I'm quite upset about this. I've never had one of my herps get sick...outside from adopting something that was already ill, and it dying afterwards.

I traded in a pair of Cunningham's skinks, and ended up buying this female red foot tortoise with part of that money. ( Here she is helping my wife scrapbook. )


She is the first tortoise I've ever owned.

So, I set her up in a 90 gallon tank ( pretty tall ) which I had laying around -- bed-a-beast mixed with larger husk fibers, a ramp dish, some hiding spots, etc...

Well, I've been working alot. I worked 22 hours straight on Thursday-Friday, got to sleep for 2 hours, then went back for another 5. When I came home I saw she had her head out of her shell...not like her at all.

Her eyes were swollen shut...I swabbed them open, watched her, and put on terramycin in case of an eye infection.. 5 hours later, she had bubbles coming out of her nose. *sigh...respiratory infection * Then, she was losing large amounts mucus through her mouth...

It was caused, of course, by my lack of care --- her cage just wasn't warm enough, nor humid, because of my absense. ( and this wouldn't be the first time I've had to be focused on work for a while )

So I brought her to the vet this morning -- injected her with Baytil, and will do so for a total of 5 doses, once every 5 days. I am also soaking her in tepid water, which seems to be beneficial, as she passed a massive amount of urine after the vet visit. The only good news here is the vet isn't charging me...

Already, she is holding her head inside -- not laying around --- and no runny nose/mucus for well over 12 hours.

So I should hope things will recover well.

Let this be a lesson -- check temperatures often, even if you've been keeping reptiles for a while. I got lazy, didn't notice her decline....and now I could lose her.

Anyone else have this problem before? I'd like to hear your experience....

-Zeb

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