HELP (runny nose)

[Alaric]

Hi Im new to this Forum , and my Star tortoise is sick . I believe he has some sort of flu ? His eyes is watery and he sometime has ''mucus'' alike us humans when we have a flu, blowing out from his nostril . He has never been sick for the past 16 years . This is the first time i've seen him sick .
Things to note :
He is eating as usual , VERY well .
He sleeps well .
He is active and walks around whenever i bring him out .
He is exposed to sunlight , although when the sun shifts he gets no light , So now i bring him out into the open sun for even more exposure .

Please help with some remedies !

 

[G-stars]

Hello and welcome. Sounds like a respiratory infection. Keep him warm and take him to a vet. Where are you located?

 

[wellington]

Where do you live and what are your temps outside? If it were mine, I would keep him under controlled heat day and night of 85. If it didn't clear up and a couple days or he stopped doing his normal stuff before then, I would get him to a vet.

 

[Alaric]

Hello and welcome. Sounds like a respiratory infection. Keep him warm and take him to a vet. Where are you located?

Yea i figured as much . Yea i keep him warm , i live in Singapore so its actually warm throughout the day and year . I dont know where to take him to. Im not sure the vets in SIngapore treats Star tortoises

Where do you live and what are your temps outside? If it were mine, I would keep him under controlled heat day and night of 85. If it didn't clear up and a couple days or he stopped doing his normal stuff before then, I would get him to a vet.

Singapore and its warm throughout .

 

[Pearly]

Welcome to TFO. Mucous from the nostrils sounds like respiratory infection. Did he/she get too cold? I'd agree with bumping up temps in his enclosure and remember the golden rule of warm soaks until you can get him to the vet. He (she?) may need to be dosed with antibiotic if that is indeed RI (respiratory infection). Can you post pictures of your tort and the enclosure?

 

[Alaric]

Note the mucus

 

[wellington]

Does he seem to be breathing heavy or is there any squeaky noises when he breaths?

 

[Alaric]

Does he seem to be breathing heavy or is there any squeaky noises when he breaths?

Yeah there is occasionally .

 

[wellington]

Give him warm soaks twice a day. Keep him warm, not below 85 day and night. Sometimes noise and sometimes mucus, may not always mean an RI. Keep close eye on him and in the mean time, see if you can find a vet that would have some knowledge of tortoises. Good luck and keep us posted

 

[ascott]

Note the mucus

When do you notice the runny nose most times? Does it occur after the tort eats ?

 

[Alaric]

No it happens most of the time

When do you notice the runny nose most times? Does it occur after the tort eats ?

 

[Yvonne G]

If your tortoise is in the same habitat as the other tortoise in your avatar picture, then he might be sick from mixing species. Tortoises that would never have contact with each other in the wild should never be put in the same habitat together.

You should try to find a vet that can prescribe antibiotics for the tortoise.

 

[ascott]

No it happens most of the time

So, the runny nose appears clear fluid and not gross ....I would bump the temps in the enclosure to assure that the temps don't fall below 80 degrees day and night....I would make sure to soak the tort to assure that the increased temps don't dry him out...I would not freak out at this point, you say that all other elements of the tort are business as usual...good appetite and that tort has bright health eyes...nice texture to the skin and I personally would not jump to a RI...I also would not stress the tort out more by a car ride and further stress at a vet...

Have you changed absolutely ANYTHING about his enclosure or the space he lives in? Anything?

 

[Alaric]

I changed his substrate to soil , and hmm..... and probably as Yvonne mentioned , a new addition to the family a baby Sulcata .
I did not change his food intake .
Oh and i recently gave him to take some calcium powders . Is it possible that he fell sick after taking the powder? Because he was never given any before.

 

[ascott]

I changed his substrate to soil , and hmm..... and probably as Yvonne mentioned , a new addition to the family a baby Sulcata .
I did not change his food intake .
Oh and i recently gave him to take some calcium powders . Is it possible that he fell sick after taking the powder? Because he was never given any before.

My guess would be stress is causing the clear runny nose...and I say this because of the change to the entire substrate, the add of a second tortoise, the newly added calcium...stress to changes as well as changes to new roommate can cause a runny nose....the temperament of these two species is fairly different along with the pure size difference should encourage you to set them each up in their own space....before the health potentially turns even worse for them both....

 

[Alaric]

You think I should separate them ? Is there any solution other than separating ?? Because I really want them to be in the same enclosure ! As I don't have a similar set up built in with a garden etc . If separate , the Sulcata have to live in a slightly smaller container enclosure which I hate to see (

 

[Yvonne G]

It's really not about what YOU want. It's what is best for the tortoises.

 

[Alaric]

Ah okay . Am only afraid he won't have sufficient space to move about .

 

[Joo]

Hi Im new to this Forum , and my Star tortoise is sick . I believe he has some sort of flu ? His eyes is watery and he sometime has ''mucus'' alike us humans when we have a flu, blowing out from his nostril . He has never been sick for the past 16 years . This is the first time i've seen him sick .
Things to note :
He is eating as usual , VERY well .
He sleeps well .
He is active and walks around whenever i bring him out .
He is exposed to sunlight , although when the sun shifts he gets no light , So now i bring him out into the open sun for even more exposure .

Please help with some remedies !

I just PM you.
Thanks to Yvonne and member here who had help me to find a reliable Vet.

 

[Alaric]

Okay an update , I went out to buy a medicine for him from this tortoise expert pet store . It contains Paracetamol , Sodium Benzoate and Ethanol . I have not fed it yet to my tortoise as i'm wary of the ingredients . Advice?