Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently just aquired to baby tortisis that were born in the spring male and female. They were shipped through UPS in a box with no wholes or anyway for air to get in the box. Thank god they overnighted them to me. Well i am kind of worried about one of them. It is not real active and it likes to keep its eyes closed. I was able to get it to eat a couple bits of a carrott. That is about it. It makes a poping noise when ever taking a breath. Can someone please help me i have just fell in love with it. I really dont want anything to happen to it. I dont know what to do. I contacted the place where i purchased the turtle from and they said if it doesnt get better in about three weeks just to send it back. I really do not feel comfortable doing this. Please someone repond ASAP!!

Thanks Candace

Did you soak this baby when he came home? With babies it's best to soak them in luke warm water every other day or at least a few times a week for 15-20 mins.

What about natural sunlight/heat? This should stimulate them quite a bit.

The popping noise from what I've read may be signs of a respiratory infection, but I've never dealt with that before so I can't be 100 sure.

A vet visit sounds like the key in my opinion.

I have two Yellow Foots and been through this after taking my Tortoises to my parents for a holiday (There was no heating and they sort of got cold) I found only one had an issue with eyes and the other one had cracked lips (I used lip balm for that) After reading lots of books and the like it came down to the following:

Upper respiratory infection
Dehydration
Lack of Vitim A

I found the following fixed my issue -
* Soaking in water for about 15 minutes
* Kept my Tortoises above 65 degrees F (You probably want to go about 80
* watered their box so they are on damp sand instead of dry sand.
* Used saline eye drops

After about a week my tortoise was much better and is now growing very fast.