Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys,

One of my baby sulcatas stopped eating a few days ago, and doesn't move around much...spending most of the day sleeping (eyes closed). Today, I soaked him for about an hour and noticed that he did these little neck jerks where he would push his head out really quickly and then retract. It seemed like he was sneezing or coughing. Whenever I picked him up and put him on dry land, he would stand tall with his forearms straight down and his head held high.

I'm taking him to the vet Monday morning but right now is there anything I can do to keep him stable? I'm afraid it's a respiratory problem either due to cold or maybe too dry an environment? What about his strange stance?

Thanks for the responses.

Sounds like you're doing all you can. Is it a hatchling? I've had a few do that in the past, and it is usually not a good sign. Hatchlings have a high mortality rate as it is, and once they contract an illness or suffer a deficiency of any kind, that mortality rate tends to skyrocket. However, I haven't seen your tortoise, so I couldn't say for sure what will happen. Hopefully by now, you've taken the animal to the vet. How is it doing?

T.G.

Took it to the vet today for an emergency checkup. He told me over the phone that it was basically a coin-toss with these guys at that stage. And that it was a general infection that could lead to respiratory illness, GI problems, immune system weakening, etc. As I expected, he prescribed shots of Baytril to be administered every other day. However, I'm not so sure that would help since I read somewhere that Baytril isn't effective in sulcatas. When I got to the vet, the techs there gave me a few caresheets (which I already have) and didn't tell me anything I didn't already know (proper diet, lighting, etc). I wanted to talk to the vet himself but it seemed like he was too busy. I took the Baytril and left.

Hopefully, this would help a bit. I keep thinking I'm doing something wrong with husbandry since this always happens when I keep sulcatas. But my leopards are doing fine and so are my redfoots (though I know they have different requirements).

Thanks.