Still occasional wet nose

[Andreotti10]

My young Russian tortoise has an occasional wet nose either in the morning or after a meal. For the rest of the day it doesnt happen at all

I finally took him to a reptile vet here in the north of the UK

I have to say it was excellent £66 I was there for 45 mins. He asked all about my enclosure and did a full health check.

I explained my fear about his wet nose, he examined his nose, mouth, eyes etc and could find no sign at all of any respiratory infection. He did however feel the tortoises shell should be slightly stronger at 14 months old and I’m improving the uv lighting.

I left with total piece of mind, but I’m still scared each time I feed him as that’s when it’s more likely he will have a wet nose. The vet thinks it’s just something that irritates him.

If he did have a respiratory infection I assume the water in his nose would be there all day??? And not just very occasionally?

 

[Gillian M]

@Yvonne G
@Tom

please help.
Thank you.

 

[Tom]

Your substrate is far too dry. It should be damp. When its dry like that it generates dust and the dust irritates their eyes and nasal passages. I speculate that the increased salivary production during meals may be the only time this problem is "visible" to you, but its an issue all the time.

More hydration and humidity will help any baby to thrive.

What type of UV are you using now? The Arcadia 12% HO tube in a reflector fixture is about the best you can get. Long lasting, reliable, effective, and safe.

 

[Andreotti10]

Your substrate is far too dry. It should be damp. When its dry like that it generates dust and the dust irritates their eyes and nasal passages. I speculate that the increased salivary production during meals may be the only time this problem is "visible" to you, but its an issue all the time.

More hydration and humidity will help any baby to thrive.

What type of UV are you using now? The Arcadia 12% HO tube in a reflector fixture is about the best you can get. Long lasting, reliable, effective, and safe.

Hi Tom thanks as always for your help.

Substrate... I remember you saying damp and cold is ideal to make a tortoise sick so I didn’t want to make it too wet???? Or is that ok?

I assumed if he was sleeping in day 19 degrees at night in damp substrate that would be a disaster as you told me most tortoise get infections from cold night time temps.

I have 3 t5 bulbs 12 percent the vet was actually impressed with this choice. However I’m working on improving coverage to ensure his whole enclosure gets uv.

 

[Tom]

Hi Tom thanks as always for your help.

Substrate... I remember you saying damp and cold is ideal to make a tortoise sick so I didn’t want to make it too wet???? Or is that ok?

I assumed if he was sleeping in day 19 degrees at night in damp substrate that would be a disaster as you told me most tortoise get infections from cold night time temps.

I have 3 t5 bulbs 12 percent the vet was actually impressed with this choice. However I’m working on improving coverage to ensure his whole enclosure gets uv.

You only need one UV tube, and it only needs to run for a few hours mid day, assuming you have the height set correctly with a Solarmeter 6.5. It is better if the UV tube does not cover the entire enclosure. They need to be able to get away from the UV.

Cold and wet will make tropical reptiles sick, like sulcata or leopards. Overnight temps on damp substrate for temperate species is totally fine and will not make them sick, as long as they can warm up the next day, each day. You are correct in not wanting to make it too wet, but in your pic it looks totally dry and dusty. Lightly damp is what we are after. Not wet. Try it and see if the wet nose stops after a few days.

 

[Andreotti10]

You only need one UV tube, and it only needs to run for a few hours mid day, assuming you have the height set correctly with a Solarmeter 6.5. It is better if the UV tube does not cover the entire enclosure. They need to be able to get away from the UV.

Cold and wet will make tropical reptiles sick, like sulcata or leopards. Overnight temps on damp substrate for temperate species is totally fine and will not make them sick, as long as they can warm up the next day, each day. You are correct in not wanting to make it too wet, but in your pic it looks totally dry and dusty. Lightly damp is what we are after. Not wet. Try it and see if the wet nose stops after a few days.

Fantastic advice Tom thank you I will start immediately