Sulcata Squeaks

kellyb4be

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Hi-
I've been reading around some other Sulcata squeak threads but I thought I would just bring up my situation to you all for some help:
Spumoni has been squeaking for a little while now. It is usually at randoms time at night (not every night but a night or so a week) and it is usually just one short squeak and then I don't hear it at all. He/she is usually under his/her hide asleep when the squeak occurs. I have been hearing him/her squeak during the day more recently...again, not every day but once in a while. It seems like the squeak occurs if he/she goes into his shell quickly but I never really catch Spumoni in the act during the day time squeaks. When I rush over to his/her enclosure, I just see him/her chilling by his/her basking spot.
I have not observed any nasal discharge (I've attached a picture I took right now...I tried to get up close so you could see the nostrils but I assure you you can see no obstructions, just two nasal holes) and he/she has been pooping, sleeping, walking around, and eating just fine.
I have a small 20 gallon enclosure currently because that is what the person I bought him/her from recommended , but I am in the process of moving Spumoni into a 4 foot enclosure sometime this week. Since his/her enclosure is so small, there is little difference in temperature between the hot spot and cool spot in his enclosure and the temp on both sides reads at about 80/83. At night the temp reads at 75/77. There's a water dish in the enclosure and he/she soaks his/herself in addition to me soaking him/her 2-3 times a week.
Do you think moving to a bigger enclosure with more room for hot and cool spot variation should do the trick? Do you think perhaps this is a bigger health issue? or do you think maybe some sulcatas just squeak and it's a quirk?
I use a 75w Zoomed Repti Basking Spot Lamp for heat and a Exoterra 13w UVB light (not infrared). I bought a Zoomed 60w ceramic heat emitter yesterday..but then when I saw temps were 80 and 75 I figured that using the CHE may cause more harm than good.
He/she also goes outside during the day for a couple hours when it is nice out. I live in IL so it has been around 75-80 degrees outside BUT it has rained. He/she has not been out in the rain but the ground has still been a bit moist- could this be causing the squeaking in some way?
ANYWAY sorry this post is so long...just wanted to try and be as clear as possible because the more posts I read on here, the more worried I get about what the problem could escalate to.
 

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Saleama

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Mine used to make a sound like a tiny bark or a frog croak. Occasionally they would "squeak" as well. I got lots of suggestions about what it could be but I never was able to figure it out. It did eventually stop with business as usuall care. I also have a leo that makes funny noises every so often after eating. None of them have ever acted in any unusual way other than the funny noise. It may be food stuck in their throat or some sort of growth? I never figured it out. If you ever figure it out, let us know.
 

kellyb4be

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Mine used to make a sound like a tiny bark or a frog croak. Occasionally they would "squeak" as well. I got lots of suggestions about what it could be but I never was able to figure it out. It did eventually stop with business as usuall care. I also have a leo that makes funny noises every so often after eating. None of them have ever acted in any unusual way other than the funny noise. It may be food stuck in their throat or some sort of growth? I never figured it out. If you ever figure it out, let us know.

Thanks! Still haven't quite figured it out. I totally know what you're talking about with the frog croak because he was doing that yesterday as well!!! :( That sound stopped after I soaked him and occurred right after he was eating so I think the croaking might be from eating like a pig and getting something stuck.
I took Spumoni to the vet today and the vet said externally he looks great but RIs can always start out slow. He asked if I wanted to do an xray (seldom are there really definite results from xrays) or start a round of antibiotic shots although he wouldn't really recommend either since he looks OK otherwise. I said no since I haven't seen any nasal discharge and he's only 1 year old so I can't really imagine having a ton of shots would feel great for him... poor dude. The vet did recommend bumping up his temps. He seemed to notice the bumped up temps right away and was basking and walking around on the hot side of his enclosure, but I just heard him squeak while he was sleeping again. o_O I'm hoping that bumping the temps will help him out. I'll let you know if I figure anything else out though. He's my first tort (as I have probably already mentioned) so it's driving me NUTS! don't want to see him sick.
 

Saleama

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Thanks! Still haven't quite figured it out. I totally know what you're talking about with the frog croak because he was doing that yesterday as well!!! :( That sound stopped after I soaked him and occurred right after he was eating so I think the croaking might be from eating like a pig and getting something stuck.
I took Spumoni to the vet today and the vet said externally he looks great but RIs can always start out slow. He asked if I wanted to do an xray (seldom are there really definite results from xrays) or start a round of antibiotic shots although he wouldn't really recommend either since he looks OK otherwise. I said no since I haven't seen any nasal discharge and he's only 1 year old so I can't really imagine having a ton of shots would feel great for him... poor dude. The vet did recommend bumping up his temps. He seemed to notice the bumped up temps right away and was basking and walking around on the hot side of his enclosure, but I just heard him squeak while he was sleeping again. o_O I'm hoping that bumping the temps will help him out. I'll let you know if I figure anything else out though. He's my first tort (as I have probably already mentioned) so it's driving me NUTS! don't want to see him sick.
Mine all eventually stopped but every now and then they will croak a bit. The one thing I changed that coincided with them not making the noise was I stopped chopping their food small. Could be something to that. It could also be meaningless, lol. I hope you enjoy your first but remember, tortoises and turtles are like crack. I started with three baby box turtles 3 years ago. I have 14 box turtles and 13 tortoises at my house and another 13 adult box turtles in my uncles garden in Plano.
 

Tom

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Your vet caught it. I was going to say that 75 is too cool for a baby. I never let mine drop below 80. It is very hot in the Sahel where they come from. The largest breeder of sulcatas in the world does not let his baby warehouse get below 80. During the day the ambient climbs as high as 96 before the swamp coolers kick in, and they still have and use their basking lamps at those temps. I would soak daily with the warmer temps. I highly recommend you use that CHE, but stick it on a thermostat like this one:
http://www.lllreptile.com/store/cat...ers/-/zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller/
I would run ambient day and night around 85, at least until that squeak stops.

That 13 watt coil bulb is not good either. Those can burn their eyes. I would not use it any more. If you need indoor UV use a long tube type, or a mercury vapor bulb. With outdoor sunning a couple times a week, you really don't need indoor UV. You will need it come fall though.

These might help you:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/page-5#post-854012
 

kellyb4be

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Thanks Tom - I'll definitely be running out to get a thermostat like the one you suggested ... Your articles are always a huge help and part of the reason my vet visit went rather smoothly because I could actually follow along with his reasoning throughout. I definitely want him/her to be as healthy as possible and you guys have been a huge help since I don't really have any friends or acquaintances with tort experience and the reptile store I bought him from has been kind of limited on knowledge of baby torts. :rolleyes:
 

kellyb4be

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Joined
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OK so far so good with having the CHE on 86 24 hours- heard only one squeak a couple days ago. The vet recommended keeping the temps bumped for 2 weeks - does this sound about right?
ALSO I finally changed the substrate from the rabbit pellet type the reptile store recommended to twice milled cypress mulch (I went to gardening stores and could only find cypress blend and was kinda afraid of what else might be in it..) ANYWAY he's back to making the croaking noises because he keeps trying to eat little pieces of the cypress blend despite having grass and clover in his food bowl still from this morning...is this normal and something that will stop? I soaked him to help him swallow and he would go and eat grass to help it go down but I'm still a little concerned. Again, this is my first tortoise so I may be a little bit paranoid... The croaking is gone and he was able to swallow but I'm just afraid for if he does this and I don't catch it.
 

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