Help with Tortoise Health!!!

[Prashant]

Hello all,
Attaching Photos of my baby star tortoises.

I have two star tortoises ayu (male) and Urja(female) mostly 3 months old.

After Diwali festival it seems that urja has little moisture in the nose. saw one little bubble from her nose with half an hour interval.so i have increased the heat source.I do not do this generally as in mumbai 29 degree Celsius is temperature at night.What can i do more cure the runny nose .I always keep them in direct sunlight for half an hour atleast.

And also i could see some brown color spot on the carapace shell is it normal ?


thanks,

 

[RickyGoldsmith]

Nice names you've chosen for your torts.

What do you mean by "I have increased the heat source" ? Do you have them in an enclosure ? Like a dry aquarium or something ?

As for basking, I'm not sure how you keep them. I keep them under sun light, but along with it, I keep a small water pool and a shed area. The torts decide when to bask and when to cool down.

 

[Prashant]

@RickyGoldsmith I have heat bulbs i have put them ON at the night of 60W for heat.I have plastic tub of 3x2 foot as enclosure and have coco coir and some basalt rock and coco chunks also have plate of fresh water everytime. I don't like to give them artificial light to provide heat or UVB they get it from sun directly in the evening and morning.when they dont want heat they go in there hiding area.

I cover the tub 3/4th with bedsheets at night to give them warmth while sleeping.

I keep them under sunlight everyday upto 1hr in the morning (direct tub) which comes at home. soak thrice a week for 20 mins.

I have seen little improvement in the running nose symptom of Urja the nose is less moist than yesterday and less bubbles from mouth.
How can i cure the symptom naturally.any particular food source like Vitamin A will do ? i Dont want them to put under any vaccines.
what about the shell coloring is it normal phenomenon ? also i could see there shell is getting stronger as hard.


thanks,

 

[RickyGoldsmith]

@RickyGoldsmith I have heat bulbs i have put them ON at the night of 60W for heat.I have plastic tub of 3x2 foot as enclosure and have coco coir and some basalt rock and coco chunks also have plate of fresh water everytime. I don't like to give them artificial light to provide heat or UVB they get it from sun directly in the evening and morning.when they dont want heat they go in there hiding area.

I cover the tub 3/4th with bedsheets at night to give them warmth while sleeping.

I keep them under sunlight everyday upto 1hr in the morning (direct tub) which comes at home. soak thrice a week for 20 mins.

I have seen little improvement in the running nose symptom of Urja the nose is less moist than yesterday and less bubbles from mouth.
How can i cure the symptom naturally.any particular food source like Vitamin A will do ? i Dont want them to put under any vaccines.
what about the shell coloring is it normal phenomenon ? also i could see there shell is getting stronger as hard.


thanks,

I too am new so I really can't give you all the answers. In my 2 years, I've realized a couple of things.

• Torts can get prone to infections. So keep their habitat clean. By clean, ensure it is as close to being natural.
  • Don't use chemical products as cleansers. Any substrate you use, be confident that that does not have any chemical treatment.
  • Also ensure that those substrates are not causing trouble to your Torts.
  • In simple, keep it as natural as possible.
• The 2nd things that may cause trouble is stress. But you already mentioned they have enough hiding spots.
• 3rd and the last what I've felt is sunlight. They should have ample natural sunlight. You've confirmed this too.
  • Same goes for hydration, but I think you've covered that too.

I'd just give it a couple of days, ensure it gets its natural sunlight and hope for the best. Out here in India, you should be everything for your tort. You can't rely on the professionals.

 

[RickyGoldsmith]

And I'm not sure why you'd want to have the lights on at night? It is not that the torts have a night bulb available, out in the wild.

In my opinion, keep things as natural as possible, with the exception of safety from predators.

 

[Prashant]

@RickyGoldsmith thanks, I will observe them for 2-3 days and see how do they behave. right now female tries to hide more may be because of running nose symptom.But eats and drinks water correctly. as far as i observe there is not fight between the pair means no to stress. they happily bask when put the light in the night.

