heavy breathing

[heyprettyrave]

is being able to hear your larger tortoises normal? because i can usually almost always hear her breathing, and im not sure if this is something i should be worried about

 

[Yvonne G]

A tortoise can only breathe through its nose and sometimes the nares get plugged up or partially plugged with food or debris. You can flush them out with a couple quick squirts of saline solution. Or look at them under a magnifying glass to see if they need to be cleaned out.

 

[heyprettyrave]

how would you clean it out? wouldnt that be very uncomfortable for the tortoise?

 

[Yvonne G]

If there is an obstruction, its usually right at the front/outside. You can just take a pointed tooth pick or a straight pin and poke at the material. You can be careful not to hurt the tortoise or poke him.

If you mean the quick squirts with saline solution, put the solution into a squeeze bottle and squirt it into the nostrils. This ends up in the roof of the mouth and not down the throat into the lungs, so there is no worry about hurting the tortoise.