Tortoise scratching at his throat

[tortoisemom]

Not sure what this is all about. My 3 year old sulcata has been running his entire neck/ throat along his left arm for the last half hour. I laid down next to him and held food up so that when he opened his mouth, I could see down his throat a bit. There does not seem to be anything that I can see. He is mad that I didn't let him finish the zuccini though... he is still doing it and quite violently. What do you think this is about?

PS- he is trying to sleep and it is waking him up...

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Hi and welcome to TFO...it is hard to diagnose a problem like that without being able to look down his throat, but my "guess" would be that he ate a weed that was 'slightly' toxic and has itching properties. If he is an inside tort I wouldn't have a guess at all. I would give him a long warm soak and wait and see what time changes...

 

[tortoisemom]

He was outside today, but the temps dropped tonight and our neighbor is having the pest guys spray tomorrow, so I brought him inside tonight. I soaked him when I first noticed it cause I thought he had a bad itch or something... still can't really figure it out. Thanks for your thoughts... I'll check on him again in the am before I leave for work to see how he is. Poor guy is still scratching...

 

[bikerchicspain]

It could also be mites, they are ver very tiny specks,
They are usually red, black or white.

It could also be some sort of allergy to something he has rubbed on.
As Maggie said it could even be a plant, but who knows without some sort of picture or video it's totally impossible to diagnose,
So just bathe him and where he is scratching put some cold (not warm) water on it to help soothe.

If he is still doing it a trip to the vets would be a good idea,