 

[Prashant]

@RickyGoldsmith thanks, I will observe them for 2-3 days and see how do they behave. right now female tries to hide more may be because of running nose symptom.But eats and drinks water correctly. as far as i observe there is not fight between the pair means no to stress. they happily bask when put the light in the night.

Hello all need help still the eyes of her are watery i tried keeping her under heat lamp now will try keeping her to the sunlight for 3-4 hrs or else need to find vet for her. Now only thing is her eyes are wet .dont see bubbles from nose but it is moist sometimes,she is eating,drinking water pooping normally.Just not active much,it seems she doesnt like to climb up on the slope she avoids it. any suggestions please let me know ASAP

 

[rest7773]

Is he rubbing his eyes...with regard to bubbles crank up the temp in his enclosure for 2 or 3 days n observe if he has become active or not....m when i say crank up the temp it must be close to 36c....dont turn of thr light at night. Just keep his hide moist n temp closento 36. i am sure he will become active.

 

[Prashant]

@rest7773 yes kinda rubbing there eyes did take them to the vet the doc said female has respitory infection and some extra water in the leg side and male is dehydrated by seeing wrinkles on the legs,also said there is vitamin A deficiency for the female.she also shreded little skin few days back near between throat and ear.
vet provided some amino acid liquid and calcium tab to use while soaking.2 times a day half an hour each time. and have given some nebulization respules to clear respiratory track.
when i keep them for baskin in sunlight in the morning arnd 10 they seem to skip it within 10mins goes to hiding.I keep them for baskin 10-11am and 3.30-4.30pm.

i dont how to check below can you help

1.How to check whether tortoise is hydrated
2.Symptoms for Vitamin A, D3 deficiencies
3They dont seem to come out of water while soaking .water level is till marginals are emerged in lukewarm water


vet said period to cure them is arnd 2 months

 

[RickyGoldsmith]

I'm sorry to hear that your tort hasn't had a quick recovery yet @Prashant
But I really don't have any more inputs. You kept mentioning enclosure. Where are you based out of ? I'm curious of the climate.
My torts live in India. But I don't have any enclosure for them. I keep them in a relatively safe (from predators) area, where I've put some trays with natural soil with natural weed in it. Things have worked well for them so far. So I really don't want to give any advise with zero experience on enclosures.

 

[RickyGoldsmith]

Here's what I just read now, in one of the link that @JoesMum shared. And I tend to agree with it. I have a very similar setup, but a smaller one. Eventually, I desire to have a table setup, as is described here.

Constructing an indoor unit
Many people assume that a glass fish tank will make an ideal vivarium
for young tortoises, but these are unsuitable and should be avoided.
Something which is more open and airy provides a healthier
9atmosphere and is easier to keep clean. An open topped table
arrangement allows the tortoises to move closer to or away from the
heat and hence they can control their own temperature (‘thermo-
regulate’) as they do in their natural habitat. In an enclosed unit, a
tortoise is unable to move away from the heat; please don’t use one!
This potting bench, found in a garden centre, needs little more than
slightly higher walls and a front strip, to be ready to use and is a cheap
and easy option.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

@rest7773 yes kinda rubbing there eyes did take them to the vet the doc said female has respitory infection and some extra water in the leg side and male is dehydrated by seeing wrinkles on the legs,also said there is vitamin A deficiency for the female.she also shreded little skin few days back near between throat and ear.
vet provided some amino acid liquid and calcium tab to use while soaking.2 times a day half an hour each time. and have given some nebulization respules to clear respiratory track.
when i keep them for baskin in sunlight in the morning arnd 10 they seem to skip it within 10mins goes to hiding.I keep them for baskin 10-11am and 3.30-4.30pm.

i dont how to check below can you help

1.How to check whether tortoise is hydrated
2.Symptoms for Vitamin A, D3 deficiencies
3They dont seem to come out of water while soaking .water level is till marginals are emerged in lukewarm water


vet said period to cure them is arnd 2 months

It's a pretty good idea to have an closed chamber for this species to keep the necessary humidity. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/
An aquarium/ vivarium is fine if it's big enough as this can be easily covered, too much moisture will escape from a tortoise table.
Your tortoise will not sleep properly at night without complete darkness. If you need extra heat at night use a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) fitted to a thermostat.