core body temperature and they are not created to sense heat from below. A star tortoise needs to be in an enclosure that has overall ambient heat controlled and kept above 27°C with a basking spot they can get under that is 35°-38°. A heating pad can slowly keep the bottom of their shell hotter than normal and slowly kill the cells of the plastron before the tortoise would sense the core body temperature getting warm enough to want to move off the pad.
> 
> Having a tortoise set up in a proper enclosure that has controlled heat is by far the best approach.


I tried my best to make up an environment for them thanks alot I'll keep that in mind


----------



## Gattu N'Coco (Nov 7, 2017)

jatin sharma said:


> Well thanks a lot buddy [emoji846]


Don't go for that.. it's not good lol thank god came to know earlier


----------



## jatin sharma (Nov 7, 2017)

Gattu N'Coco said:


> Don't go for that.. it's not good lol thank god came to know earlier


Why? what happened?


----------



## Gattu N'Coco (Nov 8, 2017)

jatin sharma said:


> Why? what happened?


Read the post above


----------



## jatin sharma (Nov 8, 2017)

Gattu N'Coco said:


> Read the post above


Okhay


----------

