Needing help

[JavaAndTurts]

Just bought a month old sulcata born may 26 he keeps his mouth open and kinda breaths weird. I have had turtles but never a tortoise but did do research and the lady told me that his mouth will be open because he is a month old and has to get those jaw muscles going. (I have never heard of that) so I need opinions it seems like he has a underbite aswell

 

[Yvonne G]

They do open mouth breathing when the nasal passages are plugged (R.I?).

Babies move their front legs in and out when they breathe (perfectly normal).

 

[JavaAndTurts]

It’s like he can’t close his mouth and she said I have to feed him soft mushy foods

 

[Tom]

Just bought a month old sulcata born may 26 he keeps his mouth open and kinda breaths weird. I have had turtles but never a tortoise but did do research and the lady told me that his mouth will be open because he is a month old and has to get those jaw muscles going. (I have never heard of that) so I need opinions it seems like he has a underbite aswell

Hello and welcome.

That is absurd. He likely has a respiratory infection. Are you keeping him hot and humid? Over 80 degrees day and night and in a closed chamber?

Unfortunately, almost none of the people breeding this species start the babies correctly. Give these threads a read through for the correct care info:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[TammyJ]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Please try to follow the good advice given right here for your little one's best chance to survive. I don't like how his face looks in the pictures. The person you got him from told you foolishness!

 

[wellington]

I know this may not be what you want to do, but I would return the tort and wait to buy from a reputable breeder that actually knows what they are doing, does it right and doesn't lie and give the buyer a line of crap.

 

[JavaAndTurts]

He is super active right now I don’t see any bubbling of nose or mouth eyes look clear and bright I’m thinking it could be a birth defect he also has jagged “teeth” and a underbite let me get a good picture of his face

 

[JavaAndTurts]

I don’t mind keeping him the lady didn’t charge me a whole bunch it was 100$ but I have had special needs reptiles before the turtle in my pfp was my box turtle that had dwarfism and didn’t grow more than 10 grams a year

 

[TammyJ]

Always useful to have pictures.

 

[TammyJ]

Always useful to have pictures. If his nostrils are blocked, then he is breathing through his open mouth.

 

[TammyJ]

Always useful to have pictures. If his nostrils are blocked, then he is breathing through his open mouth.

That's what Yvonne said.

 

[JavaAndTurts]

They don’t look blocked he is eating some finely chopped kale he can’t close his mouth very good

 

[JavaAndTurts]

I wish we could put videos on here because it’s hard to explain he is trying hard to eat it’s like his mouth can’t close all the way do you think he could be deficient in anything

 

[Raquel1978]

I wish we could put videos on here because it’s hard to explain he is trying hard to eat it’s like his mouth can’t close all the way do you think he could be deficient in anything

Their does look like theirs something strange going on with his jaw,.. You can post videos I'm not completely sure myself how to think you have to upload to YouTube first..

 

[Yvonne G]

You'll have to cut his food up into tiny pieces to help him eat. Looks like he has no 'bite.'

 

[TammyJ]

Can you inspect his skin and legs and see if you notice any yellowish bumps or any missing claws?