Unsure of behaviour

[swatata]

Hey everyone! Terry is 3 and this morning she did something I have not seen her do prior. Videos are from her cam so thats why not the best quality. First one she was trying to scratch her neck and extending while opening her mouth several times. Second vid she had a few pellets and when swallowing them she extended her neck again, open mouth and made a squeak sound. After that she ate more and was swallowing normally without problems. Do you guys think something might have been stuck in her throat? Or should i be concerned. I havent seen her do it after she ate and she started roaming around.

Vid1:

Vid2:

 

[swatata]

Adding another video from a few minutes ago doing it again.

 

[RandyTortoise]

It does seem strange. When eating, my gut instinct was the pellet isn’t soft enough or just didn’t go down right. The other shots disprove that.

Maybe she is just stretching her jaws or something. She is a very very healthy looking tortoise so if this is her only issue, I personally won’t worry too much.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

It does seem strange. When eating, my gut instinct was the pellet isn’t soft enough or just didn’t go down right. The other shots disprove that.

Maybe she is just stretching her jaws or something. She is a very very healthy looking tortoise so if this is her only issue, I personally won’t worry too much.

I definitely thought the pellets looking at the video, but not too surethough they aren’t necessarily related, I will say, to me, they didn’t looked soaked enough, they should be super soft, almost mushy.

The behaviour does kind of look like something is stuck in her throat. If you could try having a look in her mouth with a flashlight maybe?

 

[COmtnLady]

To me, it looks like she has something either stuck in her throat, or has scratched it inside so that it hurts to swallow. It does seem to be an irritation.

Let's see what @Yvonne G or @zovick think about this.

Are those real pothos or fake plants?
What is the substrate you are using? It kind of looks like shreds and fibers. It seems possible that that could be blocking or stabbing her when she tries swallowing.
What else is in the enclosure that could be problematic?

 

[swatata]

To me, it looks like she has something either stuck in her throat, or has scratched it inside so that it hurts to swallow. It does seem to be an irritation.

Let's see what @Yvonne G or @zovick think about this.

Are those real pothos or fake plants?
What is the substrate you are using? It kind of looks like shreds and fibers. It seems possible that that could be blocking or stabbing her when she tries swallowing.
What else is in the enclosure that could be problematic?

Plants are fake. Substrate is coco coir, its currently a bit dry as I will be changing it soon. I was also thinking it might have had something stuck in the throat, but I tried to look and couldnt see anything. As of today she stopped doing it and was jist regular yawns. Pellets are pretty soaked, very mushy. She made a small noise today when eating but just once and then all good. She does all her regular stuff. I contacted my vet, they told me not to worry about it unless it continues very often and she starts changing her behaviour. If she had something stuck in her throat it might have already been gone as she has been eating well and no problems there.

 

[COmtnLady]

It would be good to remove the fake plants. Tortoises will try to eat all the things in their enclosures, and since you can't watch them 24/7, they can swallow bits of indigestible plastic and cloth. If you want the fake plants for your own esthetic enjoyment, raise them up higher than the tortoise can reach.





Your substrate doesn't look like coco coir. It is too stringy. Could it be "coco fiber" instead? The coco fibers don't digest, and when swallowed can collect and cause an impaction . Coco coir resembles soil; its a fine-ish, almost like powder, until you make it wet. There are no long fibers or hair-like bits in coco coir. (You do NOT want stringy fibers around your tortoise.)

Some people don't use the coco coir, and only use fir bark/orchid bark instead. I, personally, use a three or four inch layer of damp-to-wet coco coir covered with three or four inches of dry fine grade orchid bark on top.

Also, once I have my substrate established to keep the humidity around 84%, I seldom change the substrate. Everyday I remove spilled food, any fecal waste, and anything else that could decompose or draw insects. I only change the substrate if there is a problem with it (currently its been a couple years since it was last changed).




.

