B31415
New Member
Hi all,
My Sulcata Tortoise Littlefoot will be 1 year old this May. He's somewhere around 4-5 inches big.
This morning I had quite the scare when I realized that he had a piece of his Repti-Bark substrate lodged in his mouth. He has used Repti-Bark substrate almost entirely since I have gotten him. I use it because it keeps him clean. He makes a giant mess of wet cocoa coir.
So, when I realized he had something stuck in his mouth I stood by and attempted to let him fix it himself. I waited about five minutes until he started pumping his head in and out of his body. At this point I was very concerned and picked him up in an attempt to help. As I suspected, picking him up in a stressed situation make him bring his head into his body and hiss. It ended up dislodging the wood chip and he swallowed it. After the episode he immediately began eating food I had placed out.
My question is, what else should I have done? Or what could I have done if things didn't resolve themselves? I know tortoise CPR but that' about it. Do I need to change his diet to help him pass the wood chip?
Also, should I change his substrate now that it's the appropriate size to truly choke him?
My Sulcata Tortoise Littlefoot will be 1 year old this May. He's somewhere around 4-5 inches big.
This morning I had quite the scare when I realized that he had a piece of his Repti-Bark substrate lodged in his mouth. He has used Repti-Bark substrate almost entirely since I have gotten him. I use it because it keeps him clean. He makes a giant mess of wet cocoa coir.
So, when I realized he had something stuck in his mouth I stood by and attempted to let him fix it himself. I waited about five minutes until he started pumping his head in and out of his body. At this point I was very concerned and picked him up in an attempt to help. As I suspected, picking him up in a stressed situation make him bring his head into his body and hiss. It ended up dislodging the wood chip and he swallowed it. After the episode he immediately began eating food I had placed out.
My question is, what else should I have done? Or what could I have done if things didn't resolve themselves? I know tortoise CPR but that' about it. Do I need to change his diet to help him pass the wood chip?
Also, should I change his substrate now that it's the appropriate size to truly choke him?