I think i saved my tortoise's life yesterday. It almost suffocated.

TammyJ · May 28, 2026

Andre1981 said:
I think I saved my tortoise's life yesterday.
It was her fasting day, and she stumbled upon a stray piece of hard droppings. She snapped at it and pulled her head back; because her jaws were still open, her head got wedged between her upper and lower shell. Driven by her biting reflex, she wouldn't let go; she wheezed and thrashed wildly, her eyes squeezed shut.
I kept my cool and tried to pry the piece out using a ballpoint pen, but her bite was too strong. Then I reached for the small pliers on my Swiss Army knife.
She urinated, then retracted her head—along with the piece of droppings—so that I could no longer get a grip on it.
I had read that snakes will let go if you blow firmly in their face, so I gave that a try. No luck. My last resort was the tap. It wasn't until I ran warm water over her face that I was able to break the reflex and get her to let go.
Afterward, I gave her a bath; by then, she had already forgiven me and was wandering around her terrarium quite normally again, even wanting to be petted.
She is 3 years old in July and grew to more than 400 grams (Hermann). I was surprised how hard she can bite if she wants to.
So, take note: check your terrarium regularly for old droppings or hard pellets—they are very easy to overlook.

Hard chunks of anything are definitely a choking hazard! I guess it's a good thing your tortoise didn't actually get this turd stuck in her throat.
Always keep an eye on what is around in the enclosure, and remember not to feed chunks of hard food that can choke the tortoise!
Thank you @Andre1981 .

I think i saved my tortoise's life yesterday. It almost suffocated.

TammyJ

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I think i saved my tortoise's life yesterday. It almost suffocated.

TammyJ

Well-Known Member

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