# Lower Respiratory Infection?



## l0velesly (May 4, 2012)

Could this be a sign of a lower respiratory infection? My tortoise doesn't show any signs of upper respiratory infections, like weakness or runny nose. 
I really need help diagnosing. The only issue is he would make noises (and open his mouth) occasionally. http://tinypic.com/r/o0os9/6 
I really don't have the budget to pay for extra cultures or tests. 
What medication is normally provided? Baytril? I want to know what to expect when I go to the vet. I was able to find a vet that has a tortoise so I hope that means he's knowledgeable.


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## Madkins007 (May 4, 2012)

Lower Respiratory Tract Disease or Pneumonia is tough to diagnose for sure without tests. The main symptoms, as I understand them, are:
- Open-mouth breathing or troubled breathing.
- Loss of appetite, weight loss, poor general health.
- Nasal discharge (more likely for URTD).

Because it affects his ability to get a good lungful of air, he should be showing distress with every breath, getting worse over time. 

I am not comfortable discussing veterinary issues, such as med choices and dosages, since I only have a low level of 'book knowledge' of them and the wrong meds or treatments can make a lot of things a lot worse.


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## l0velesly (May 4, 2012)

Madkins007 said:


> Lower Respiratory Tract Disease or Pneumonia is tough to diagnose for sure without tests. The main symptoms, as I understand them, are:
> - Open-mouth breathing or troubled breathing.
> - Loss of appetite, weight loss, poor general health.
> - Nasal discharge (more likely for URTD).
> ...



I'm really in a difficult situation. My tortoise only experiences "open-mouth breathing" out of all those symptoms. I don't think he's really getting worse. Sometimes he does it a lot at a short period of time and sometimes not. He's still active and eating a whole lot! No nasal discharge either. I don't even understand why he started doing that noise. It just started randomly. 

I've tried researching meds/treatments online but couldn't find much luck. I'm just scared the vet will make him feel worse  

I really appreciate your reply.


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## Baoh (May 4, 2012)

It does not seem like pneumonia to me, but I would defer to a DVM's diagnosis.


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## Madkins007 (May 4, 2012)

Is he open-mouth breathing, or yawning? Is there any head stretching going on? Does he appear to be struggling to breath at during these sessions?


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## l0velesly (May 4, 2012)

No, his yawning is different from that. He doesn't make any noises when he yawns. I'm not sure what would be considered open-mouthed breathing. Did you see the video I linked? It's as if he's screaming.. is his throat ticklish? There's no head-stretching.. sometimes he moves in slightly when he makes that noise.. like sneezing but I don't think it's a sneezing problem. I'm not sure if he's struggling.. if only he could communicate with me. He would walk, make that noise, and then keep walking. :'( 
This is scaring me. No one seems to know what's wrong  What if my vet misdiagnoses him? I'm sure it can't be caused by parasites.. I'm not sure what else to think. Except sometimes, the food isn't fully digested when he poops so sometimes I see a few strings of greens. I don't know if that means anything.


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## Utah Lynn (May 5, 2012)

Could the nostrils be blocked with dirt or something like? Could he be trying to clear his throat, of like stuck food?


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## sportychick (May 5, 2012)

Why not post a pic maybe someone can help by looking  hope he gets better soon


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## Baoh (May 5, 2012)

The OP has a video of it in the post. Even better than a photo.

I am not sure what is going on, but the animal looks otherwise healthy.

My intuition is that there is a "tickle" of some sort going on. Maybe something stimulating the palate. I say this because I have seen something similar, although only in a punctuated fashion and not over a prolonged period like with this animal, when a portion of a grass blade has adhered to the roof of the mouth. Maybe growth of the mandible is slightly different from the skull. Lots of non-alarming possibilities. Probably just a quirk, but -like I said before- I would defer to a DVM's opinion on the matter.


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## l0velesly (May 5, 2012)

His nostrils are really clear. I checked his mouth when he yawned or ate. I don't see anything "stuck." I would think if there is then the food he keeps on eating would've washed it down. 

 My poor tortoise.

Thanks everyone for the response.


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## jennyBA (May 5, 2012)

Hi,
My tortoise did something similar to this when she was shedding skin on here neck, i think she sometimes used to just catch the dead skin that was hanging and this took her by surprise or perhaps hurt her a bit.
Anyway she used to make a short of hiss squeak noise and pull her head in her shell when this happened, since she has finished shedding this has stopped.


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## Madkins007 (May 5, 2012)

The video was nicely done, but did not really help diagnose.

It DOES look like it is trying to clear a tickle. What was the diet when this started? What substrate?


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## l0velesly (May 5, 2012)

It's weird to think that his throat would be tickling for over 5 days. His diet never changed. I've always been feeding him spring mix. I, however, did switch from coconut coir to the fuzzy peat moss like 2-3 weeks ago, because I couldn't handle the dust from the coir. I don't think he's allergic to it though. He sleeps in there fine.


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## Laura (May 5, 2012)

people say sick torts dont eat.. but...??


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## l0velesly (May 6, 2012)

Is my tortoise making noises just to scare me?  I'm afraid the DVM may not know what's wrong either and gives him the wrong diagnosis. Right now I'm just waiting and hoping to see if he gets better.


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## ascott (May 6, 2012)

I would soak in a warm water bath for about half an hour and are you able to get him some warm outside sun time for about an hour? (Providing a bit of shade as well of course)....then wait a bit and see what happens....

If you do take him to the vet and the vet does a visual and gives you his opinion you do not have to do a bunch of meds if you don't want to...if what the vet says does not sit we'll with you it is your choice to not treat at that moment but to rather take the information and research it a bit to make a better informed decision...I mean after all just because someone tells you what they "think" does not mean you have to do what they say...you know what I mean?

Others here have offered up what they think based in what you say and video....now perhaps you may want to re read their posts and take a breath and try to evaluate what you see with your eyes and head and move the human nature side apart that causes us to the to freak out and jump to the doom and gloom side right off....

If he is normal in all of the other important ways...eating, exercising, basking etc...then perhaps he is just dealing with a thing....just as other critters do and not necessarily a fatal situation....I hope all works out well for you both....


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## Madkins007 (May 6, 2012)

I would agree- let the vet look at him. Hands-on by someone with some training is almost always going to be better than an on-line diagnosis based on images and general experience.


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