New Tortoises - need to get 'em healthy

[koaxfrax]

I just acquired two female hingebacks. Their former home was well postioned in the natural light but I think the benefits might have stopped there. The enclosure is too small and goes all the way to the floor so they stress themselves out trying to get out. The former owners said - "they only eat fruit" .. which was the first thing I learned as a no-no ... so ... We're fixing the food and the light and the size and the humidity and raising the temp while they recover/acclimate ... but one of them has a whistle when she breathes and that concerns me. We're pretty pressed for cash - are there any home remedies for a suspected respiratory infection?

Thanks.
Giratina (hingeback)
Halley (hingback)

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Koaxfrax:

to the forum!!

What a good feeling, huh? Knowing you've rescued a couple of needy tortoises from a fate worse than death! And congrats on doing your homework to try to give them the best care possible.

I don't keep hingeback tortoises, so maybe someone with hingie experience will tell you I'm way off base, but here's what I do for a respiratory infection:

First of all, I'm a turtle/tortoise rescue person and I get in quite a few sick tortoises. If they are eating and otherwise acting normal, with only the wheeze or nasal discharge, I make sure they are a little warmer than usual, and just leave them alone to be a tortoise. Keep handling to a minimum and just let them be. If the discharge turns thick or if the tortoise loses his appetite, then, depending upon the severity of the illness, I will either soak him in Terramycin water soluable powder or give Baytril injections. Baytril is a very strong antibiotic and the injections sting. Sometimes they even cause flesh around the injection site to die. So I usually opt for the soaks first. You can buy the Terramycin powder at a feed store. It is Mfg'd for swine and cattle. It comes in a little foil pouch and costs around $8.

This is the same powder the vet will sell you. You use one quarter teaspoon per quart of warm water. I use a container with a small floor space but with high sides so the tortoise can't climb out. If they drink the water, that's good, but even if they don't drink the water, they do absorb the benefits of the antibiotic through the thin skin under their throat and the thin skin around the cloaca. Contrary to popular belief, tortoises do not drink through their cloaca, but the skin around there is thin enough that the antibiotic is absorbed. I usually leave them in this water for a half hour, more is better. The antibiotic loses it efficacy after about an hour, so longer than that doesn't do much good.

So, to re-cap: Warm the tortoise up a little warmer than normal. Watch him for a few days to see if he doesn't improve on his own. Sometimes wheezing or bubbling nose is just a stress indication and the move might have triggered it. Be sure the husbandry is correct for the species of tortoise you have. If you still notice a problem, then either go to the vet or try the antibiotic listed above.

Yvonne

 

[egyptiandan]

We will need to know what kind of Hingebacks they are to give advice as to living conditions and diet. If you can post pictures of them we should be able to tell what you have.
Hingeback do though eat fruit. Their diet is very similiar to a Redfoot tortoises diet, just a bit more animal protein.

Danny

 

[koaxfrax]

They are forest hingebacks apparently. I put them in a bigger container with a higher edge, put peat/sand substrate and put them in the greenhouse so it's nice and muggy for them. They are immediately happier - moving around, active, the whistling stopped. We put a mister on them off and on through the day.

Please do comment on the food - I could dig up some grubs (we've got a problem with them) and I've got lots of turnip greens growing in the garden ... Tanya

 

[egyptiandan]

They are most likely Kinixys homeana.

I wouldn't use any sand in their substrate. Your better off with just the peat and a top layer of cyprus mulch. They need to be kept very humid, like your doing. They also don't bask, but need to warm up during the day 84 to 88F. They do best without direct light as they are deep forest animals that see very little sunlight. The best choice to keep them warm is a ceramic heat emitter. The screw into a socket, like a light bulb, but only give off heat not light.

Grubs are just fine as long as the lawn hasn't been treated with chemicals to kill them. Turnip greens should only be fed once in a while.
Curly Endive, Escarole, Romaine, Green leaf and Red leaf Lettuces. Dandelion greens are good once a week. Fruits like rasberries, black berries, blue berries, melons, kiwis, figs, peaches and nectrines are all good.

Danny

 

[Jacqui]

Glad you found out before medicating that the whistling most likely was from too dry an environment. I have one that when she came from the rescue we were told she sometimes whistled too. Turns out with her, it's only when she is under stress.

Adding to foods to try would be earthworms, prekilled pinkies/mice, some use the quality dry catfood, fish, butterworms, phoenix worms, snails (beware of flukes), ect for the protein side. Other things to add to Danny's list are strawberries, mango, papaya (my hingebacks new most favorite food), and mushrooms. If you cut the greens up small and then sorta coat it with the fruit, it helps sneak more of the "good" stuff into them.

It's important they have areas to hide in and large enough water area they can spend time soaking. Most tend to be most active in the early morning and late evening hours.

 

[Crazy1]

koaxfrax I do not have any info for you as I do not have hingies but I want to welcome you and Giratina and Halley to the forum.