Anna is Sneezing?

[JoesMum]

Anna takes after her father; she is a night owl. As for darkness, I've heard on good authority that for a few days it might be worth keeping her light ON in the service of BAKING this thing out of her system.

p.s. Don't worry about Anna's sleep schedule. She wakes up late. Like 1 PM.

From whom? Not on here I suspect....

 

[Joseph K]

No. From the people where I got her in the first place. They're good tort keepers. So you're saying I gotta get that light off?

 

[JoesMum]

You are trying to mimic natural day. Your tort doesn't come from the polar regions where there is 24/7 daylight at certain times of year. It comes from tropical forests which aren't that brightly lit at the best of times and the nights are pitch black. Lights off at night

 

[Joseph K]

Okay, okay! But let it be said that I'm only following your advice because you seem smart, you obviously have tort experiences, and because you're from England. My understanding is that the English LOVE tortoises. That it's like a tradition in the English countryside to keep torts. That is an AWESOME tradition. I think tortoises are the most amazing creatures on the planet If I lived in Florida or somewhere remotely tropical, I'd have a herd of redfoots and an Aldabra. Alas, I live in Chicago, where it's cold nine mths. of the year and where nobody knows anything about torts.

 

[JoesMum]

Okay, okay! But let it be said that I'm only following your advice because you seem smart, you obviously have tort experiences, and because you're from England. My understanding is that the English LOVE tortoises. That it's like a tradition in the English countryside to keep torts. That is an AWESOME tradition. I think tortoises are the most amazing creatures on the planet If I lived in Florida or somewhere remotely tropical, I'd have a herd of redfoots and an Aldabra. Alas, I live in Chicago, where it's cold nine mths. of the year and where nobody knows anything about torts.

Don't worry. The one thing you know about this forum is that anyone giving incorrect or bad advice is soon contradicted

 

[Joseph K]

True. But am I right about that English thing?

 

[JoesMum]

Well I'm English that's true and there's a long history or tortoise keeping here. Yes, people do find them cute and the British are very into animal welfare; they look after their pets.

Bad information about tortoise care is just as prevalent here as it is the US sadly. It's based on ignorance rather than lack of care though and, just like you, most are very keen to get it right when they find out.

 

[Joseph K]

Yeah, it's similar to the world of the gym or the world of drug addiction and many other disparate and otherwise-incomparable activities; there's very little like medical/textbook knowledge on torts, so all have come together as community and share what works. The people on here probably know 10 times as much as my vet!

 

[ascott]

Anna takes after her father; she is a night owl. As for darkness, I've heard on good authority that for a few days it might be worth keeping her light ON in the service of BAKING this thing out of her system.

p.s. Don't worry about Anna's sleep schedule. She wakes up late. Like 1 PM.

The information you likely were given is that is a tortoise is ailing then a good practice is to run the temps a bit warmer to ramp up their immune system....but this should not be done with the regular bright daylight heat bulb...there are black night bulbs, ceramic heat emitters and such that can be used to provide warmth but not the bright light.....

This species can be found mucking about a little during night hours....even in the dark....and when there is a full moon they get the natural light from that and I notice they are more active then....but that is something that I have noticed from time to time....their activity level is no where near day hours but not unusual for a bump or two about in the night hours.....

Unlike this species, if I were to see one of the California Desert Tortoise up and about at night here I would be alerted that something is wrong....as that species does not generally come out unless there is a problem....

 

[jockma]

I had a scare with Bean so I can empathize. Another herp vet (not the one I saw) reviewed his blood panel and told me he had liver failure. Even went as far as to say I should come in and plan his diet and care until "the end of his life". Turns out his blood panel was normal and she just didn't know anything about RFs...

I feed Mazuri, sprayed with water and softened. Bean eats it whole. I don't think the Mazuri is the problem, unless it somehow got stuck in her throat and she couldn't dislodge it. Does the fogger have a filter? Is it possible it's dusty/moldy and it's irritating her airways?

 

[Joseph K]

That's insane! Wow. Long live Bean!

I don't have a filter for the fogger. I suppose that is a possible culprit. I do notice that Anna is breathing rather loudly.

 

[jockma]

He'd better!

Try removing the fogger and misting her manually for a few days. Mine breathes loudly and makes odd noises when he's straining for a difficult poop too. Does she stop when you bother her or pick her up?