Heating tortoise home

CHELBREANN

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Joined
Oct 12, 2020
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Louisiana
It’s my first time posting, I finally created an account since I’ve received great advice from so many forum topics here. Moving on :)

I have a tortoise house, it’s 2x3 ft. and is 12 inches tall. I am having a hard time maintaining an overall temp above 80°. His basking area is about 90° At night I have the temp around 75°. I was using a 60 watt CHE and purchased a 100 watt CHE today to see if it would bring the temp above 80. It’s at 78-81 with a small blanket over the top of his house to keep the heat in. It’s around 67 in our home, so if I don’t have the blanket, the cool air dries everything out and it just doesn’t stay warm enough...I’m kinda clueless on what to try next..any advice/help would be appreciated!
Here are some okay pics of what his home looks like if that helps..

91600371-0FAB-4FBF-B659-FEC1420E3500.jpeg624891D0-B087-4A14-A658-3CBBDAC4D984.jpegF12D77FA-1983-4B26-B68C-4BE65837F23C.jpeg
 

CHELBREANN

New Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2020
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Louisiana
It’s my first time posting, I finally created an account since I’ve received great advice from so many forum topics here. Moving on :)

I have a tortoise house, it’s 2x3 ft. and is 12 inches tall. I am having a hard time maintaining an overall temp above 80°. His basking area is about 90° At night I have the temp around 75°. I was using a 60 watt CHE and purchased a 100 watt CHE today to see if it would bring the temp above 80. It’s at 78-81 with a small blanket over the top of his house to keep the heat in. It’s around 67 in our home, so if I don’t have the blanket, the cool air dries everything out and it just doesn’t stay warm enough...I’m kinda clueless on what to try next..any advice/help would be appreciated!
Here are some okay pics of what his home looks like if that helps..

View attachment 308745View attachment 308746View attachment 308744
He’s a month old Sulcata tortoise, thought that might help XD
 

Tom

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Those tortoise houses are not suitable housing for any species of tortoise of any size or age. Poor design. And your temps are too cool. Bump everything up about 10 degrees. You can't maintain the correct conditions in something with an open top. You need a large closed chamber. All the info you need is explained here:
 

CHELBREANN

New Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2020
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Louisiana
Those tortoise houses are not suitable housing for any species of tortoise of any size or age. Poor design. And your temps are too cool. Bump everything up about 10 degrees. You can't maintain the correct conditions in something with an open top. You need a large closed chamber. All the info you need is explained here:
I read the whole thing, it’s fantastic! I really appreciate your help! Thanks so much! I feel much better knowing what I was doing wrong! Want my little guy to be happy in his home
 
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Tom

The Dog Trainer
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I read the whole thing, it’s fantastic! I really appreciate your help! Thanks so much! I feel much better knowing what I was doing wrong! Want my little guy to be happy in his home
Questions and conversation are welcome. We are happy to help and don't mind explained things further.
 

CHELBREANN

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Location (City and/or State)
Louisiana
Questions and conversation are welcome. We are happy to help and don't mind explained things further.

I am planning on building a custom home in the future :) For now, I’ve purchased new bulbs and now the temp is 80-85 at night, 85 - 87 ambient and basking area is 96 - 100, cool side of the house is 75-80. He's feeling much better today too!! Humidity is between 70-80, if it drops close to 70 I mist the home, water his plants to get it back up. His little half log is buried a little & is closer to 90 humidity inside. I had a compact UVB & after reading the guide, I turned it off immediately & will be purchasing one of the Reptisun T5. For now we have a huge yard so I’ll be bringing him outside for sun time to get the vitamins he needs

Could you please tell me if those readings are where they need to be? ?
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
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I am planning on building a custom home in the future :) For now, I’ve purchased new bulbs and now the temp is 80-85 at night, 85 - 87 ambient and basking area is 96 - 100, cool side of the house is 75-80. He's feeling much better today too!! Humidity is between 70-80, if it drops close to 70 I mist the home, water his plants to get it back up. His little half log is buried a little & is closer to 90 humidity inside. I had a compact UVB & after reading the guide, I turned it off immediately & will be purchasing one of the Reptisun T5. For now we have a huge yard so I’ll be bringing him outside for sun time to get the vitamins he needs

Could you please tell me if those readings are where they need to be? ?
A little more humidity would be better. This will be much easier in a closed chamber.

Cool side and night temp should stay 80 or higher.
 

CHELBREANN

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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Louisiana
A little more humidity would be better. This will be much easier in a closed chamber.

Cool side and night temp should stay 80 or higher.
Okay, thank you! Last night his ambient temp was no lower than 82 & today I added some small plants to hang over him, so the humidity has been between 80-87.

This is totally off subject, but I had to take Thor (his/her name) to the vet Monday & he has URI. They gave him 2 shots, one was an antibiotic and the other a vitamin..not completely sure. He’s opened his eyes and feeling much better, but I’ve noticed the skin around his mouth is peeling pretty bad...to the point that everytime he’s walking around he will rub his mouth on both sides...more like rubbing the creases of his mouth? While opening his mouth really wide too.....this can’t be normal right? We go back to the vet Friday...just really worrying me :/
 

Sue Ann

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chapin , South Carolina
It’s my first time posting, I finally created an account since I’ve received great advice from so many forum topics here. Moving on :)

I have a tortoise house, it’s 2x3 ft. and is 12 inches tall. I am having a hard time maintaining an overall temp above 80°. His basking area is about 90° At night I have the temp around 75°. I was using a 60 watt CHE and purchased a 100 watt CHE today to see if it would bring the temp above 80. It’s at 78-81 with a small blanket over the top of his house to keep the heat in. It’s around 67 in our home, so if I don’t have the blanket, the cool air dries everything out and it just doesn’t stay warm enough...I’m kinda clueless on what to try next..any advice/help would be appreciated!
Here are some okay pics of what his home looks like if that helps..

