RedFoot is wheezing

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Im curious what others think, but personally now those bubbles are gone, I’d continue just monitoring for now, that’s just me though, we’ll see what the others say

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

hi everyone just updating, Rojita is still active and eating. the vet is suggesting a longer course of antibiotics when I sent her the same image I posted on here. Though she said it could also be an environmental irritation (heat)... Shes still yawning multiple times a day and has watery eyes and rubs her eyes every now and again. No more bubbles as of yet. What do folks think? The vet just sent me these three options. I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt to take her in, maybe make an appointment for next week to see how she continues. These are the options I was given:

1) come in for exam and further discussion
2) restart antibiotics
3) continue to monitor and if concerned reconsider option 1 or 2.

I would take a week or two for observations or until new symptoms occur. Visiting a vet is stressful and doesn't seem necessary at this point (but remember, that we can't see the whole picture from the photos).

Are her eyes stay the same (watery, rubbing) when she's outside?

 

[betweenshells]

I would take a week or two for observations or until new symptoms occur. Visiting a vet is stressful and doesn't seem necessary at this point (but remember, that we can't see the whole picture from the photos).

Are her eyes stay the same (watery, rubbing) when she's outside?

Yes they stay the same outside in addition to the weird clicking noise.

 

[COmtnLady]

Is it possible the lights are affecting/bothering her eyes? I don't remember if we checked that earlier. Or if the substrate might be dusty/have fine particles that can get into her eyes.

What is the substrate?

Is there any cedar anywhere in the enclosure?

I see a fake plant in the background of the most recent pic, so am wondering if there is something else in her environment that shouldn't be there that could be causing irritation.

What are the temps and humidity?

 

[betweenshells]

The light is a tube at the top, nothing bright and doesn’t produce heat either. The substrate is forest floor and coconut coir mixed together. No cedar that I can think of inside but maybe outside? The vet seemed to think the clicking is due to it being spring. The temps are 82 on one side and 86 on the other, the humidity is between 60-80, and with 70 being the average. The thermometer at the center currently reads 73% humidity and 85 degrees. I do have fake plants… how would I know which might not be good for her? Anything y’all would change? She’s also been hanging by her food bowl a lot not sure if she’s hungry but I do feed her everyday. Lately it’s been pellets, hibiscus flowers and collards (when she eats them) and mango

 

[COmtnLady]

Fake plants are bad because at some point a tortoise will try to eat them. Plastic and fabric are not good things for a tortoise to ingest.

Why would she click because its Spring? Besides the fact that you've been talking about it for a while before Spring, what does Spring have to do with anything?

Humidity needs to be 84% all over, 24/7, and heat for a Red Foot needs to be 84F 24/7. The problems could be too dry of air or too cold. How is there that much of a variation in your closed enclosure? It should be tightly closed, no vents or holes or spaces between anything and the outside. That set up holds the heat and humidity inside and fairly evenly.

How much (quantity-wise) are you feeding her? If her shell was a bowl, are you giving her that much every day?

Why is the substrate mixed? That could be the cause of the watering eyes, Coco coir when exposed to air, dries out quickly and acts like dust, "foofing" into the air and settling, which would stick to her eyes and irritate them.

To have a stable humidity its best to have the coco coir soaked, hand wrung out, and packed tightly into the bottom of the enclosure, three or four inches deep. The orchid bark should be a two-to-three inch layer on top of the damp coir so that there is a relatively dry layer for her to walk and sit on (thus not being exposed to shell fungus from not being able to get away from damp substrate.) To correct your situation, use what you have as the damp coco coir layer. Probably make it wetter than what it is now, but you are the one there in person who can tell how damp it is and I can't. It should not be dripping wet, there should be no standing water that you can see in the substrate, but it should be able to pack together tightly, like a snowball. Due to gravity the bottom of that layer will be wetter than the upper part of the coco coir. Pack it in tight. It needs to be deep enough to hold the water that will evaporate up through the top layer and keep your humidity stable. Then put the fresh dry layer of orchid bark on top.

Take a humidity reading two or three times per week for a couple weeks until you have a feel for how long it holds the 84%. Then just take the readings as needed and adjust accordingly. If the humidity drops a couple percentage points, pour a cup of warm water into THE CORNERS ONLY. Let it settle for an hour or two and take another reading. Go slowly with adding water until you have a feel for it, its a pain to get rid of too much water. If its gotten too high, let some evaporate off (vent it by having the top not be sealed like it normally would be). If its still low, add more into the corners, wait, and re-take the readings.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

The light is a tube at the top, nothing bright and doesn’t produce heat either. The substrate is forest floor and coconut coir mixed together. No cedar that I can think of inside but maybe outside? The vet seemed to think the clicking is due to it being spring. The temps are 82 on one side and 86 on the other, the humidity is between 60-80, and with 70 being the average. The thermometer at the center currently reads 73% humidity and 85 degrees. I do have fake plants… how would I know which might not be good for her? Anything y’all would change? She’s also been hanging by her food bowl a lot not sure if she’s hungry but I do feed her everyday. Lately it’s been pellets, hibiscus flowers and collards (when she eats them) and mango

To me sounds good enough. Humidity, as noted above, is a bit lower than desired but not critical. I would just ensure that substrate is damp and packed down. You can use watering can and rinse it or do a turn-over (mix bottom and top layers) if mulch and coir are drying out on top. Once in a month or so it can be done safely (no risk of fungal infections).

