Sulcata Tortoise Urgent Health Conern

[TCS]

Hi guys,

I'm a new Sulcata tortoise owner and I just picked up my first baby tortoise yesterday at a reptile show (from my local reputable reptile store). Yesterday he was extremely active (pacing up and down my tank, and allowed me to pet its head) but starting today he's been hiding all day.

I noticed his eyes are shut and whenever he moves his eyes stay shut which is really worrying me. He eats when I leave food in front of him but he hasn't drank any water or pooped. He does occasionally sprint to another spot in the tank with his eyes open but then he plops down for hours.

I would greatly appreciate any advice or help on what I should do. Note: Because of the reptile convention in my area all the reptile veterinarians are out until Tuesday

 

[dmmj]

it's most likely a humidity problem. What are you humidity levels at?

 

[TCS]

His humidity ranges from 30% in his hot side to 35% on his cool side. In his hide its about 80% but he has not used it. I make sure to spray down his enclosure two to three times a day and I've given him a warm bath today for 20 minutes.

 

[TCS]

I noticed he has been digging a lot today. I wonder if he's been trying to dig for more humid/wet dirt. I use an all natural reptile substrate (Its the Lugarti brand) which is mostly soil.

 

[saginawhxc]

Can we see some pictures of your set up? We will help you through this the best we can.

First off that humidity is low for a hatchling, let's see if we can get it raised to about 80%, but only if your Temps are above 80f throughout the entire enclosure. Humidity with low temperatures can be very very bad for your tortoise.

What are your basking Temps, cool side temp, and hide Temps? Do you have a source of heat for the night? What are your Temps at night?

 

[cmacusa3]

What are all the temps and what lighting are you using? Is it a closed or open enclosure?

 

[TCS]

Yes of course, I apologize if it looks very bare at the moment since I just picked up all the supplies yesterday but I'll include pictures.

My basking temperature is 107 degrees farenheit, my cool side is 82 degrees farenheit, and his hide temperature is 84 degrees. Last night his temperature dropped to 72 degrees but I purchased a ceramic heating emitter that I will use tonight.

 

[saginawhxc]

Yeah, if you are going to be keeping the enclosure humid (as you should) try to never let that temperature drop below 80. The CHE will really help.

Is your enclosure closed or open? Open enclosures are a pain in the butt to heat properly and nearly impossible to keep humid. The humidity in an open enclosure will almost always match the humidity of the room it is in.

 

[TCS]

My enclosure has a wired mesh lid which I open and close whenever I change something in the enclosure. I sprayed down the enclosure again and brought up the humidity to 100% in his humid hide (where he's been hiding). The overall humidity of the tank now is above 60% but I'm worried since the humidity in my room drops to 30% during the day.

 

[cmacusa3]

That top won't keep the heat and humidity for long, it will drop quickly. Look for the closed chamber thread and that should give you ideas to close up the enclosure. Even with a CHE at night you will still lose a lot of heat.

 

[saginawhxc]

Some people have used tin foil in similar type setups to create a closed type enclosure.

Stop trying to introduce humidity though without bringing that night time temp up. Temps below 80 with high humidity are bad.

You are on the right track worrying about humidity, but let's get those temps right first.

 

[Tom]

Hi guys,

I'm a new Sulcata tortoise owner and I just picked up my first baby tortoise yesterday at a reptile show (from my local reputable reptile store). Yesterday he was extremely active (pacing up and down my tank, and allowed me to pet its head) but starting today he's been hiding all day.

I noticed his eyes are shut and whenever he moves his eyes stay shut which is really worrying me. He eats when I leave food in front of him but he hasn't drank any water or pooped. He does occasionally sprint to another spot in the tank with his eyes open but then he plops down for hours.

I would greatly appreciate any advice or help on what I should do. Note: Because of the reptile convention in my area all the reptile veterinarians are out until Tuesday

Hello and welcome.

Sounds like you've got most of the issues I see either solved or in the process.

Until I know what is in that Lugarti stuff, I won't use it or recommend it. Fine grade orchid bark works best for sulcatas. Is there a sand component in the Lugarti stuff? In addition to being an impaction risk, sand can also be a skin and eye irritant.

What size tank is he in?

What are you using for UV? The coil type bulbs sometime burn their eyes and cause the issues you are seeing.

Read these for up-to-date care info:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Most of the care info you hear for these guys is old, out-dated and based on decades old incorrect assumptions about where they live in the wild.

 

[TCS]

Here is my full enclosure:

 

[saginawhxc]

This is slightly off topic, but does anybody know an easy way I can save thread links and post them from an android phone? I always want to link threads, but don't know how to do it unless I'm at my computer.

 

[saginawhxc]

Yeah, I would make tin foil your new best friend with that set up.

I kind of like the hide buried in the substrate, but I would be worried about him falling off the ledge above.

Does anybody else agree, or am I just being paranoid there.

 

[cmacusa3]

This is slightly off topic, but does anybody know an easy way I can save thread links and post them from an android phone? I always want to link threads, but don't know how to do it unless I'm at my computer.

Same issue.

That tank will work for a while, the substrate is still dry in the bottom, usually I would suggest adding a lot more water and stirring it all up by hand but until you can get the temps right and close it up I wouldn't, otherwise you could end up with a sick tort.

 

[TCS]

Okay tonight I will try to put foil over the opening except for where I am putting my CHE to keep the temperatures up.

And to Tom:

There is no sand in the substrate but there is loose soil which I believe got into his eye last night. The only reason I am using it is because my reptile store highly recommended it to me since they use it on all their other reptiles.

He is in a 30 gallon tank and I am using a Zoo Med terrarium hood with a 5.0 T5 bulb that emits UVB.

 

[cmacusa3]

Are you running the CHE by a thermostat or just plugging it in and letting it run to its max?

 

[TCS]

Thank you guys so much! You are all life savers. My Sulcata has his eyes wide open now and is walking with a purpose up to his basking spot. I'll now worry about keeping his temps up with the CHE tonight and hopefully the temps stay in the nice 90's. Will putting a humidifier in my room be effective for keeping his humidity up during the day?

 

[TCS]

I am running a 60 watt CHE plugged into the wall. If it is more effective to have a thermostat I can pick one up as soon as possible though.