I see that my baby sulcata is scratching its left eye and keeps blinking it more frequently than the right one. It also appears slightly swollen to me. Sometimes the left eye remains closed. I am really worried. Please advice.
Need urgent help on eye infection for my sulcata hatchling
- Thread starter Tanushree
- Start date
What UVB bulb do you use? Is it a coiled on like this:
Thats usually what causes problems. A picture of the enclosure would help.
And also, what substrate are you using? Sand or a sand mixture?
Tell us more about how you are housing your baby and what the temps are.
Tell us more about how you are housing your baby and what the temps are.
There are no 65 watt UVB bulbs. Perhaps a pic of your bulb would help solve the mystery?
Do they also have a basking area where they can get warmer than 85? Do you let it drop lower than 85 at night?
Because it is just one eye on just one tortoise, I suspect a mechanical injury of some sort. I would recommend a vet exam so they can determine the extent of the damage and prescribe the best course of action. Make sure you use an experienced tortoise vet and I would not allow any "vitamin" injections.
They should not be housed in pairs. Here is a thread explaining more:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pairs.34837/
And a few more that might be useful too:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
Do they also have a basking area where they can get warmer than 85? Do you let it drop lower than 85 at night?
Because it is just one eye on just one tortoise, I suspect a mechanical injury of some sort. I would recommend a vet exam so they can determine the extent of the damage and prescribe the best course of action. Make sure you use an experienced tortoise vet and I would not allow any "vitamin" injections.
They should not be housed in pairs. Here is a thread explaining more:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pairs.34837/
And a few more that might be useful too:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
Looks very dry. Open top? How are you maintaing temps day and night?
How often do you soak the tortoises?
It would help to sink the two bowls down into the substrate so the rim is level with the mulch. It won't hurt anything if they track some mulch into the food or water bowls.
I soak them everyday for 20-30 minutes... also the one shown in the picture is the area where they bask and they have a small hide place where its extremely moist. Please advice, does the basking area have to be moist too? At night the bulb is off, so the temperature is usually 75F. But i make sure it does not fall below 75.
Whats that aluminum with the bulb? That bulb doesn't provide UVB, only UVA.
I would not house them that way. My recommendations are in the threads above. Following them usually leads to healthy thriving babies.
I think 75 is too cool at night for this species, especially with moisture and humidity.
Be aware that your current bulb is an overpriced gimmick and the labeling is meant to confuse new reptile owners into buying it. It will be just fine for heat and light, but I want you to be aware that it will do nothing to meet your tortoises UV needs for D3 synthesis. So you still need a UV bulb (Not the coil type that the pet store will surely offer up...), or you need to be getting your tortoise outside for sunshine in a safe enclosure on a regular basis. Make sure your tortoise doesn't over heat in a pen with no shade, not enough shade, or ambient temps that are too high.
My best guess at your eye issue is still mechanical injury.
Thanks Tom. I have changed the substrate to coco coir now and increased the humidity and trying to maintain the temperature above 80F at night. But the baby is getting lethargic day by day. It opens its eyes for a minute and then is sleeping all day. It has even stopped eating. I tried soaking it with carrots, but no change. Should i take him to the vet?
Absolutely take it to the vet. Make sure you use an exotic vet, not a standard vet. Also, like tom said above, don't let them give your baby a vitamin A injection. That's a very old school way of thinking and it's harmful and can be fatal to them.
Vitamins are either water salable ( like vitamin C) meaning that you process and pee out any extra of that vitamin and you cannot overdose on it. Some vitamins , like vitamin A, are fat salable and you store the extra vitamins in your body. If you have too much you can overdose. It's the same for your tort and too much vitamin A will kill your baby.
It sounds if your guy is getting worse. Not better. In the mean time keep soaking with the carrots, keep it dry at night and bump your temps a few degrees to help it heal. Do you have an exotic vet in your area?
0.0.1 Redfoot (Spike)
0.0.1 Cherryhead Redfoot (Bruce Wayne)
1.0 Sulcata (Hal Jordan)
Vitamins are either water salable ( like vitamin C) meaning that you process and pee out any extra of that vitamin and you cannot overdose on it. Some vitamins , like vitamin A, are fat salable and you store the extra vitamins in your body. If you have too much you can overdose. It's the same for your tort and too much vitamin A will kill your baby.
It sounds if your guy is getting worse. Not better. In the mean time keep soaking with the carrots, keep it dry at night and bump your temps a few degrees to help it heal. Do you have an exotic vet in your area?
0.0.1 Redfoot (Spike)
0.0.1 Cherryhead Redfoot (Bruce Wayne)
1.0 Sulcata (Hal Jordan)
Where did you get this baby? How was it started before you got it?
Have you read this one yet?
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/
If you have a dry started baby and it is suffering from the symptoms described in that thread, no amount of money spent with a vet will save it. If that is not your issue, then proper conditions and hydration should get it back on track and you still don't need a vet. I'm not telling you not to go seek veterinary advice. If it will make you feel better and you can afford it, then go ahead. I am telling you that I have never seen a vet save a HFS baby, even when the bills were in the thousands.
How do i keep it dry at night.. Like on a dry substrate? I'm not sure how the baby was started but i got two and the other one is perfectly healthy in the same conditions... I really don't understand what went wrong suddenly?
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You don't want it dry at night.
An eye infection requires antibiotic eye ointment. You get that from a vet.
Eye wash is good for both injury and infection.
A tortoise with closed eyes won't eat.
An eye infection requires antibiotic eye ointment. You get that from a vet.
Eye wash is good for both injury and infection.
A tortoise with closed eyes won't eat.
