Greek tortoise has a cold, please advise

[flannelsaurus]

Hi everyone,

I am out of town but my husband told me this morning that my little Henry is making a bit of a noise with his breathing. No bubbles, just a little sniffle.

Based on what I read here, hubby placed him in a warm bath, dried him under the light, and put blankets under his enclosure to keep him off the tile floor in our new home which tends to be chill. We have moved his hide box much closer to his basking area, and he walked around a few times and has now gone back to sleep. He hasn't eaten since Monday.

Info: we just moved, so his husbandry is a little sub ideal. Cool end of his box is 68, warm end is 85 but am supplementing it asap to get it closer to 100. I purchased a UVB light (slim and long) and calicum powder for his food which I will bring back. He has only a small amount of cypress mulch compared to his new box, and I'm bringing home a lot more so he can burrow more if needed. He's eating cactus, spring mix, and monday he ate a whole dandelion.

Is it possible that he'll bounce back on his own, especially if we can warm him up, or should I bring him to the reptile vet ASAP? We are misting his substrate 2x a day and he was soaked this morning, last friday , and last tuesday. (Just got him Sunday the 24th. )

I'm a nervous new turtle mommy with limited internet access, so sorry for the delay to any questions you might have for me. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Alanna:

You need to warm that habitat up. Get it up off the floor. I'm pretty sure if you make him warmer, the breathing will improve. I know its hard to get settled when you're in the middle of a move, but its very important to take care of the animals' needs first!

 

[flannelsaurus]

Thank you for the tip! We will get his box up ASAP, very good idea what with heat rising and all. He tolerated actual moving day very well, and he was on the counter in a smaller box but he was walking around so fretfully that I set up a bigger box on the floor. I've got a large table that will hold the big box and have room for his new UVB light. Thanks again for the help, I love my little tort and was so heartbroken to hear about his sniffles.

 

[flannelsaurus]

Update on Henry:

He is much better! He had dinner last night of zucchini with multivitamin and calicum and another warm bath. Today he came out and had a breakfast of cactus and a little more zucchini, and he had another quick warm soak. His basking area is now up to 100 degrees and his UVB is installed and running. He seems to be resting comfortably now.

Thanks for all who read my post and wished us well!