Anna is Sneezing?

[Joseph K]

So I have a question for the great founts of all tortoise-related wisdom here at the forum. My Anna Karenina has been having this weird recurring issue. First I didn't think much of it, but it comes and goes, and I'm not sure whether to worry.

She makes this repeated loud squawk or breathing sound. Sounds to me like the tortoise equivalent of like when we have a cold and like try to breathe and it sounds stuffy. Then, after making this sound three or four times, she proceeds to sneeze or do something that sounds like a sneeze and pulls her little head inside her shell and opens her mouth just a little bit.

It happened like this for about 15 minutes about three weeks ago. Occasionally I hear the sound again. Tonight she's been going on like this for like 20 minutes.

Otherwise, Anna seems fit as a fiddle. Lots of energy, clear eyes, regular bowel movements, eating like a horse. If anything, my sense is that it scares her when she sneezes it's like a hiccup or almost like an allergy or something. At one point just now she sneezed and then started eating.

But should I worry? Any ideas? Anything would help!! Perhaps I'm the one who needs calming down more than Anna.

Thanks so much in advance foiks. You guys are great. I don't know what I (and Anna) would do without this forum.

 

[Lyn W]

I'm still a novice myself when it comes to tort health, but first thoughts are either RI in which case higher temps and/or a good herp vet will be needed, but as she's otherwise well hopefully not! Or possibly something to do with dry substrate being inhaled and making her sneeze. What are you using?
if you maybe post pics of enclosure and give your 4 temps then more experienced folks can let you know if there's any changes you could make to stop poor Anna sneezing (Bless her!)

 

[jockma]

I don't know about the audible breathing beforehand, Bean does the "shoom" sound as he pulls his head in and smacks his mouth a bit. He usually does it when he's eating or digging around and has food or substrate on his face, I think it gets in his nose and he's just launching it out.

Is it possible that there's some sort of irritant in her enclosure? Dusty substrate that could be getting into her nose, maybe?

 

[Joseph K]

Thanks for the messages! I'm looking into a few of these issues as we speak. Anna has been fine all day today, and she continues to eat and eliminate like a racehorse after the Derby.

I do wonder if something got in her nose.

 

[ascott]

So I have a question for the great founts of all tortoise-related wisdom here at the forum. My Anna Karenina has been having this weird recurring issue. First I didn't think much of it, but it comes and goes, and I'm not sure whether to worry.

She makes this repeated loud squawk or breathing sound. Sounds to me like the tortoise equivalent of like when we have a cold and like try to breathe and it sounds stuffy. Then, after making this sound three or four times, she proceeds to sneeze or do something that sounds like a sneeze and pulls her little head inside her shell and opens her mouth just a little bit.

It happened like this for about 15 minutes about three weeks ago. Occasionally I hear the sound again. Tonight she's been going on like this for like 20 minutes.

Otherwise, Anna seems fit as a fiddle. Lots of energy, clear eyes, regular bowel movements, eating like a horse. If anything, my sense is that it scares her when she sneezes it's like a hiccup or almost like an allergy or something. At one point just now she sneezed and then started eating.

But should I worry? Any ideas? Anything would help!! Perhaps I'm the one who needs calming down more than Anna.

Thanks so much in advance foiks. You guys are great. I don't know what I (and Anna) would do without this forum.

Tortoise sneeze. Does not automatically mean there is something wrong....they live in the dirt, they shove their face in their food....lots of opportunities for sneezing....especially since you say that the tort is business as usual...eating, active and such....no mucus from the nose right? If you are running high humidity just assure that day and night the temps never drop below 80 degrees....

 

[Joseph K]

She does seem totally fine now. I think I'm a bit worried because I'm about to go out of town for two days, and I don't have anyone lined up to watch Anna. She usually eats twice a day, and I don't have an automatic light, so I'm wondering if I should find someone. Otherwise I think I'll be worried.
What do you guys do when you leave town?

 

[JoesMum]

She does seem totally fine now. I think I'm a bit worried because I'm about to go out of town for two days, and I don't have anyone lined up to watch Anna. She usually eats twice a day, and I don't have an automatic light, so I'm wondering if I should find someone. Otherwise I think I'll be worried.
What do you guys do when you leave town?

Put plenty of food in, leave the lights on automatic and just get someone to pop in to check she hasn't tipped over.

 

[Joseph K]

Anna's never tipped over....but that sounds like a good idea.
In the long-run I'm much more worried about her cave. She's outgrown it. Now when she wants to get out she sometimes just drags the thing behind her like a ragdoll.

