Tortoise Saliva HELP PLS!

[BuffsTorts]

*I just checked on her again and she like yawned her mouth seems full of saliva, and almost a wheeze.
HELP!!! Do I needa get to a vet now!?


Hello all
I got a new female russian yesterday.
She looks good, except for slightly long finger nails.
Perfect beak and shell.
Clear eyes.
Clear nostrils.

But today I noticed she had a tiny bit of bubbly saliva in a corner of her mouth. She has only eaten a few pieces of green since I got her, and has been pretty slow at exploring.

Is this bubble saliva something I need to worry about?
I have never seen it on any of my others.

She is in a 2.5x7 ft enclosure.
She is 100% in quarantine .

 

[Tracy Gould]

I am wondering if she as something stuck in her mouth she could be trying to flush something away.

 

[BuffsTorts]

I am wondering if she as something stuck in her mouth she could be trying to flush something away.

Is a lot of saliva related to any major health concerns? I know foamy nose is...

 

[Tracy Gould]

I am wondering if she as something stuck in her mouth she could be trying to flush something away.

Is a lot of saliva related to any major health concerns? I know foamy nose is...

I am fairly new to torts so i do not know but i am sure there will be a expert along soon.

 

[Yvonne G]

When you get a new tortoise, if the animal was fine when you got it then started showing signs the next day, its always a good idea to check out the way your are keeping the tortoise. What kind of substrate is the tortoise on? Moisture? Food? Check out all those things, THEN start worrying if its sick or not.

Sometimes the stress from being moved from an existing habitat to a new one causes symptoms that mirror a respiratory infection. Without doing a smear and checking it out under a micro-scope, you don't know if your tortoise's symptoms are illness or just from the stress of moving. In my opinion, giving a tortoise antibiotics without knowing for certain 100% that it is sick and needs them, is really hard on the tortoise. Plus you might make him immune to the drug if he ever really needs it in the future.

Give the tortoise a good soak, feed him the proper diet and keep water in his habitat, then leave him alone for a few days for him to settle in and realize he has a new, safe home. But keep a close watch on him just to be sure he's not sick. Overheating is one reason for foam at the mouth.

 

[BuffsTorts]

When you get a new tortoise, if the animal was fine when you got it then started showing signs the next day, its always a good idea to check out the way your are keeping the tortoise. What kind of substrate is the tortoise on? Moisture? Food? Check out all those things, THEN start worrying if its sick or not.

Sometimes the stress from being moved from an existing habitat to a new one causes symptoms that mirror a respiratory infection. Without doing a smear and checking it out under a micro-scope, you don't know if your tortoise's symptoms are illness or just from the stress of moving. In my opinion, giving a tortoise antibiotics without knowing for certain 100% that it is sick and needs them, is really hard on the tortoise. Plus you might make him immune to the drug if he ever really needs it in the future.

Give the tortoise a good soak, feed him the proper diet and keep water in his habitat, then leave him alone for a few days for him to settle in and realize he has a new, safe home. But keep a close watch on him just to be sure he's not sick. Overheating is one reason for foam at the mouth.

THANK YOU!
I do not know why you would think I would rush to a treatment... Vet visit first! Of course I will not treat with out diagnosis.
You response is good news to me though, as I just contacted my vet, and he is closed until Tuesday...

She is on Coir/Soil/Cypress Mulch
2.5x7 ft enclosure
High temp of 94 (right now) As low as almost 70 in one corner, with a few other lights around to scatter the temp 70-95.
The substrate is, maybe a tad dry, I dampened it the day before I got her and have not added more since. I would have this morning, but think I got distracted.
I feed mine a 80% staple of spring mix, with collards dandelion/kale, anything good fresh from the produce section. She has only eaten a single leaf.

I spent 15 minutes inspecting her yesterday, and everything looked good, except long finger nails. I am so worried...

 

[Yvonne G]

THANK YOU!
I do not know why you would think I would rush to a treatment... Vet visit first! Of course I will not treat with out diagnosis.
You response is good news to me though, as I just contacted my vet, and he is closed until Tuesday...



I spent 15 minutes inspecting her yesterday, and everything looked good, except long finger nails. I am so worried...

I usually write my responses to other folks' posts with everyone in the world in mind, not just the person who wrote the original post. Sorry if it sounded like I was picking on you. Quite a few folks see bubbles or foam and immediately get out the antibiotics.

 

[BuffsTorts]

I usually write my responses to other folks' posts with everyone in the world in mind, not just the person who wrote the original post. Sorry if it sounded like I was picking on you. Quite a few folks see bubbles or foam and immediately get out the antibiotics.

Shoot first, ask questions later?
From all my reading, it is always the NOSE that people talk about the RI problem being seen.
So far not a single bubble or any fluid from the nasals.
But when I left my apartment this afternoon for work, there was a lot of saliva, and she would open her mouth and almost squawk. My guess is almost an anthropomorphized caugh... I could see down her throat for a bit, and it appears free of inordinate color, with nothing visible in there.
I came to work a half hour late and gave her a good long warm soaking today. And will now leave her alone 100% until her Vet appointment on Tuesday. Of course still providing food and water...

 

[Kristina]

I usually write my responses to other folks' posts with everyone in the world in mind, not just the person who wrote the original post. Sorry if it sounded like I was picking on you. Quite a few folks see bubbles or foam and immediately get out the antibiotics.

Shoot first, ask questions later?

Not at all. What Yvonne meant is that other people read these threads, and even though she is trying to help you directly, she wants to post information for other people also that may have a similar problem. Our posts on TFO come up on google searches often. If someone googles "tortoise saliva," this thread may come up - and then there is info there for them also.

It wasn't meant as a slight against you, or meant to overshadow the problem you have now. Yvonne was only trying to post as much important information as possible.

I hope your new gal is feeling better soon!

 

[BuffsTorts]

Not at all. What Yvonne meant is that other people read these threads, and even though she is trying to help you directly, she wants to post information for other people also that may have a similar problem. Our posts on TFO come up on google searches often. If someone googles "tortoise saliva," this thread may come up - and then there is info there for them also.
It wasn't meant as a slight against you, or meant to overshadow the problem you have now. Yvonne was only trying to post as much important information as possible.
I hope your new gal is feeling better soon!

Ahhh, I totally understand what she meant. The 'shoot first' comment was a response to her, she was trying to STOP people from shooting first and asking questions later.
I lost a ball python because I let things slide without going to a vet... So now I bank 5 bucks for each pet a week into a 'vet' fund.
No offense to the site, but even if one of yous told me something I thought was serious, I would goto my vet for a second opinion, they love me now that I go at every 'small' thing.
I am eventually looking to start pumping out babies from my 1.4 group now, and if I can not afford a vet for a single tort, I would have to rethink breeding them. Opps off on a tangent.
Bottom line, I love my 4 legged shelled friends to much to NOT spend money on them.
I will let you all know how she is doing over the next few days. Hopefully she will be settled in and I will not have to vet her soo soon after getting, I was planning on a 3 week then a 3 month and finally a 5-6month to confirm she can start to be integrated into my colony.