I read alot of Reptiles Magazine and also read alot of reptile related books and watch tv shows etc. I stumbled across the Herpers movies and if you haven’t seen them I highly recommend you give them a watch sometime.
You can see the trailer here and order them from Amazon: (there are currently two available)
Herpers 1 Trailer
Herpers 2 Trailer
Herpers 3 Trailer
Respiratory infection or “RI” for short is one of the main causes of reptile deaths and can be prevented if you know how. A respiratory infection usually occurs when:
Ambient temperature to cool
High humidy/low temperature
Water to cool “aquatic turtles”
Reptiles with respiratory infections exhibit many symptoms or can exhibit none at all. Reptiles often hide symptoms to keep prey from thinking the reptile is sick and weak.
Common symptoms to look for:
Runny nose
Swollen/closed eyes
Frequent yawning/gasping
Sluggish behavior
Not eating
Basking constantly “aquatic turtles”
Respiratory infections can be avoided by maintaining warms temperatures for the specific reptile you own and keeping them dry as well. If you must have high humidity you need to also have high temperature as well. Having high humidity keeps the ambient air moist. Always check your temperature with proper heat/humidity gauges. If you have aquatic turtles then you must keep the water and basking area warm as well. If your aquatic turtle is constantly basking, more than likely the water temperature is to cool.
Respiratory is a fast killer and hard to combat. Once your reptile has a respiratory infection it will most likely die if you do not seek Vet attention immediately especially in young hatchlings.
There has been many factors discussed with pyramiding in Tortoises, if you are unaware of what pyramiding is let me give you an example of a tortoise with and one without or with minor pyramiding.
Below is a Red Foot Tortoise that has pyramiding
Below is what the Red Foot Tortoise should look like
Each square on the shell is called a scute and should be smooth through out the life of the tortoise, if it looks like the first photo you are doing something incorrect. But what causes the problem? How can you correct it if you don’t know the cause of the problem? Well here are some basics on tortoise pyramiding, it is not an exact science quite yet and is still being studied on how to deal with the problem.
Common Problems Are:
Overfeeding
No Calcium Supplementation
No Ultraviolet B Lighting
A High Protein/Low Fiber Diet
Lack of Exercise
(Hydration) Could This Be The Cure?
Tortoise Diet Concerns
Tortoises should be fed a diet that is high fiber and low in protein. I believe the high fiber low protein diet should be followed with all tortoises including Red Foots. This means giving your tortoises tons of grass to eat from your yard. Grass is a main food for most tortoises and they should be allowed to forage or graze just like a cow in a field. I strive very hard to make my tortoises diet almost 85% grass and use fruits and vegetables only as treats to help get them to take Vitamins. The commercial foods may in fact be good for your tortoise even the Zoo-Med and Mazuri but to me nothing beats just plain old grass and you don’t even have to pay for it. After you mow your lawn take the clippings and just toss them in with your tortoise it’s that simple.
Vitamins/Lighting
If you are keeping your tortoise indoors lighting is an absolute must. You need to invest in a powerful UVB producing buld such as Zoo-Med’s Powersun UVB or a bulb from Reptile UV. UVB is a wavelength of light you or I cannot see and your tortoise needs it to keep it’s shell nice and hard and to prevent other problems as well. If you have no UVB and your tortoise is kept indoors and never gets UVB or sunlight I promise you in the future you will have a tortoise that just has a soggy shell and will eventually die. The worse case I have ever seen is a guy on craigslist give away his Sulcata tortoise to me whom had never seen a UVB or sunlight. When I seen it, it broke my heart. The tortoise was about a foot long and the shell was completely flat like a pancake tortoise. When I place my hands under the shell to pick it up my fingers felt like they were going to push through the shell. I cannot stress enough how important it is. Tortoises should also be fed a calcium dust found at any petstore that is calcium non-phosphourous with vitamin d3.
Hydration
My tortoise is a desert tortoise and doesn’t need a water dish it gets all it’s water from it’s food! That’s a load of crap, your tortoise may in fact get water from food and enough to keep it alive but they need water and anyone who has ever told you a tortoise will not drink from a water dish hasn’t had much experience, mine drink from it every day. Much debate has gone on about how humidity and water can help with pyramiding. I have heard of breeders that raise young tortoises with humidity and offering water and being able to feed the tortoise whatever they want and never experience any pyramiding whatsoever. You have other people who will say that to much water will cause internal problems over time. I just don’t find that true at all, I offer my tortoises humidity and water and have never had any problems and they are very healthy and grow up nice and smooth. If you have a desert tortoise keep the temperature decent for the tortoise don’t just toss the hatchling in 10 gallong aquarium with a 150 watt light bulb. Sure it’s getting plenty of heat but your basically placing your tortoise in an easy bake oven. Monitor your temperatures with a temperature gun or even a cheap thermometer.
So who has had experience with pyramiding and what have you found that helps or doesn’t help. And if you disagree with some of the things I may have said please argue your terms with me. I love a good discussion and I can do it without getting ill.
🙂
Reptile Talk Radio is currently seeking co-hosts to help create a weekly podcast dedicated to talking reptiles and supplies. If you are interested I am asking that you comment on this post and let me know. You do not have to be a genius because I am not by any means all I ask is you have a common working knowledge and experience in the reptile field whether it be at a zoo, breeding or just a hobby at home.
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