Baby Sulcata Squeal?

[StudentoftheReptile]

Yesterday, my wife claims little Kobe squealed like a little canary...twice! Unfortunately, I was not at home to hear the sound myself. She said at first she thought it was our 8 month old making noises but she realized it was coming from the "tortoise corner" where Kobe's tank is. Described it as a high-pitched bird-liked chirp/squeal.

I know sometimes adult tortoises make interesting sounds when they are most "amorous." But is it normal for a juvenile tortoise to do so?

 

[Tom]

They do that every once in a while. When they get bigger it almost sounds like and old man groaning as he gets of of his recliner. It almost the equivalent of a dog sneeze. If they start doing it regularly it could indicate a problem, but once in a while is normal. How are your temps?

 

[dmarcus]

They do that every once in a while. When they get bigger it almost sounds like and old man groaning as he gets of of his recliner. It almost the equivalent of a dog sneeze. If they start doing it regularly it could indicate a problem, but once in a while is normal. How are your temps?

Tom you pointed out something I was gonna say, when I got my rescue sulcata her shell was very soft and she would make the squeal noise every time I picked her up. Now that she has gotten so much better and her shell is hard again she only does it occasionally now...

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I need to check them again. I kinda borrowed his thermometer for the redfoot and have yet to stick it back. I'll get a reading tonight and tomorrow.

 

[Linzbragg]

I swear my sully made a squaking noise one time when he was pooping in his warm soak. He also made another sound that same day, but never has again before or after that. I think he was just seriously relaxed! LOL

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I'll have my wife check the daytime temps today, but the "twilight" temps in the early morning and late evening when his infrared bulb is on before the MVB goes on/off runs about 140'F. I know, seems hot, right? But the little squirt routinely parks it under it for about an hour then he'll move away. That bulb is on from 6am to 8am, and then again from 8pm to 10pm.

Like I said, I'll have my wife check his daytime temps and let me know. If I recall, I believe it gets around 120'F underneath the MVB.

 

[SulcataSquirt]

Yikes, you need to stick a rock (about the size of your tort) under your lights and let it sit for an hour and then check the temp of the rock with your temp gun and see what it is. its prolly higher than 140 if thats the reading your getting just on the ground under the light. I personally would get your temp gun out and fix those temps today.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

Don't have a temp gun.

Honestly, if he was camping out on the cool end of his enclosure all the time, I'd be more worried. But like I said before, he routinely comes out and sits under those lights for extended periods of time. Right now, I use a mercury thermometer and one of those digital thermometers with the sensor intermittently. Also, like I said earlier (starting to feel like I'm repeating myself), that large infrared light is not on all day; it is on for 2 hrs in the early morning to take off the morning chill, and on again for 2 hrs at night before it goes dark.

In case you're freaking out, the tortoise is in a tank 36" x 42" and the lamp is at one corner. This juvenile 5" tortoise can easily find cooler area to get away from the heat when he wants. I am not cooking my baby sulcata at 140'F + for 12 hr a day.

Back to the topic at hand...he apparently has not squealed since, so right now, I'm chalking it up to an isolated case.

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And just to further elaborate...

I am not misinterpreting my tortoise basking at these temperatures. This is not a case where he happened to be burrowed/nestled in a spot, and then the light came on while he was already there, and then I came and saw him. I have come into the den on several mornings where the lamp was already on, and he was still hiding in his box (on the cool end), and then will voluntarily come out, walk across the cage and pop a squat directly underneath the infrared light where it is reading 140'F (or more?). He will sit there for at least 30 mins, perhaps more, sometimes less, before systematically inching further away from it. By the time the MVB comes on, the infrared goes off, and I have provided breakfast by this point.

 

[Linzbragg]

Mark it down as a isolated incident (that may happen again, rarely) bc my yr old sully made a kind of loud squaking noise one day. I was laying in bed (his cage is about 6 ft away from me in my room) while he was in his every other day soak that he does under the heat lamp. All of a sudden I heard the noise, like some teradactal, went over and saw poop floating in the water. Idk if he did it when he was pooping or after bc he didn't like being in there anymore. I never heard it again before or after that except for some occasional quiet noises he makes when he's laying out. I think he's just totally relaxed!

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

He squealed/gasped again today. I think it was him letting me know he was hungry, since I got a late start this morning.
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Also, just happened to snap this shot a few mornings ago to prove that he does indeed bask in the mornings at 140'F under that infrared lamp. Believe what you want, naysayers, but I didn't put him there!

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....and I also started setting where that lamp comes on for a little midday "hot spell" from 12pm -2pm. Guess what? As soon as it came on, he marched right over and has been basking under it for the past 25 minutes!

 

[Linzbragg]

He needs to have the basking light on all day so a spot will always be 95-105, and the other half of the cage around 85.

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Do you also have a UVB light on him all day? He needs that for digestive and mental well being. You won't get that from just a red light. He looks a little pyramided, too. I would change his substrate to something that can hold some more moisture like topsoil (very cheap) and give him a lot of soaks. When I got Franklin his shell was a little bumpy but I've been doing a lot of research on how to improve it. Folks on this site have tins of great advice.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

(sigh).....yes, I do have a MVB on him (please read earlier posts).

He was pyramided when I got him in April. I do mist him 2x daily and I soak him as well. I have considered the topsoil substrate before, I may re-consider it.

 

[Linzbragg]

My bad, didn't mean to make you repeat yourself, I know you were getting upset about that earlier. But anyways, I love the topsoil bc I can make little hills, grow plants, he loves burrowing in it, and, of course...cheap (yeah!). At the Lowe's by my house a big bag of just plain topsoil is 1.27.