Leopard tortoise advice

[Destben]

Hello again,
My leopard tortoise Torterra (still to young to tell if it's a boy or girl but in referring to her as a her) is having some issues. I am still a new to tortoises in general and I have read all of the care sheets on this site. Torterra is making a clicking noise when breathing. I'm scared it might be a RI so I booked her a vet appointment with her family vet just in case. Her eyes are not puffy, no runny nose and she eats a little less then normal but still a healthy amount. She is sleeping a lot but she's a baby so I guess that's normal. I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. She is soaked once a day and dried she has a heat lamp & a UVB bulb lamp and a infrared lamp for at night I keep her enclosure at around mid 80s F with a basking spot of 95-105 F she has reptisoil/cypress bark substrate as well. He did have that red area a couple days ago but it is clearing up nicely, but I will confirm with the vet what that is too while I am there.

 

[Destben]

Also I will be switching the infrared bulb for a ceramic as soon as I can. Thanks again for the advice!

 

[Destben]

(Update) I gave her a good soak at my lunch break and she did have snot come out her nose. Not a bunch and it was milky color and sticky not runny. No more clicking while breathing at the moment but I will check again when I get home from work.

 

[Destben]

Update, she has a RI but it's early and she only has sinus issues at this point. The vet prescribed antibiotics. The shell issue was growth but he gave me a cream to put on it as well.

 

[Tom]

What antibiotic and what method of administration did the vet prescribe?

What is the overnight low in the coldest corner of the enclosure, farthest from the heat lamps?

Its generally a good idea to bump temps up 5-10 degrees F when fighting an RI.

 

[Destben]

She's getting it administered through a shot every 3 days and is already perking up. the lowest corner of the tank gets about 79 F but the areas she hangs out in are between 81F - 105F depending on the spot. I'm watching it religiously with a temperature gun. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Destben]

I will post the prescriptions once I go home for lunch and can look at them.

 

[Destben]

Ceftazidime 1g shot once every 3 days with a total of 6 shots. Then I also got silver sulfadiazine cream for the red flaky parts on the shell.

 

[Tom]

Ceftazidime 1g shot once every 3 days with a total of 6 shots. Then I also got silver sulfadiazine cream for the red flaky parts on the shell.

Thumbs up! There is no emoje on the forum for thumbs up, so I had to spell it out…

I would bump the temps up about 5 degrees all around until two weeks after the symptoms and treatment are over. Soak every day with the higher temps.

One issue I have with vets treating RIs is that they typically are quick to treat the symptoms without ever addressing, discovering and correcting the cause. Why did your tortoise get an RI? It doesn't happen for no reason. They don't get colds like people do. Something in the husbandry is off, and if you don't find and correct that problem, it will just keep happening again and again. Usually it is because they are getting too cool at night in damp conditions. You might need two CHEs to spread the heat out all over the enclosure, or some other form of night heat. Something to look at...

 

[Destben]

I know exactly the night it happened. I had her in her zoo med tortoise house and It got cold one night and dropped into the low 70s high 60s and it scared me really bad. That's why she is temporarily in a reptile tank until the changing temperatures from the seasons are leveled out (like stays cold outside) Its easier to regulate the smaller enclosure because it's hot during the day and really cold at night. That's another reason I have been going home during my lunch hour so I can check on her when it's hottest out. I will be getting a strong ceramic bulb for at night and a stronger day lamp for her as soon as I can.

 

[Tom]

I know exactly the night it happened. I had her in her zoo med tortoise house and It got cold one night and dropped into the low 70s high 60s and it scared me really bad. That's why she is temporarily in a reptile tank until the changing temperatures from the seasons are leveled out (like stays cold outside) Its easier to regulate the smaller enclosure because it's hot during the day and really cold at night. That's another reason I have been going home during my lunch hour so I can check on her when it's hottest out. I will be getting a strong ceramic bulb for at night and a stronger day lamp for her as soon as I can.

All of this is much easier to control and maintain in a closed chamber, and its a much better environment for them.

At least you know what happened...

 

[Destben]

You are a lot more helpful then the vet was though.

 

[Destben]

Would you recommend the Zoo Med Tortoise House? It is really open and hard to regulate from my experience, but i'm still very new to tortoise care.

 

[JoesMum]

Would you recommend the Zoo Med Tortoise House? It is really open and hard to regulate from my experience, but i'm still very new to tortoise care.

Generally no. They're too small for older tortoises and don't have the closed roof for a closed chamber that babies need

 

[Tom]

Would you recommend the Zoo Med Tortoise House? It is really open and hard to regulate from my experience, but i'm still very new to tortoise care.

What Joe's Mum said.

They are a poor design for tortoises. Really not suitable for any size or species.

 

[Destben]

I plan on her being outside most of the time when she's older. I had tried to do a lot of research before purchasing her so I could be prepared and I thought that the tortoise house would be good, but I guess not. Is a Big tub really what I should use? I see a lot of people using them on here. I see the cement mixing tubs as well but I don't believe that would work at the moment just because it's really open too.

 

[Tom]

I plan on her being outside most of the time when she's older. I had tried to do a lot of research before purchasing her so I could be prepared and I thought that the tortoise house would be good, but I guess not. Is a Big tub really what I should use? I see a lot of people using them on here. I see the cement mixing tubs as well but I don't believe that would work at the moment just because it's really open too.

You need a closed chamber:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/our-new-closed-chamber-for-our-new-group-of-tortoises.138430/
Ignore the text and just look at the enclosure here: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/2015-growth-experiment.119874/

Or you can buy one. I have three of these coming soon:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/animal-plastics.149096/

 

[Destben]

Thank you I will look into one.

 

[Destben]

Finally got my enclosed chamber enclosure set up. It’s pretty bare but I will add more later.

 

[Tim Carlisle]

Looks great!