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Desert Tortoises in Brumation - Question


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Posted by Rachel on December 02, 2001 at 16:37:17:

Hi! I was wondering if someone could help with some questions I have. I have two desert tortoises, one approx. 28 years old and the other 15-18 years old. Two years ago we also had a third, and that summer all became infected with URTI. We went through the antibiotics, flushing mucous membranes, etc. All seemed healthy and recovered and we kept them in the house that winter, checking on them a few times a week. In the spring, the smallest one, that had also been the sickest, became very ill - thick mucous coming out of his mouth (but not his nostrils). We took him to the vet and they gave him a 50/50 chance. Unfortunately, Little Scooter died.

So, the next winter, I started the winter season by keeping the other two in the garage - they had no more signs of infection and had been healthy all summer. After about a month in the garage I noticed their eyes were moist so I brought them in the house, warmed them up and started them on antibiotics again. They lived in the house in the laundry room for the next 4 months - (kind of a pain because they were eating again and they defecated a lot!)
So we've gone through another summer with no symptoms of URTI and now were back to winter again. We have moved and this year we have them in a dog house with a layer of dry dirt that is kept in a storage shed. I'm in CA so it doesn't get too cold compared to the rest of the country, but we have gotten some cold nights, probably down to 40.

We checked them today and one has moist eyes - the skin around the eyes for about 1/4" is wet. The other has moist eyes and also has some "sleep" in his eyes. No vets are open since it's Sunday and the emergency vet on duty is not that familiar with reptiles. My DH thinks I'm overreacting...

Any help would be appreciated. I've read many web sites re: this and still don't have any clear answers. Can healthy desert tortoises' eyes get "wet" during brumation? Or is that always a sign of illness?

Thanks.


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