Jenny & Tort
Active Member
My new baby sulcuta is spending most of its day sleeping and when it is not sleeping it is wandering around its enclosure looking for food. Is this normal behavior?
Baby sulcuta sleeping a lot
- Thread starter Jenny & Tort
- Start date
Jenny & Tort
Active Member
My new baby sulcuta is spending most of its day sleeping and when it is not sleeping it is wandering around its enclosure looking for food. Is this normal behavior?
Torts spend their time eating, basking and sleeping... there's not much else they can do. Inactivity is almost always due to the temperatures being incorrect.
If you have concerns, please would you post photos of your tort and its enclosure and especially the lighting and tell us the 4 important temperatures (Warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum )
Do you soak your tortoise and, if so how often?
What do you feed your tortoise and how much and how often? You can't overfeed a tortoise. A pile of food roughly the size of its shell every day is a good starting point.
Babies sle3pmmore than adults anyway and new torts are often very timid and hide away.
If you have concerns, please would you post photos of your tort and its enclosure and especially the lighting and tell us the 4 important temperatures (Warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum )
Do you soak your tortoise and, if so how often?
What do you feed your tortoise and how much and how often? You can't overfeed a tortoise. A pile of food roughly the size of its shell every day is a good starting point.
Babies sle3pmmore than adults anyway and new torts are often very timid and hide away.
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Jenny & Tort
Active Member
I will have to measure when I get home. What is the best way to measure the temperature? I was told to buy a temp/humidity reader at Wal-Mart but I believe it is showing a higher temp because the light is shining directly on it and heating it up. I will also post some pictures when I get home for you to look at.
I soak him 3 times a week.
I feed him the size of his shell every morning and a few clovers or a flower as a little snack in the evening.
I have been turning off his lights at night for him will I need to purchase some kind of night light?
I soak him 3 times a week.
I feed him the size of his shell every morning and a few clovers or a flower as a little snack in the evening.
I have been turning off his lights at night for him will I need to purchase some kind of night light?
The best thing to get is a temperature gun. You buy them off amazon very cheaply... something like this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JA3BMDW/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
It's already been done.
Baby torts sleep a lot.
This is perfectly normal.
Though it is right you check all your temps.
Night lights are a no-no as tortoises can't sleep properly if there is a light on, they need darkness.
If your night time temps are too low, you may need a CHE (Ceramic heat emitter), that will give you the required temperature, but no light.
This is perfectly normal.
Though it is right you check all your temps.
Night lights are a no-no as tortoises can't sleep properly if there is a light on, they need darkness.
If your night time temps are too low, you may need a CHE (Ceramic heat emitter), that will give you the required temperature, but no light.
Jenny & Tort
Active Member
Sorry it has been so long! I have been busy!
I have since purchased a temperature gun, after getting lost in the mail I finally received it Monday.
The hot side of the tank ranges from 90 to 110, the cooler side of the tank ranges from high 70s to low 80s
(highest temp recorded 112, lowest temp recorded 76)
I also purchased the ceramic heat emitter. Should I be keeping this on at night?
My humidity ranges from the 70s to the 90s could this be a problem? I also have a humid hut in his tank that is always high in humidity but he does not like to go in it much.
Please tell me what is wrong.
I have since purchased a temperature gun, after getting lost in the mail I finally received it Monday.
The hot side of the tank ranges from 90 to 110, the cooler side of the tank ranges from high 70s to low 80s
(highest temp recorded 112, lowest temp recorded 76)
I also purchased the ceramic heat emitter. Should I be keeping this on at night?
My humidity ranges from the 70s to the 90s could this be a problem? I also have a humid hut in his tank that is always high in humidity but he does not like to go in it much.
Please tell me what is wrong.
The CHE should be on a thermostat set to 80 and used at night when your lighting and other heat sources are off.
I think about 80% is the recommended humidity, so I don't think there's too much wrong in what you're getting, there's going to be some variance up and down.
I think about 80% is the recommended humidity, so I don't think there's too much wrong in what you're getting, there's going to be some variance up and down.
Jenny & Tort
Active Member
C
What do you mean the ceramic heat emitter should be on a thermostat set to 80?
And should I only use the CHE at night? I Have been using it in the day with the uv light
What do you mean the ceramic heat emitter should be on a thermostat set to 80?
And should I only use the CHE at night? I Have been using it in the day with the uv light
To regulate the night time temperatures it is best if you have the CHE on a thermostat to stop it getting too hot or too cold.
I use an MVB in the day which supplies all my heat, light and UVB and a CHE only at night when it's colder.
What do you use for day lighting and UVB?
What's your night temp now ?
Jenny & Tort
Active Member
MVB's are expensive! Is it ok if I continue to use the CHE for the daytime and for night time? I have a UVB bulb I bought off amazon. My night temp was 90 on the side with the heat lamp and 70 on the cool side
Jenny, you have some issues and babies do not have the margin of error for you to figure this out. 70 is too cold at night. The CHE and thermostat will regulate your ambient temp day and night. Set it at 80 and whenever the temp drops below that point, the thermostat will turn the heat on for you. If temps are over 80, the thermostat will keep the CHE off so things don't over heat.
Please read these and incorporate the needed changes ASAP:
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/
What type of UV bulb are you using?
Sounds like you might be underfeeding too.
Please read these and incorporate the needed changes ASAP:
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/
What type of UV bulb are you using?
Sounds like you might be underfeeding too.
Jenny & Tort
Active Member
can you send me a link for the thermostat? The tort has food (spider plant, aloe, and chia seeds) growing in its tank so it can snack any time it wants. I was worried I might be overfeeding.
Depending on how it was started as a baby, it might not recognize those items as food.
What type of UV bulb are you using?
Thermostats:
http://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NZZG3S/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Jenny & Tort
Active Member
It loves all of the foods growing in its tank, especially the aloe and chia seeds. I do not remember what the uv bulb is called I threw away the box. It looks like this.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00361HC9C/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00361HC9C/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Those cfl type bulbs sometimes burn their eyes. It hurts, so they just hide all the time. Eventually they can cause permanent blindness.
You need to turn that bulb off ASAP. Take your tortoise outside for daily sunshine in a safe enclosure for an hour or two a few times a week to meet the UV needs, or buy a safer, more effective bulb for inside.
You need to turn that bulb off ASAP. Take your tortoise outside for daily sunshine in a safe enclosure for an hour or two a few times a week to meet the UV needs, or buy a safer, more effective bulb for inside.
Jenny & Tort
Active Member
How are the bulbs harmful?
No one knows the exact mechanism. No industry professionals have any incentive to spend money on a study, and although we hobbyists have talked about it many times, no one has tested the actual problem bulbs to see exactly what is doing the damage. You would need a sophisticated lab and lots of expensive equipment to test these things.
The prevailing theory is that minor cracks sometimes form in the inner coating of these bulbs and it allows eye damaging UVC to escape.
Whatever the cause we see case after case of it here on this forum every year. I've seen the damage in person too. There are technical medical terms for burns on the eye, but I know I will misspell it...
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