If it's "seasonal" clicking - you can try to imitate the sound and see if she reacts. I'm not joking, with some practice it works

 

[betweenshells]

Fake plants are bad because at some point a tortoise will try to eat them. Plastic and fabric are not good things for a tortoise to ingest.

Why would she click because its Spring? Besides the fact that you've been talking about it for a while before Spring, what does Spring have to do with anything?

Humidity needs to be 84% all over, 24/7, and heat for a Red Foot needs to be 84F 24/7. The problems could be too dry of air or too cold. How is there that much of a variation in your closed enclosure? It should be tightly closed, no vents or holes or spaces between anything and the outside. That set up holds the heat and humidity inside and fairly evenly.

How much (quantity-wise) are you feeding her? If her shell was a bowl, are you giving her that much every day?

Why is the substrate mixed? That could be the cause of the watering eyes, Coco coir when exposed to air, dries out quickly and acts like dust, "foofing" into the air and settling, which would stick to her eyes and irritate them.

To have a stable humidity its best to have the coco coir soaked, hand wrung out, and packed tightly into the bottom of the enclosure, three or four inches deep. The orchid bark should be a two-to-three inch layer on top of the damp coir so that there is a relatively dry layer for her to walk and sit on (thus not being exposed to shell fungus from not being able to get away from damp substrate.) To correct your situation, use what you have as the damp coco coir layer. Probably make it wetter than what it is now, but you are the one there in person who can tell how damp it is and I can't. It should not be dripping wet, there should be no standing water that you can see in the substrate, but it should be able to pack together tightly, like a snowball. Due to gravity the bottom of that layer will be wetter than the upper part of the coco coir. Pack it in tight. It needs to be deep enough to hold the water that will evaporate up through the top layer and keep your humidity stable. Then put the fresh dry layer of orchid bark on top.

Take a humidity reading two or three times per week for a couple weeks until you have a feel for how long it holds the 84%. Then just take the readings as needed and adjust accordingly. If the humidity drops a couple percentage points, pour a cup of warm water into THE CORNERS ONLY. Let it settle for an hour or two and take another reading. Go slowly with adding water until you have a feel for it, its a pain to get rid of too much water. If its gotten too high, let some evaporate off (vent it by having the top not be sealed like it normally would be). If its still low, add more into the corners, wait, and re-take the readings.

Thank you so much for all this information! I have never seen her be able to eat any of the plants or even try to but i know they're creatures who love to forage so I wouldn't doubt that she would at some point. I believe a couple of them are fabric, gifts from a fellow reptile keeper and I washed them thoroughly before placing them in there but if it's really not great to have them in there I can definitely take them out with no problem.

I assumed that the vet meant a heightened about of pollen and dust in the air as well as a heavy dryness that has been affecting TX. It does seem to be a clicking that could not be social but a form of clearing her throat or nasal passage from irritation?

I don't think that there's all that much variation. I would say the temp is between 82-86 24/7 and never drops below that. I can definitely try to keep better care of the humidity to keep it up, as well as working on the substrate. there's never any still water in there and the soil is damp and compact, i move it around once a month too so it can breathe. Going to purchase orchid bark and add that this weekend.

I definitely give her the option to eat a tortoise salad the size of her shell but she's been refusing her greens lately. Been trying problem solve that. How many pellets should she eat a day?

Will be working on incorporating your advice! Again, thank you all for supporting Rojita and I through this and making sure she has the best care

 

[betweenshells]

Hi everyone just updating that I was working on Rojitas enclosure this morning, adding mulch to the top layer and just doing general maintenance. I placed her in her outdoor area meanwhile and when I went to check on her briefly she had a bubble in her mouth. She’s still very active and Im almost done placing everything back. Thinking I’ll just get her in to that vet at this point. Thoughts?

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hi everyone just updating that I was working on Rojitas enclosure this morning, adding mulch to the top layer and just doing general maintenance. I placed her in her outdoor area meanwhile and when I went to check on her briefly she had a bubble in her mouth. She’s still very active and Im almost done placing everything back. Thinking I’ll just get her in to that vet at this point. Thoughts?

Yes, a vet visit can be a good idea. At least they can confirm if bubbles are related to RI or not. Maybe they can run some tests, as well.

 

[betweenshells]

Hi everyone,

Rojita is back from the vet today! She will be on the same antibiotic she was just on but for a whole month this time. She got her first dose today. I showed the vet a couple videos of the clicking she's doing outside (which has become less btw) and while she tried to open Rojitas mouth, she let out a few bubbles!! So she thinks that she's made progress from where she was at in January but needs a longer coarse of antibiotic to really get her through this. I could elaborate but I've been running around all day today between work and vet so I'm genuinely exhausted. It's also our third visit to the vet at this point and she's a good drive away. Any thoughts and advice?

