Is lewis still sick?
- Thread starter AshleeSparling
- Start date
Antibiotics generally make them feel nauseated and sick...
AshleeSparling
Member
Is feeling nauseated a reason he would open his mouth like that? I think it's on the exhale, because he makes a whistle on the inhale.
Antibiotics only treat the symptoms. Did you ever discover the cause of the sickness and correct it.
Last I remember you said the tortoise didn't like being kept at the recommended warmer temperatures.
AshleeSparling
Member
I've been keeping him between 86-88° on the hot side, most mornings when we turn his lights on he is in the middle between the warm side directly under the lamps and the cool side directly under the ceiling fan. I changed his substrate, have been keeping his humidity around 50% and have changed his diet. I've been soaking him daily and I even got a 18" uvb bulb. I don't know what could be causing it aside from the things I have already corrected.
What is the temperature on the cool side?
Are you checking that temperature with a thermometer laying oil the floor where the tortoise is?
Is there an area that gets up to 95-100 for the tortoise to warm up above ambient?
AshleeSparling
Member
Yes I am checking the temperature with a thermometer and it's at shell level. no I don't have one on the cool side. If I heat it up in there above 90' he avoids the area and slams on the sides of the enclosure
Not at shell level. On the floor where the tortoise's plastron is touching. Just lay the thermometer on its back on the floor over on the cool side.
@Tom
I recently had to do this myself, and was SO surprised...a couple of tortoises in that shed I'm so proud of stopped eating and Mary was in the sleeping box next to the pig blanket for 3 days w/out moving. So of course I hadda call Y...so she freakin right away says she's too cold...lay a thermometer on the floor right next to her...damn it! The floor has that fluffy pink insulation and I always wondered if all that Sulcata urine over the years would wreck it...anyway...ta da!!! 75 degrees. Holy Sh*t! Frankly, it freaked me out. At that time there were 3 different species of torts in the shed for the winter. 2 had stopped eating. So I did the thermometer thing to the 3 and each spot was too cold for the tort. So then it's an easy fix...but Y's answer came immediately...she makes it seem so easy while I am the chicken who lost her head...lol. So the problem was fixed by stall mats on the floor.
I recently had to do this myself, and was SO surprised...a couple of tortoises in that shed I'm so proud of stopped eating and Mary was in the sleeping box next to the pig blanket for 3 days w/out moving. So of course I hadda call Y...so she freakin right away says she's too cold...lay a thermometer on the floor right next to her...damn it! The floor has that fluffy pink insulation and I always wondered if all that Sulcata urine over the years would wreck it...anyway...ta da!!! 75 degrees. Holy Sh*t! Frankly, it freaked me out. At that time there were 3 different species of torts in the shed for the winter. 2 had stopped eating. So I did the thermometer thing to the 3 and each spot was too cold for the tort. So then it's an easy fix...but Y's answer came immediately...she makes it seem so easy while I am the chicken who lost her head...lol. So the problem was fixed by stall mats on the floor.
I forgot I did this too...
AshleeSparling
Member
Ok, will do. I called the vet and asked about the mycoplasma test, it's very expensive. I'm not sure what they could do for him aside from the test, and it seems no one else is as concerned about him as I am so maybe he doesn't need to go to the vet? I'm not sure. Is his behavior concerning? What should I look for before I worry
Alex and the Redfoot
Well-Known Member
1. If it's a mycoplasmosis, then probably, Lewis is a lifetime carrier. This means that stress and low temperatures can provoke symptoms development again. If that happens, a vet can prescribe a more effective treatment.
2. If Lewis feels better: eyes are clear, no nasal discharge, he behaves like usual and he is eating, drinking, perhaps you might skip a vet visit. Stress might do more harm when he's recovering. And proper husbandry might be more beneficial than visiting a vet.
3. Probably, you need to watch for new symptoms - any mucus or discharge from eyes and nose, behaviour changes like lethargy, loss of appetite. Negative dynamic (new symptoms, severity and persistence of existing symptoms) - is obviously a reason to worry.
