A Couple Of Questions On Sulcata Shell

[JoshGoldberg]

I was soaking Lil'zilla when I noticed that some parts of her shell are turning a bit white. I will try and upload a picture, she has also been biting her leg and rubbing her eye a lot. Is this okay or am I just worrying too much?

 

[Tom]

Not okay. Are you using a coil type cfl UV bulb? What is your overnight low temp and how are you maintaining that?

The white could be hard water stains. Have you been spraying the shell with regular tap water?

Show us a pic when you can.

 

[JoshGoldberg]

Not okay. Are you using a coil type cfl UV bulb? What is your overnight low temp and how are you maintaining that?

The white could be hard water stains. Have you been spraying the shell with regular tap water?

Show us a pic when you can.

What is a cfl UV bulb? and also the overnight low is 80-85 around the whole tank, EVERY room in the house has its own thermostat and its own heating, I now have a Digital thermostat and it said that the lowest temp it has ever gotten to is 82.3 degrees F

 

[JoshGoldberg]

And i am using purified water from the well, and she soaks in regular bath water, she goes to the deepest part and sticks her head up

 

[Tom]

What is a cfl UV bulb? and also the overnight low is 80-85 around the whole tank, EVERY room in the house has its own thermostat and its own heating, I now have a Digital thermostat and it said that the lowest temp it has ever gotten to is 82.3 degrees F

Your well water is likely high in dissolved minerals. When you spray it on the tortoise's shell, the water evaporates and leaves the minerals behind to collect and build up on the tortoises shell. You can use collected rainwater, RO water, or distilled water for spraying the carapace to eliminate this problem. It does not hurt the tortoise, it just looks "unpleasant" to our eyes. Regular well or tap water should still be used for drinking and soaking.

What type of UV bulb are you using, if any? Is it a coil shaped type that screws into a fixture like a regular light bulb would?

 

[wellington]

A cfl is a compact flourescent light bulb. It is not a straight tube Flourescent or a regular light bulb. The bulbs are spiral or curve like a U or V shape. If you are using one of these, get rid of it.

 

[JoshGoldberg]

A cfl is a compact flourescent light bulb. It is not a straight tube Flourescent or a regular light bulb. The bulbs are spiral or curve like a U or V shape. If you are using one of these, get rid of it.

What should it be replaced with then?

 

[JoshGoldberg]

A mercury vapor bulb?

 

[wellington]

Where are you located? If you can get the tort outside for some good natural sunshine a few hours a week would be best. As for a bulb, I like the Mercury vapor bulbs. They give off heat, light and uvb. I also like the ceramic heat emitter for night time heat, but they give no light.

 

[JoshGoldberg]

Where are you located? If you can get the tort outside for some good natural sunshine a few hours a week would be best. As for a bulb, I like the Mercury vapor bulbs. They give off heat, light and uvb. I also like the ceramic heat emitter for night time heat, but they give no light.

I live in Salt Lake City Utah, I take lil'zilla out for food and sunlight a couple of hours a day

 

[JoshGoldberg]

I'm planning to take her out every day untill winter, when winter hits I am going to buy her a Mercury Vapor Bulb but for right now I just have a bulb mainly for light

 

[Tom]

I live in Salt Lake City Utah, I take lil'zilla out for food and sunlight a couple of hours a day

You don't need indoor UV. A couple hours of access to sunshine a week is plenty to meet their UV needs. If you still want to use indoor UV then a MVB is good, or you can get the long tube type florescent UV bulbs.

For heat you can just use a regular incandescent bulb. I usually use 65 watt flood bulbs from the hardware store, but every enclosure is different, so you may need to go up or down on the wattage, and also experiment with fixture height to get the right basking temp under it.

The coil bulbs can sometimes burn their eyes. The pain can make them rub their eyes and open their mouth like that.

That was described in detail in the threads I linked to you. How did you miss this? Perhaps you should go back and re-read them again a little slower this time.

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/

 

[JoshGoldberg]

You don't need indoor UV. A couple hours of access to sunshine a week is plenty to meet their UV needs. If you still want to use indoor UV then a MVB is good, or you can get the long tube type florescent UV bulbs.

For heat you can just use a regular incandescent bulb. I usually use 65 watt flood bulbs from the hardware store, but every enclosure is different, so you may need to go up or down on the wattage, and also experiment with fixture height to get the right basking temp under it.

The coil bulbs can sometimes burn their eyes. The pain can make them rub their eyes and open their mouth like that.

That was described in detail in the threads I linked to you. How did you miss this? Perhaps you should go back and re-read them again a little slower this time.

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/

I havent had it on since I read your Links, I just use a regular Light bulb but I did use those

 

[JoshGoldberg]

I havent had it on since I read your Links, I just use a regular Light bulb but I did use those

I have however been saving up for a ceramic coil lamp

 

[Tom]

I havent had it on since I read your Links, I just use a regular Light bulb but I did use those

Hmm. In that case we might not have solved your problem.

How long were you using that bulb?
How long has it been off?
When did the eye rubbing start?

Try to be accurate here. Go back and look at dates on your older posts and threads, if you need to.

 

[JoshGoldberg]

I changed it 3 days ago, so i used it for 3 days, It has been off for 3 days and She has always rubbed her eyes, just mostly when she is eating

 

[Tom]

I changed it 3 days ago, so i used it for 3 days, It has been off for 3 days and She has always rubbed her eyes, just mostly when she is eating

Okay. This might still be it. If the bulb is the cause of the issue, it might take longer than 3 days for the damage to heal.

What substrate are you using? How damp? What were you using before?

 

[JoshGoldberg]

Okay. This might still be it. If the bulb is the cause of the issue, it might take longer than 3 days for the damage to heal.

What substrate are you using? How damp? What were you using before?

I am using 100 percent Eco-Earth, quite damp, with an average Humidity of around 80 percent, 90-100 in the humid hide, I used Sand and Eco-Earth untill 4 or 5 days ago

 

[Tom]

I am using 100 percent Eco-Earth, quite damp, with an average Humidity of around 80 percent, 90-100 in the humid hide, I used Sand and Eco-Earth untill 4 or 5 days ago

Is it just one eye? You might have some sand stuck in there. During his daily soak get some human eye wash and try to squirt it into his eye and flush any foreign objects. This is a case where a vet can actually be very helpful. They have scopes and stains and they can really get in there and see what is going on.

Given that he was on sand, you might want to take him in soon. If there is some sand lodged in there, it can really damage the eye and lead to a bad infection.

Dude. I'm so sorry you got so much bad pet store advice before you found us. Hopefully all these troubles will soon be a thing of the past and you will be able to just enjoy your tortoise and live happily ever after.

 

[JoshGoldberg]

Is it just one eye? You might have some sand stuck in there. During his daily soak get some human eye wash and try to squirt it into his eye and flush any foreign objects. This is a case where a vet can actually be very helpful. They have scopes and stains and they can really get in there and see what is going on.

Given that he was on sand, you might want to take him in soon. If there is some sand lodged in there, it can really damage the eye and lead to a bad infection.

Dude. I'm so sorry you got so much bad pet store advice before you found us. Hopefully all these troubles will soon be a thing of the past and you will be able to just enjoy your tortoise and live happily ever after.

I will squirt in some water ASAP, does it have to be eye wash?