 

[ascott]

Anna's never tipped over....but that sounds like a good idea.
In the long-run I'm much more worried about her cave. She's outgrown it. Now when she wants to get out she sometimes just drags the thing behind her like a ragdoll.

Sporting a double shell, nice....

Also, if you don't have a reliable sitter set up, perhaps you shut the bright light down and simply put a Ceramic Heat Emitter on and that way the warmth will still be there but the bright light will not ...this way the natural light from the house /sun up and down will be the trigger but the warmth will remain??? I would put very little water in the water dish but I would put a giganto pile of greens and such in a couple places in the enclosure...a tortoise will survive just fine for a couple of days without its human eyeballing it

 

[Lyn W]

......maybe just make her a bigger hide by cutting a door out in an upturned bowl/plastic storage box before you go? That will be one less thing to worry about.?

 

[Joseph K]

Yes, these are great ideas, thanks so much.

So quick update, and forgive me if I sound like an alarmist--I just love Anna so much and would just be bereft if something happened to her.

So this thing with the sneezing or whatever. It accompanies this thing where sometimes she walks around with her mouth like almost slightly open. It's hard to explain and maybe it's just an illusion, but I took her outside for the first time in months today, and she got to walking really fast. I looked over and realized her mouth is like not completely closed.

So we have three intermittent symptoms:
1. Occasional noise, squeaking sound.
2. Occasional retreats into shell where looks like she's sneezing.
3. Occasional slight-open mouth breathing.

When I say slight, I mean like very slight. Like most people probably wouldn't notice at all. Like there's no visible space between upper and lower jaw, but I get the sense a little air can get in and out.

Everything else, as I suggested, looks great.

Any ideas? Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Joseph K]

I hope someone will respond soon; I am getting a bit worried here.

Anna is making that loud squeaky/duck-sound like constantly now. I've been looking at her closely, and she makes the sound when she breathes faster, like her breathing speeds up, her neck gets filled with air, and she makes the squeak. Then, it happens again. Then after about three times, she retreats inward (in her shell) as if sneezing. The best I can describe it is it looks like a hiccup; sounds like a squeak; and then when she retreats looks like a sneeze. During this process she also sometimes opens her mouth.

So symptoms:
hiccup-like breathing/neck movement
squeak sound
sneezing, retreating hard into shell
opens mouth a bit, as if there's something she's trying to expel

No problem eating
No problem with energy
If anything she must looks stressed as hell about this. Like she's in a panic or something.

I feel like I need to call my mobile vet like ASAP.

But, please, any ideas would be MORE than appreciated.

Thanks so much,
J

 

[JoesMum]

Sorry the broadband has gone down in my area and I am trying to do this on a phone with a very bad connection indoors.

Is she otherwise behaving and eating normally?

 

[Joseph K]

First, thank you so much for responding!

Second, yes more or less normal. She's normal, she's normal, and then suddenly that hiccuping and fast breathing starts, then she goes crazy and pulls her head in violently. Then she starts biting as though there's something caught somewhere. Then she brings head back out again and is normal. Repeat cycle.

She ate almost all her food tonight. I gave her a soak. She LOOKS normal.

If anything, she has MORE energy than usual right now because she's so scared. She seems terrified--or just really anxious, I'm not sure.

Thanks much,
J

 

[JoesMum]

I actually don't think you have much to worry about if all other behaviour is normal. Having dealt with a respiratory problem myself, the tort becomes lethargic and stops eating as well. Yours hasn't.

However, you could try filming the behaviour you are concerned about and posting that for us to see.

If you take your tort to a vet, it must be one experienced with tortoises. Many vets know less than you do about tortoises and could end up doing more harm than good.

 

[Joseph K]

I'm going to try to post video. I may fall asleep because it's 6 AM here. I really appreciate this.

 

[Joseph K]

,,,

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_WpBfDdSbU0ZHhMbVdRRUpjbzQ


can you see this?
Not sure if it saved.

 

[Joseph K]

here's another one

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_WpBfDdSbU0S0lheVJpRkRUTk0

 

[JoesMum]

I have never seen that before, but that doesn't mean anything sinister is happening

Hopefully more of the US people are around by now

Tagging @Tom @Yvonne G to see if they can take a look at your video clips.

 

[Lyn W]

Very strange - I have never seen Lola do that, but wondering if she has something small stuck that she is trying to dislodge. Hopefully the more experienced folk will have some ideas, .