Hermann tortoise has breathing problems

[Washingtonpost77]

I have an adult male Hermmans tortoise who has trouble sometimes breathing.
I think that the problem could be is his larg beek. I just wanted to know if long beaks can cause breathing problems in turtles. I have attached pics of the tortoise.

 

[Yvonne G]

Since they don't breathe through their mouths, I really doubt that has anything to do with it. It's easy enough to trim off that edge. But I suggest you have a vet do it the first time, while you watch.

He may have food or dirt stuck in his nose. And like I said above, since they don't breathe through their mouth, a plugged nose can be pretty harsh on them. You can squirt some sterile saline up each nostril to try to clear it. Give it a good squirt. The nose ends up in the roof of the mouth, so don't worry about squirting it into their lungs.

If it's not plugged it may be a respiratory infection.