R.I!

[12kslr33]

How are these caused as my setup is exactly how it should be, all temps everything, could it have already had 1 from the pet shop i got it from??? Only had him like 2 months!!! What can i do until i get paid that will help him??? Cant really afford vets untill i get paid as i just had to pay an excess for my car insurance (genuine reason, not just because i dont want to spend loads of money) how much is it roughly going to cost after taking him to the vets???

[fantapants]

RIs can be cause by stress aswell as husbandry problems. a torts metabolism is quite slow so a problem that visually shows itself today could have been caused weeks or months ago. do you spray the substrate daily to reduce dust?? if the nasal discharge is a little bit and clear, increase the temps and look at your substrate. if the discharge is NOT clear, is bubbly or the animal has trouble breathing, then vets ASAP as they can rapidly deteriorate and develop pneumonia. that is fatal unless treated ASAP. every second counts so explain to your vet about being broke, you wont be the first or the last. but they will see that the animal is more important and hopefully come to some sort of an arrangement. a consult should cost between £15 and £38 and meds will be extra. aslo try to take some tortoise poo with you, the fresher the better.

let us know how you get on

[12kslr33]

Sorry forgot to metion i have a turtle not a tortoise! would it be much different??? Doesnt have any discharge just looks like he gasps for breath every now and then!

[fantapants]

also, you say your setup is as it should be, but we could still do with knowing what this setup is, whats on the floor, the temps under the basking lamp, the food offered, how long the lights are on.

basically as much info as you can think of and maybe some pics too. hope fully it will be something simple and we can help you to correct any problems or suggest an improvement. MUCH better than him having a full blown Ri. dont worry about feeling like you have done anything wrong either, we have ALL been there and thats what we are all her efor, to learn more and correct any problems through sharing advice and techniques.

[fantapants]

a turtle, makes a HUGE difference! the man you need to speak to would be graham, or EJ. there are a few different turtle people on her but i am not one of them. tortoise girl, me! good luck though and hopefully somebody will be along to help you out!

[Graham]

If you've only had them 2 months it's quite likely that it had it when you bought it, many young turts die from RI shortly after being bought, and their owners typically have no idea what they died from or why.

What exactly is your setup, and what are the temps?

I told you what you need to do in your other thread, separate them, raise the temps, and observe strict quarantine. If you can't afford to take it to a vet then that's all you can do, but from the sound of it things may have already gone too far for this treatment to be successful, if you want it to live then veterinary treatment is essential.

I don't know what it'll cost you, last time I had meds for mine it cost £50, but I know other people who've paid as little as £20 for the same treatment, it depends where you live and who your vet is. Maybe you could borrow the money until you get paid?

[12kslr33]

Tank is 3 foot by 1.5 feet and water is 8-9 inches deep. Have a filter, water heater, uv light and household bulb for basking. Water temps are 78 and basking is 88, attached to a thermostat to regulate temps. Have seperated them now, luckily i had spare tropical tank that had a filter and heater. Is there anything i can buy from shops that will help, going to go find a vet that will maybe let me pay as soon as i get paid.

[Graham]

No there's nothing you can buy from a shop that will help, your turt needs antibiotics which you can only get from a vet.

[12kslr33]

Ringing the vets up tommorow, reluctantly borrowing money from parents. Do you think it may be too late? Only 1 of them is sneezing and gasping for air sort of but the lielihood is they both have it just at different stages, what is the chance of treatment working?

[Graham]

If you catch it early enough and treat it with antibiotics then recovery is almost 100%, the earlier it's treated the more chance and quicker the recovery.