I also added the cypress mulch to the top of the substrate she had and added water to the corners. Her humidity has stayed above 80% since then! So amazing tips yall.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hi everyone,

Rojita is back from the vet today! She will be on the same antibiotic she was just on but for a whole month this time. She got her first dose today. I showed the vet a couple videos of the clicking she's doing outside (which has become less btw) and while she tried to open Rojitas mouth, she let out a few bubbles!! So she thinks that she's made progress from where she was at in January but needs a longer coarse of antibiotic to really get her through this. I could elaborate but I've been running around all day today between work and vet so I'm genuinely exhausted. It's also our third visit to the vet at this point and she's a good drive away. Any thoughts and advice?

I also added the cypress mulch to the top of the substrate she had and added water to the corners. Her humidity has stayed above 80% since then! So amazing tips yall.

Thanks for letting us know! Sounds like the best course of action for now, it’s possible her original RI just didn’t completely clear up, keep doing what you’re doing, you’re doing everything we’d all do for our torts, Rojita is honestly so lucky to have such a caring attentive owner, she’s a tough cookie! She’s been a trooper through all this, still eating etc, let’s hope these meds see the rest of her symptoms off

 

[betweenshells]

I’m just at a loss y’all, I noticed Rojita was making some noises this evening and I went to check on her. She was moving her head very rapidly, almost jerking it. I got a video of it…. Hoping to hear back soon. I sent to the vet already

IMG_1316.MOV

drive.google.com

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

You can take a closer look if a piece of mulch or something stuck to her neck. Or gently rinse the eye or flush nostrils with warm clean water (boiled and cooled down).

Keep us updated, please on what vet says.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

You can take a closer look if a piece of mulch or something stuck to her neck. Or gently rinse the eye or flush nostrils with warm clean water (boiled and cooled down).

Keep us updated, please on what vet says.

To me she looked irritated by something, first thought was maybe something in her nasal cavity or top of her mouth, I really do wonder if there’s something caught somewhere causing all this

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I’m just at a loss y’all, I noticed Rojita was making some noises this evening and I went to check on her. She was moving her head very rapidly, almost jerking it. I got a video of it…. Hoping to hear back soon. I sent to the vet already

IMG_1316.MOV

drive.google.com

@Yvonne G @zovick @Tom I don’t suppose you’d mind having a Quick Look at this video? Rojitas owner is very worried, she’s been doing it on and off all night, causing her to scratch her chin.

Temperatures are in good range, substrate and lighting is fine, would you agree it looks like something is irritating her?

 

[zovick]

@Yvonne G @zovick @Tom I don’t suppose you’d mind having a Quick Look at this video? Rojitas owner is very worried, she’s been doing it on and off all night, causing her to scratch her chin.

Temperatures are in good range, substrate and lighting is fine, would you agree it looks like something is irritating her?

Yes, it appears that something is bothering the tortoise. Possibly something is caught in its throat or maybe something has gotten into the eye (although that seems less likely to me). Not exactly sure how to treat this issue, though.

If the tortoise is eating, I would probably give it a good amount of lubricant type food to hopefully push whatever is in the throat down into the stomach. Maybe some cactus pads and/or cucumbers would help.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Yes, it appears that something is bothering the tortoise. Possibly something is caught in its throat or maybe something has gotten into the eye (although that seems less likely to me). Not exactly sure how to treat this issue, though.

If the tortoise is eating, I would probably give it a good amount of lubricant type food to hopefully push whatever is in the throat down into the stomach. Maybe some cactus pads and/or cucumbers would help.

Thank you for the input, I’m glad you agree it’s an irritated behaviour and not a struggle for breath or anything, we’re at a bit of a loss on what’s going on with Rojita

 

[betweenshells]

You can take a closer look if a piece of mulch or something stuck to her neck. Or gently rinse the eye or flush nostrils with warm clean water (boiled and cooled down).

Keep us updated, please on what vet says.

she's yawning fairly often and I don't see anything in there. she's actually pretty strong and i haven't been able to open her mouth. Her vet isn't going to be in until tomorrow morning... so I'll let y'all know as soon as I can. If they want me to bring her in, I will. I asked the vet to do a nasal flush last week but she said that she doesn't think Rojita is having a difficult time breathing thru her nasal cavity.

 

[betweenshells]

Yes, it appears that something is bothering the tortoise. Possibly something is caught in its throat or maybe something has gotten into the eye (although that seems less likely to me). Not exactly sure how to treat this issue, though.

If the tortoise is eating, I would probably give it a good amount of lubricant type food to hopefully push whatever is in the throat down into the stomach. Maybe some cactus pads and/or cucumbers would help.

She's been refusing to eat veggies and greens lately. I've tried and tried... so I gave her soaked pellets.