Need possible URI recurrence guidance- I love my greek tortoise

[Mrs Menth]

Hello-

I am reaching out to the more seasoned tortoise owners. I will start from the beginning. I have a 3-ish year old greek tortoise named Stella whom I love dearly. We have owned her for about 2- she was given to me by a family whose child wouldn't care for her. For the first year we had her she did great. We have her in a very large feeder goldfish tub like you would see in a high end fish store. Its about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide. She lives in cypress wood chips, one half is kept moist and the other dryer. The moist side has the heat lamp.

Towards the end of summer her appetite tanked. I feed her a mix of clover when the weather is ok for her to be outside and field greens from the grocery store without spinach. She is so picky. She will eat it but I am not sure it is enough- she maintained her weight but did not gain or grow noticeably.

Last winter, right before christmas I noticed a draft that went right over her habitat. As soon as we realized this we moved her to a bedroom. However the damage was done and she had a URI- runny nose (always clear mucus) that continued all winter long. She still ate well and I gave her baths every other day and kept her wood chips moist to keep the dust down. Still the mucus persisted and I would often hear her sneezing all night. She help on but lost weight. I continued to feed her the same field greens. Last spring I went to a reptile show and on the advise of a breeder purchased some antibiotics and this worked immediately. Within a week she was fine.

Through this summer I got her outside as much as possible to eat clover as she stopped eating the greens and will only eat raddichio. I have tried to look online if this has enough vitamins for her but can find nothing. I am now trying to get her to eat the greens again but she only eats a little then moves away.

The weather has been chilly suddenly where we live, but no drafts yet. However today I noticed a mucus bubble from her nose and freaked out. I am at a loss as to what to do. I will start the antibiotics again, but i need some more guidance. What can I get from the grocery store that is ok for her to eat- knowing she is picky? I will move her back again to the more enclosed room but I am not sure it is enough. Is there anything that I am missing for her care?

Please help- this tortoise is a much loved pet by my whole family. She knows our voices and wakes up when we all do and comes out to look at us in the morning. I can rub the top of her head and she hangs it our to rub more. She falls asleep when I rub her shell in my lap. I feel like I am failing her somehow- but I'm not sure.

Thanks!!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

I think a bigger habitat is in order, plus more heat inside the habitat. Get yourself an infra-red temp reader gun and see what the temp is all over the floor of the habitat.

When a tortoise doesn't eat, the usual culprit is that it's not warm enough.

 

[Mrs Menth]

I will give this a try- do you think in the winter I should keep heat lamps on both sides of her habitat, or put the 2 next to each other to have a warmer side and a cooler side? What would you recommend the heat be for winter? I do have a infra red temp gun. Also the winters here are dry and more heat will dry the chips out more. Should I keep the whole thing moist or still have the 2 sides?

Thank you so much for getting back to me so soon!

 

[domalle]

Hello-
I am reaching out to the more seasoned tortoise owners. I will start from the beginning. I have a 3-ish year old greek tortoise named Stella whom I love dearly. We have owned her for about 2- she was given to me by a family whose child wouldn't care for her. For the first year we had her she did great. We have her in a very large feeder goldfish tub like you would see in a high end fish store. Its about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide. She lives in cypress wood chips, one half is kept moist and the other dryer. The moist side has the heat lamp.

Towards the end of summer her appetite tanked. I feed her a mix of clover when the weather is ok for her to be outside and field greens from the grocery store without spinach. She is so picky. She will eat it but I am not sure it is enough- she maintained her weight but did not gain or grow noticeably.

Last winter, right before christmas I noticed a draft that went right over her habitat. As soon as we realized this we moved her to a bedroom. However the damage was done and she had a URI- runny nose (always clear mucus) that continued all winter long. She still ate well and I gave her baths every other day and kept her wood chips moist to keep the dust down. Still the mucus persisted and I would often hear her sneezing all night. She help on but lost weight. I continued to feed her the same field greens. Last spring I went to a reptile show and on the advise of a breeder purchased some antibiotics and this worked immediately. Within a week she was fine.

Through this summer I got her outside as much as possible to eat clover as she stopped eating the greens and will only eat raddichio. I have tried to look online if this has enough vitamins for her but can find nothing. I am now trying to get her to eat the greens again but she only eats a little then moves away.

The weather has been chilly suddenly where we live, but no drafts yet. However today I noticed a mucus bubble from her nose and freaked out. I am at a loss as to what to do. I will start the antibiotics again, but i need some more guidance. What can I get from the grocery store that is ok for her to eat- knowing she is picky? I will move her back again to the more enclosed room but I am not sure it is enough. Is there anything that I am missing for her care?

Please help- this tortoise is a much loved pet by my whole family. She knows our voices and wakes up when we all do and comes out to look at us in the morning. I can rub the top of her head and she hangs it our to rub more. She falls asleep when I rub her shell in my lap. I feel like I am failing her somehow- but I'm not sure.

Thanks!!

Isn't Yvonne nice? She is right on the money about a raise in temperature. Sometimes that can do the trick all by itself.
But has this little turtle ever been wormed or seen by a veterinary specialist? You clearly love this little animal dearly but the inexperienced probably shouldn't be administering medication without consultation with a professional. One bubble from the nose may mean nothing but if the discharge from the nares continues and becomes voluminous, a vet should be consulted. I wish you the very best. You are clearly a caring family.
And it can be frightening to be threatened with the loss or illness of a dear pet. Good luck.

 

[ascott]

If the tort is showing runny nose (clear)...I would make sure that the entire enclosure is not let to drop below 80 degrees day and night....I also would soak the tort daily in a warm water bath for 30 minutes.....I also would add peat moss to the enclosure so there is something that retains warms better than the wood pieces....the peat moss can be moistened and it hold the moisture well...I would make certain though that the temp is regulated to no less than 80 (hmmm, seems like I may have mentioned this... )....I would give the temps, the substrate and soaks a shot and see if you see any improvements....just what I would do....

 

[Gillian M]

Hi and welcome to the forum! I have noticed that the weather has an effect on torts. Now that it's getting chilly my tort has begun to lose appetite. Could that be the case with yours? I wonder.
Good luck.