I have had a Russian Tortoise for about 3 years and I notice now and then he makes an exhale sound through his nostrils. I always thought this was something natural as I got used to him making this sound but looking further into it I may have concerns that bugger can emerge.
Health concern?
- Thread starter Jaime11
- Start date
Usually when they pull their head in they make a noise.
As long as he is acting normal, eating, pooping, etc, I wouldn't worry about it.
As long as he is acting normal, eating, pooping, etc, I wouldn't worry about it.
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forum!🐢💚
Don’t suppose you’d mind sharing how you’re keeping them? It’s nice to see with new members🙂
What are you temps? Ie basking, overall day temps, night temps?
What kind of lighting/heating are you using?
Indoor or outdoor? What size?
What do you use for substrate?
A photo of your full set up would be great! Would also love to see a pic of your tort🥰
Don’t suppose you’d mind sharing how you’re keeping them? It’s nice to see with new members🙂
What are you temps? Ie basking, overall day temps, night temps?
What kind of lighting/heating are you using?
Indoor or outdoor? What size?
What do you use for substrate?
A photo of your full set up would be great! Would also love to see a pic of your tort🥰
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
Does he do this when pulling his head in or with every breath?
Hello,
Sorry for responding late (wasn’t home), I will attempt to answer these questions best to my ability.
Enclosure:
It is indoors next to a window to allow fresh air.
It is a 24x48 in inches.
I use a substrate by Forest Floor bedding, using half the bag.
Has a food plate and water.
Has a hideout place.
Has a UV lamp turned on for about 7-8 hours a day. Natural sunlight for about 2 hours.
Temperature:
My home is usually about 70°.
UV lamp is at a temperature of 80°.
Diet:
Romaine lettuce.
Radicchio.
Arugula.
Lollo rosso.
Beet root.
Chard.
Calcium powder with vitamins are sprinkled in his food every day.
Hydrated in outdoor water-bowl everyday
Let me know if there are any issues.
Pulling his head in. I rubbed his nostrils and and exhaled.
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
No problem thank you for the reply!
There are a few things that do need addressing, I hope you take no offence in me pointing them out, I promise it’s coming from kindness and to help you avoid any further issues🐢💚
Enclosure size needs to be much bigger, so many places sell them and tell people they’ll be find in 4 or 6 foot exclosures as adults, but it’s simply not the case. They need a bare minimum of an 8x4 foot enclosure, I know that may sound excessive when you consider how small some set ups are, care for them is miles behind where it should be unfortunately, but more and more people are realising how vital the roaming room is for them, they’d roam miles in the wild everyday, it helps them digest their food and maintain muscle strength.
Forest floor is a good substrate choice.
The description of the bulb you’re using sounds like one of those compact all in one uv and heat bulbs, those aren’t appropriate unfortunately, for a basking bulb you want an incandescent floodlight and separate uv in the form of a t5 fluorescent tube light, the Arcadia or zoomed brand are the ones to go for uv wise.
The basking temperature directly under the bulb needs to be in the 95-100f range. The rest of the enclosure ranging 75-80 during the day.
Diet could do with some more variety ideally, it’s good if you can plant your own weeds! Supplement wise, they only need a pinch on 3 feeds a week, every day could be overdoing it, which can be just a bad as undoing it.
I made this thread not too long ago, I think you’ll hopefully find it useful to read through, I go a bit more in depth on the points raised here, including all the correct kinds of equipment, levels, etc, and there’s a really good link for the diet side of things! There’s examples on a cost effective way to give them the size they need🙂
Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors
Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...
tortoiseforum.org
You might also find this one useful to go through, I explain why certain types of equipment aren’t the safest to use, including the bulb types👍amongst other things😊
Common keeping errors
Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...
tortoiseforum.org
Any further questions, please ask away! No rush, take your time going over stuff🥰
COmtnLady
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the Forum!
He's still pretty young, so needs the enclosure to be more humid than an adult does. Perhaps he's just reacting to less humid conditions?
You aren't using any sort of mister or sprayer are you? Those end up going the other way and cause respiratory problems because the air is too wet.
Like everyone above said, as long as he's eating and pooping, etc., its not an acute problem.
Let's figure it out.
Is substrate too dry or too wet?
What is the humidity level?
Do you have a ceramic heat emitter (70 is a little chilly)?
Is it a "Closed top" enclosure?
Is there a draft from the window on him that he can't escape from?
Is the water dish a clay/terracotta saucer big enough for him to sit in/ turn around in/easily get out of if he so desires?
How often and for how long do you soak him each week?
He's not running around on the floor when inside your house, is he? That is dangerous, they can get stepped on, eat something ( a button, a tack, bit of plastic, some stone that tracked in on a shoe sole, etc.) before you can get to them to stop it, get crushed behind doors, other animals can "play" with them, so much more...
Have you had a chance to read through this yet?
tortoiseforum.org
.
He's still pretty young, so needs the enclosure to be more humid than an adult does. Perhaps he's just reacting to less humid conditions?
You aren't using any sort of mister or sprayer are you? Those end up going the other way and cause respiratory problems because the air is too wet.
Like everyone above said, as long as he's eating and pooping, etc., its not an acute problem.
Let's figure it out.
Is substrate too dry or too wet?
What is the humidity level?
Do you have a ceramic heat emitter (70 is a little chilly)?
Is it a "Closed top" enclosure?
Is there a draft from the window on him that he can't escape from?
Is the water dish a clay/terracotta saucer big enough for him to sit in/ turn around in/easily get out of if he so desires?
How often and for how long do you soak him each week?
He's not running around on the floor when inside your house, is he? That is dangerous, they can get stepped on, eat something ( a button, a tack, bit of plastic, some stone that tracked in on a shoe sole, etc.) before you can get to them to stop it, get crushed behind doors, other animals can "play" with them, so much more...
Have you had a chance to read through this yet?
Info For New People. Please Read This First.
Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...
tortoiseforum.org
.
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Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
After re looking at the pics of your tort, I agree with @COmtnLady that your little guy would probably benefit from some higher humidity for a bit longer as they do indeed appear to have some growing to do, so I’ll link this one instead, it’s very similar but a difference in humidity, therefore a tweak with the set up style🙂
tortoiseforum.org
Oh also, do you do weekly soaks? They go a long way in making sure they’re staying nice and hydrated😊
Housing young Russian/Herman
Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...
tortoiseforum.org
Oh also, do you do weekly soaks? They go a long way in making sure they’re staying nice and hydrated😊
