URGENT PLEASE HELP!!!!

[nicoleandrocky]

PLEASE HELP ME!
I THINK ROCKY IS CHOKING!
HE OPENS HIS MOUTH AND MAKES A WEIRD NOISE, HES GOING MUUUUUUURP MUUURP AND SCRATCHING HIS FACE. PLEASE HELP ME RIGHT NOW!

 

[Jacqui]

First calm down. When he has his mouth open, can you see anything caught there? Was eating or do you even know what he was doing when this first started?

 

[nicoleandrocky]

He was outside and only ate about 4 pieces of grass and when i put him back inside his enclosure he started to do this, is there a way i can open his mouth?

 

[Jacqui]

Yes, you can open his beak. It is easier with two people. Not really sure how to say (write) this correctly for you to understand. If you can firmly, yet gently at the base of his beak apply a little pressure, he may open for you. Some folks also use something like a ink pen cap (the Bic ones) with the long end that you can use to clip it onto a paper. Once more trying to be gentle sorta pry the mouth apart. Be warned, if you do it too hard, you can do jaw/beak damage so be careful. Helps to have the neck stretched out just a little bit.

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So he could have eaten something wrong or even something bad... or it could just be a normal thing. I have had tortoises do what it sounds like Rocky is doing and then whatever the problem was, it righted itself. Is he still doing it? Alot of it? Does he seem distressed to you? (I know your distressed and I am sorry)

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My honest guess, is this will end up being nothing, BUT to give yourself peace of mind, you should see if you can get him in to a Vet if he continues doing this.

 

[nicoleandrocky]

He goes over to his food but i took it away because im not sure what he's doing, if he choking or not. If he still does it around 3 we are taking him

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I hope its nothing :/

 

[Jacqui]

I am not sure, I would remove the food. Sometimes when we get things caught wrong in our throats, eating something can help to move it down or if it's just an irritation, stop that feeling too. Just a thought.

 

[Utah Lynn]

Could he have been gagging on a blade of grass? I agree with jacqui.

 

[nicoleandrocky]

Could he have been gagging on a blade of grass? I agree with jacqui.

No i don't think so, he was fine when i put him in his enclosure then he started to make the weird noise. He is moving around and is alert but every 3 minutes or so he makes the noise. Im not sure what it is at all :/

 

[Jacqui]

Okay it's been another 15 mins, is he seeming to be easing up on the frequency or how hard he is doing it? You calming down?

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sorta a side question, does Rocky have a long beak or can he bite his grass blades into sections? Just asking, because sitting here thinking, I had a sulcata who did this often when fed any food in long lengths. He has a bad bite, so could not effectively bite food into sections. He would then end up having one end way down his throat, while the rest of it was still outside his mouth.

 

[nicoleandrocky]

He finished thankfully! You guys where a big help in calming me down He chews grass in bits im not sure what was wrong..

 

[Jacqui]

Glad that is over. I always think it is like us or any animal, sometimes they just miss swallow or chew and are trying to remove the sensation of it still being there, or to move things on down where they should be. Just like us, it takes awhile for the sensation to leave and for us to stop hacking.

 

[Utah Lynn]

I'm glad to hear that. Now, breathe easy.