hi. we just bought an 18 month old horsefield from "strictly exotics" in kirkcaldy,fife for my sons 8th birthday on thursday 19th july, and by the next day,friday 20th, she was blowing bubbles through her nose and is now making squeaking sounds now and again. we are getting rather worried about the wee thing as ive read it may be a respiratory infection and need vet treatment. i was also wondering if the supplier should pay the vet fees in this case? my son would be heartbroken if anything should happen to his wee lisa lol..he had £140 birthday money to spend and had his heart set on a tortoise..obviously we will pay the vets fees if we have to  but i think its a bit unfair to pay vet fees due to illness  so soon after a purchase..we explained to the supplier that we could not buy the neccessary lighting until the following monday so we were sold the tortoise and a heat mat plus some aspen shavings, and told that the tortoise should be okay until we bought the UVB/UVA lighting and basking lights..i thought initially that the tortoise was just adjusting to her new home as she came from a warm vivarium and travelled through to our home and she is now in a tortoise table set up..she is not eating either and spends her time sitting still in the shade..i have removed the heatmat as advice i received told me that the underside could receive thermal burns and she should only be heated from above..id be grateful if anyone could give us any advice they may have..thanks very much.

Please see my recent entries under Bubblenose to see if any help in your situation. DJ

Hi
Unfortunately this is a story that is told so many times!!! I think firstly and most urgently you need to see a specialist vet before this turns into pneumonia. Make sure you keep him warm and well hydrated until you can get an appointment.
Heatmats can not only cause burns but they ferment the food inside the gut, so lots of reasons why they should not have them, I am not saying they are completely bad, as used on the wall or controlled are useful in rehabilitation situations. Regards compensation, I would be very suprised if the suppliers will pay your vet fees, but you could go under the trading standards, and if you can get the vet to say he had this before you had him, then I would image you could go for that you were sold goods that were not uo to standard, worth a try.
Let us know how you get on
Jane