You mentioned a ceiling fan in your post. And I guess, it's moving the air up to the ceiling. If it really does any effect then it messes with the humidity and warmth, sucking out humid and hot air out of the enclosure and keeping CHEs working more than expected.
2. If Lewis feels better: eyes are clear, no nasal discharge, he behaves like usual and he is eating, drinking, perhaps you might skip a vet visit. Stress might do more harm when he's recovering. And proper husbandry might be more beneficial than visiting a vet.
3. Probably, you need to watch for new symptoms - any mucus or discharge from eyes and nose, behaviour changes like lethargy, loss of appetite. Negative dynamic (new symptoms, severity and persistence of existing symptoms) - is obviously a reason to worry.
You mentioned a ceiling fan in your post. And I guess, it's moving the air up to the ceiling. If it really does any effect then it messes with the humidity and warmth, sucking out humid and hot air out of the enclosure and keeping CHEs working more than expected.
AshleeSparling
Member
I've turned off the ceiling fan. His wheeze seems to be going away, but how much should they sleep a day? He sleeps a lot. Almost everyime I see him he's sleeping.
AshleeSparling
Member
It's extremely difficult for me to tell if he's sick. He just isn't acting like he used to 3+ months ago. He sleeps a lot more, he breathes extremely loud, he doesn't really rub against me anymore like he used to.
Alex and the Redfoot
Well-Known Member
I don't have hands-on experience with recovering tortoises. But he might be sleeping a lot if he's not warm enough: please, check floor temperatures like Tom suggested above (and Maggie proved with her case).
I hope his behavior changed only temporary: illness, vet visits, injections, experiments with heating, soaking, lack of walks outside - that's a lot of changes. He needs some time to settle down again.
I hope his behavior changed only temporary: illness, vet visits, injections, experiments with heating, soaking, lack of walks outside - that's a lot of changes. He needs some time to settle down again.
AshleeSparling
Member
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AshleeSparling
Member
Took mine about a month to get back to normal. One month is an incredibly long time to be feeling bad. Increasing heat is what I hear helps a lot as well.
I can only refer to my single instance of experience but normally between 5pm and 9 am, he is in the doggie bed clean and covered up so that's 16 hours of rest, quiet, warm and dark right there. The other 8 hours he usually has breakfast in bed (ramp to the doggie bed) then goes to the office and usually gets a drink then warms up under the light until 12 or 1. After 1 he decides if he wants to go outside. Today it was in the 50's and sunny so he stayed out for an hour and ate grass the whole time. After he walks back to the mat/door we let him in and he walked to the wood stove where he rested and warmed up until 4:00. At 4:00 he walked by himself to the doggie bed and went to sleep. Most days he gets a soak and pees and expels urates but usually doesn't poop. That's during the day in his spot in the office. This means that about 20-22 hours a day they are resting/growing, enjoying their life. AAAANNNDDD he's feeling great. When he was not feeling sick eating and drinking were enough of a chore for him and he was active maybe an hour and a half a day even if he was awake for 3-4 hours.
The end of an era:
Stove is under 115deg. and he no longer fits as he found out today.
Right now he's in his heated doggy bed with the heat off. 92.5deg.
Normal soak time in a dedicated interrim tub. This is Stumps tub. Figgy has a sink for the moment.
Get's totally annoyed if you drain his hot water. Now he likes the shower wand and even the light massage setting. Doesn't move side to side like he's trying to get away like if you touch or rub the rear of his shell. Even lets really warm water on his head and closes his eyes with his neck stretched out.
1 year and almost 10 months old. 21lbs.
The end of an era:
Stove is under 115deg. and he no longer fits as he found out today.
Right now he's in his heated doggy bed with the heat off. 92.5deg.
Normal soak time in a dedicated interrim tub. This is Stumps tub. Figgy has a sink for the moment.
Get's totally annoyed if you drain his hot water. Now he likes the shower wand and even the light massage setting. Doesn't move side to side like he's trying to get away like if you touch or rub the rear of his shell. Even lets really warm water on his head and closes his eyes with his neck stretched out.
1 year and almost 10 months old. 21lbs.
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