 

[swatata]

It does become a bit stringy when it is dried out. I will make sure to change it to another brand though as this one appears to have too many strings in it. Will order a more finer one. Will just regular orchid bark from the gardening supply stores work? I am running low on one I got before but I remember it was a bit overpriced from a pet store. If I am to get a bigger bag I would prefer the ones from the gardening store but worried if they could have any additives. By the way something else with misting it, she sometimes becomes very active when she sees the mister. Not sure if she likes it or bothers her to be honest, She starts going rapidly towards where the water and mist is coming from the sprayer and is kind of curious about it I guess ash she is trying to reach for it to check what it is and even "hears" or feels it if she is not near it. Not sure if other torts react the same way.

 

[COmtnLady]

Orchid bark is usually a better price at the garden stores, but make sure there is not anything added for plants. Make sure there is no fertilizer, insecticides, or vermiculite (little white pieces to help keep soil looser, is good for plants bad for tortoises), just plain bark bits. Here all the contents are written on the bag, but if it isn't on the bag where you are, the people who work there should know.



Here is a copy of an answer to another member about setting up the kind of humidity that doesn't need misted. I hope it helps.

I buy the coco coir in the 3-brick packages which are a little cheaper and store more easily than the loose type. I also do NOT buy the loose stuff because it is harder to get it soaked well enough the first time , plus there is a "dusty" factor when you try to get it damp (that can cause you to cough like a fool for a bit - think what dusty coco coir does to the poor tortoises who are trying to live on it!). It also takes up a lot more space to store it in that form.

Then I use a very clean, definitely does not have any soap or other type of residue, five gallon bucket (I have two five gallon buckets dedicated to only tortoise substrate, nothing else).

Fill it about half-to-2/3 full of warm water and submerge one of the bricks. Allow it to soak until it has completely fallen apart, with no hard lumps left. You may have to add more water if it expands above the waterline.

Hand-wring-out as much of the water as possible and hand-pack it tightly into the bottom of the enclosure. Begin at one end and work your way to the other end, so that you can see if you got enough of the water out. You don't want standing water visible, especially not when you are finished.

Pack the coco coir about three inches deep. Pack it very firmly.

Next put a two to three inch layer of Orchid Bark/Fir Bark on top and pat it down - this doesn't have to be packed as firmly, but pat it down until it feels even and solid. Some use Cyprus Mulch instead, which is just as good, but I don't care for the swampy smell of the Cyprus Mulch.

Close your enclosure up tight and let it acclimate for several hours, then measure the humidity and heat. If it is too humid when you check, vent it until it is in the range that's best for your tortoise with the lid closed. If not humid enough (a good level is 84% and 84F for hatchlings of all species, and tropical adults) add more water in the corners.

Once its stable, put your tortoise into its new home.

Misting puts droplets into the air. Look at the size of your tortoise's nares (nostrils) and think about the size those droplets are compared to that size. Misting, fogging, or spraying is a little like throwing water in the tortoise's face. As with any animal (even humans), breathing water can cause respiratory infections and lung difficulties.

 

[swatata]

So terry has been fine, she hasn't done what was on the videos for the past days.

As for substrate, every alleged coco coir brick I got has those strings in it that when dry out become very evident. Can anyone recommend a real coco coir that wouldnt have any strings or all of them have them at different amounts?

 

[COmtnLady]

I'm sorry, I don't have any idea how to get what you need where you are. @Alex and the Redfoot might have an idea.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

So terry has been fine, she hasn't done what was on the videos for the past days.

As for substrate, every alleged coco coir brick I got has those strings in it that when dry out become very evident. Can anyone recommend a real coco coir that wouldnt have any strings or all of them have them at different amounts?

All coir has some fibers (some more, some less). Habistat, Reptiblock, ZooMed and Trixie have moderate to low amounts, but you can also find extra-cheap unlabled coir bricks of excellent quality too.

ExoTerra Plantation Soil had a lot of fibers and was hard to rehydrate. Maybe, it was just a bad batch...

 

[swatata]

Great, thanks for the info! Much appreciated! I have also been using the ExoTerra Plantation Soil hence the huge amount of fibres in it.