Sulcata Tortoise wheezing

[Devlin2010]

Hi my name is john and i own a sulcata tortoise and he has been wheezing for about a year and i thought it was normal but when i learned it wasnt i was very afraid (im 13 btw) but since my parents wont pay for me taking him to the vet i want to be absolutely certain that he has a respiratory disease before spending my money to get him help i live in CO in the USA so it isnt the warmest here and i heard the cold could get him to catch the disease i have a heat rock that he loves and just got him new floor and cleaned out his entire cage (the stuff im using is moss please tell me if i shouldnt be using that i just bought it from a animal store and they said a turtle could live in it) so please help if you can find the time i would really appreciate it thanks in advance!

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. First, get rid of the heat rock. They are dangerous. He needs a UVB light, not the coil kind, if he lives inside. He also needs to bask under a heat light or the sun to get himself 85 and above to properly digest his food. If he is outside, then He needs a warm place to go to when it is cold. How old and how big is he?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi John, and welcome to the Forum!!

It might be the dry substrate that makes him wheeze. Do you see any discharge from the nose?

I'm thinking that you need to start thinking about how you're going to set him up outside next spring when the weather turns warmer. He really needs to be outside as often as possible.

The "floor" is called substrate. Sorry you've spent your money on moss, because I wish you had bought cypress mulch or orchid bark instead. But lets use the moss for a while and see if the wheezing goes away. Sprinkle some water on it all over the habitat and press it down with your hand to make it sort of compacted.

I'd like to see pictures of your tortoise and where he lives. This helps us be able to give you better information.

 

[ascott]

And if you do wet the moss please take care and be sure to keep the enclosure warm day and night....you will want to make sure that the enclosure does not ever get chilled when it is damp...your tort can get ill if you allow wet and cool....you can use a regular light bulb to generate heat as well as you can get a black light bulb for night time to keep the enclosure warm...both bulbs can be purchased at a .99 cent store or a wal mart/target...also, cover the top of the enclosure about 75 percent with foil to help retain the heat...

Although a regular thermometer is not the best--it can be also purchased at same places as bulbs....and will give you at least an idea of your enclosure temps...