# Gagging?



## tortoishell (Oct 17, 2016)

Today my tortoise was eating his breakfast (it was mainly lettuce, as the food I ordered hasn't arrived yet), and suddenly he did this weird thing where he kept opening and closing his mouth (mind you, it still had food in it) and turning his head from side to side. Usually he just does this a few times to make sure the food is swallowed, but today he did it repetitively. Eventually he opened his mouth wide and with his leg scraped out some food. He's eating normally now, but have any of you guys experienced this? Was he trying to regurgitate? There was no noise.


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## wellington (Oct 17, 2016)

Just a guess. He probably had it stuck where it wouldn't go down and so he did what he did to try and get it to go down or to get it out.


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## GingerLove (Oct 17, 2016)

Yeah, I agree with wellington. It was probably stuck in his mouth or throat. My tortoise does that when something is stuck in her mouth. Sometimes she manages to spit it out (after a little foaming at the mouth) and then goes ahead and tries to eat it again. I usually yank the food out when she does this just in case.


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## tortoishell (Oct 17, 2016)

Okay thanks! It was a pretty big piece of lettuce, so that's probably why


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## sibi (Oct 17, 2016)

May I ask what substrate you're using for him? Sometimes, if you use substrate that are chunks of bark, it can get stuck in his throat and will cause gagging whenever he eats. Normally, torts would chump on lettuce and big pieces will be hard to swallow, but they could literally choke on something. Whenever you see this and he has his mouth wide open, help him out by pulling any chunks of food from his mouth with your finger. Don't worry about him biting you. Chances are he won't close his mouth to bite while he's choking.


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## tortoishell (Oct 17, 2016)

I am using a mixture of coconut fiber and coconut bark. I doubt that a chunk got into his mouth, although that has happened before ☺. When it does, he normally get it out by himself. The lettuce was probably just too big.


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## sibi (Oct 17, 2016)

To be sure, run your fingers down along his neck. There shouldn't be any lumps felt. If you do feel one, there's an obstruction that needs to be removed asap. If not, all is cleared. Always do that whenever he's gagging.


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## dmmj (Oct 18, 2016)

they cannot clear their throats like dogs cats humans monkeys other mammals because they have no diaphragm when they get food stuck they have to scrape it out. Your tortoiseprobably ate too much too quickly like a one year old at their first birthday party


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