Charsuibun
New Member
My tortoise seems to have another infection and I'm at a bit of a loss to work out why.
She finished a course of antibiotics just over a month ago, and it seemed that she was back to normal.
Yesterday I noticed her doing the same open mouth 'gasping' with a sort of clicking noise and took her straight back to the vets and they've confirmed she definitely has an infection. I've no idea if it's the same one or a new one, but I can't see any reason for it.
Other than the open mouth (and the bubbles my vet saw at the back of her throat) she has no other symptoms.
I use coco coir for substrate and dampen it down (just to stop it from getting too dry, not wet) but I think I'll switch this out for top soil or mix the two.
Under her heat lamp I stick to the high 30's (celcius) and the cool end is at around 20-25. Her heat lamp is on a 12hr timer.
Our heating is set to switch on when it drops below 19c so I think she's okay at night.
She really hates being in water, no matter the temperature so I try to give her short baths on a regular basis (she must drink as she's not dehydrated, and it's usually long enough for her to poop if she needs to).
I try and make sure I pick up all left over food and any poo/urates as soon as I see them. I deep clean her table monthly using a reptile safe disinfectant.
Her table is near the backdoor, but we make a point of not leaving it open unless it's warm enough outside - I don't imagine that could contribute, but I could be wrong.
Please critique anything that I could be doing wrong, or anything you think might be contributing to this infection. I'm desperate to help her get better.
Thank you.
She finished a course of antibiotics just over a month ago, and it seemed that she was back to normal.
Yesterday I noticed her doing the same open mouth 'gasping' with a sort of clicking noise and took her straight back to the vets and they've confirmed she definitely has an infection. I've no idea if it's the same one or a new one, but I can't see any reason for it.
Other than the open mouth (and the bubbles my vet saw at the back of her throat) she has no other symptoms.
I use coco coir for substrate and dampen it down (just to stop it from getting too dry, not wet) but I think I'll switch this out for top soil or mix the two.
Under her heat lamp I stick to the high 30's (celcius) and the cool end is at around 20-25. Her heat lamp is on a 12hr timer.
Our heating is set to switch on when it drops below 19c so I think she's okay at night.
She really hates being in water, no matter the temperature so I try to give her short baths on a regular basis (she must drink as she's not dehydrated, and it's usually long enough for her to poop if she needs to).
I try and make sure I pick up all left over food and any poo/urates as soon as I see them. I deep clean her table monthly using a reptile safe disinfectant.
Her table is near the backdoor, but we make a point of not leaving it open unless it's warm enough outside - I don't imagine that could contribute, but I could be wrong.
Please critique anything that I could be doing wrong, or anything you think might be contributing to this infection. I'm desperate to help her get better.
Thank you.