Heat Stroke

Crush da Baum

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My sister wanted to get her tort some sunshine after I told her he needs uvb so she put him in a plastic storage container with a towel and left him outside. I found him and he had foam all around his mouth and was frantically clawing the side. I took him inside immediately and rinsed him of, gave him a good soak for about an hour. My sister is really sad and sorry, she wants to know if he will have any lasting affects. He seems to do fine and moving around as normal. Any thoughts?
 

Tom

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My sister wanted to get her tort some sunshine after I told her he needs uvb so she put him in a plastic storage container with a towel and left him outside. I found him and he had foam all around his mouth and was frantically clawing the side. I took him inside immediately and rinsed him of, gave him a good soak for about an hour. My sister is really sad and sorry, she wants to know if he will have any lasting affects. He seems to do fine and moving around as normal. Any thoughts?
Probably no long lasting effects, but she should soak the tortoise every day for several weeks now.

"Access to sunshine..."
 

Crush da Baum

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He could have died. Sounds like you found him just in time. He should be ok, but for anyone else who experiences this, it's best to cool them down slowly.
Once I found him I just grabbed the closest thing (which was a popcorn bucket) put him in there and drizzled him with tap water and then I cleaned out his soaking tray thing and gave him a room temperature-warm soak.
 

Crush da Baum

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Probably no long lasting effects, but she should soak the tortoise every day for several weeks now.

"Access to sunshine..."
I hope it was not too bad because according to the weather forecast, it never broke 90 and at the time was about 85 degrees, Fahrenheit.
 

ZEROPILOT

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I still have a visual of the person that placed their Redfoot tortoise outdoors for some sunlight.....in an aquarium....and more or less cooked the poor animal.
We must be careful when we suggest newbie owners give their tortoises some sunlight.
Some containers get very, very hot when placed in the sun. And tropical species need to be able to retreat from direct sunlight.
 

Tom

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I hope it was not too bad because according to the weather forecast, it never broke 90 and at the time was about 85 degrees, Fahrenheit.
Put a rock or a brick in full sun on an 85 degree day for an hour or two and then measure the surface temps with an IR gun. Depending on the color and starting temp of the rock, it can get really rally hot.
 
L

LasTortugasNinja

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today was 84 degrees in my area. I check my tort when he’s outside several times a day, because I’m a paranoid lunatic. When I temp gunned my tort’s basking brick, it was 110 on the surface. The soil temp was 92 degrees. Shade was 75 degrees. Always need to remember that forecasts are typically the temp from an airport tower or the roof of a weather station. Rarely is the actual surface temp.
 

VegasJeff

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My sister wanted to get her tort some sunshine after I told her he needs uvb so she put him in a plastic storage container with a towel and left him outside. I found him and he had foam all around his mouth and was frantically clawing the side. I took him inside immediately and rinsed him of, gave him a good soak for about an hour. My sister is really sad and sorry, she wants to know if he will have any lasting affects. He seems to do fine and moving around as normal. Any thoughts?

They only need about 20 or 30 minutes max in the sun. Perhaps less on a hot day. Ideally, their sun time should be supervised or you will need a predator proof cage (i.e. safe from cats, etc.). In their outdoor enclosure, they will need a hide. Somewhere they can hide in to get away from the sun and heat when they feel they have enough. I hope that plastic storage container wasn't sealed shut. It can be 20 degrees hotter sitting in direct sun light before taking into account the greenhouse effect if the container is sealed.

Until you figure a better solution, for a cheap outdoor enclosure for temporary basking purposes, you could do something as simple as a shoe box with a large tissue paper box placed inside that with a hole cut large enough in the tissue paper box for the turtle to hide inside.
 

Crush da Baum

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Put a rock or a brick in full sun on an 85 degree day for an hour or two and then measure the surface temps with an IR gun. Depending on the color and starting temp of the rock, it can get really rally hot.
How long do you think he could soak in the sun before overheating?
 

Crush da Baum

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Too many variables to answer that. It can be as short as a few minutes in some circumstances, and hours in others.
If it is 90 degrees, on concrete and in direct sun? And the tort was already pretty cool from being inside? Sorry for such a vague question.
 

Maro2Bear

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If it is 90 degrees, on concrete and in direct sun? And the tort was already pretty cool from being inside? Sorry for such a vague question.

Less than an hour for sure. I often spot read our dark wooden deck (just for fun) and they often hit 150-160F. Way hot. Doesnt take long for a small dark tortoise in full sun (and no shade) to over heat.
 

Crush da Baum

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Less than an hour for sure. I often spot read our dark wooden deck (just for fun) and they often hit 150-160F. Way hot. Doesnt take long for a small dark tortoise in full sun (and no shade) to over heat.
Do you think 10 maybe 15 mins would be too much? I can’t let one of my torts outside in her outdoor enclosure yet because she constantly eats dirt and sand so I am trying to get her UVB in other ways.
 

TammyJ

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I still have a visual of the person that placed their Redfoot tortoise outdoors for some sunlight.....in an aquarium....and more or less cooked the poor animal.
We must be careful when we suggest newbie owners give their tortoises some sunlight.
Some containers get very, very hot when placed in the sun. And tropical species need to be able to retreat from direct sunlight.
I know someone who lost his beautiful ball python like that. It was tragic.
 
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