View attachment 308745View attachment 308746View attachment 308744
You must have an enclosed top not screening to hold in moisture and heat. Please read the care sheets here on the forum for detailed instructions
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Okay, thank you! Last night his ambient temp was no lower than 82 & today I added some small plants to hang over him, so the humidity has been between 80-87.

This is totally off subject, but I had to take Thor (his/her name) to the vet Monday & he has URI. They gave him 2 shots, one was an antibiotic and the other a vitamin..not completely sure. He’s opened his eyes and feeling much better, but I’ve noticed the skin around his mouth is peeling pretty bad...to the point that everytime he’s walking around he will rub his mouth on both sides...more like rubbing the creases of his mouth? While opening his mouth really wide too.....this can’t be normal right? We go back to the vet Friday...just really worrying me :/
This is bad. If you'd mentioned this before I could have saved you a bunch of money and possibly your tortoises life. Little babies can't handle "vitamin injections" and antibiotics very well, and especially not when they are already comprised. These injections often kill them. Most vets have no clue about tortoise care, and the "vitamin injection" is a sure sign of a vet that doesn't know what they are doing.

RIs are caused by cold temps. The cure is hot temps. Make the whole enclosure 85-90 day and night, and still with a 100 degree basking area. Keep this up for at least two weeks after symptoms go away.

What symptoms did you see? Did the vet address the CAUSE of the sickness, or just try to treat the symptoms?
 

CHELBREANN

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Joined
Oct 12, 2020
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Louisiana
You must have an enclosed top not screening to hold in moisture and heat. Please read the care sheets here on the forum for detailed instructions
Yes, unfortunately I thought it was the right way to go at first :/ I plan on building a custom, kind of similar to the one on the care guide. For now, I am just going to do the best I can...I’m at home everyday so I’m able to keep a close eye on all the stats...thank goodness
 

CHELBREANN

New Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2020
Messages
15
Location (City and/or State)
Louisiana
This is bad. If you'd mentioned this before I could have saved you a bunch of money and possibly your tortoises life. Little babies can't handle "vitamin injections" and antibiotics very well, and especially not when they are already comprised. These injections often kill them. Most vets have no clue about tortoise care, and the "vitamin injection" is a sure sign of a vet that doesn't know what they are doing.

RIs are caused by cold temps. The cure is hot temps. Make the whole enclosure 85-90 day and night, and still with a 100 degree basking area. Keep this up for at least two weeks after symptoms go away.

What symptoms did you see? Did the vet address the CAUSE of the sickness, or just try to treat the symptoms?

youre right. I really thought I was doing the right thing by taking him to see a vet, but I’m just glad I know better now so it won’t happen again if he can pull through this. I’ve been keeping a close eye on him.

It started about 4 days after he came home. I was keeping his ambient temp at 75 while trying to keep the humidity at 80%, basking area was about 86 :( not good..moving forward, I first noticed his right eye wouldn’t open, then the next day his left eye was the same. He started getting less and less active, staying under the basking light. Which I know now it was probably because I didn’t have it warm enough..

Well, after a couple of days of him not wanting to move around and not being able to open his eyes, I decided it would be best to take him to the vet. No, she did not tell me what the cause was, all she said was it’s more than likely a URI..being me I was like oh okay well that explains the eyes/no appetite/sleeping. She gave the 2 shots & prescribed some drops (I’ve attached receipt below). They told us to come back this week for another antibiotic shot. We came home, he slept, soaked and drank water. I rubbed his eyes with a q-tip with warm water and he eventually opened them just a tiny tiny bit & I put it drops in. Next day he was able to open his eyes and he was more active, but not like normal. Today is the same, he still won’t eat, I dont know if he drank, but I did soak him for 10 minutes in water and carrot juice. During his soak I let him on a towel to walk around, that’s when he started clawing his little mouth and I noticed all the peeling skin
 

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Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
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youre right. I really thought I was doing the right thing by taking him to see a vet, but I’m just glad I know better now so it won’t happen again if he can pull through this. I’ve been keeping a close eye on him.

It started about 4 days after he came home. I was keeping his ambient temp at 75 while trying to keep the humidity at 80%, basking area was about 86 :( not good..moving forward, I first noticed his right eye wouldn’t open, then the next day his left eye was the same. He started getting less and less active, staying under the basking light. Which I know now it was probably because I didn’t have it warm enough..

Well, after a couple of days of him not wanting to move around and not being able to open his eyes, I decided it would be best to take him to the vet. No, she did not tell me what the cause was, all she said was it’s more than likely a URI..being me I was like oh okay well that explains the eyes/no appetite/sleeping. She gave the 2 shots & prescribed some drops (I’ve attached receipt below). They told us to come back this week for another antibiotic shot. We came home, he slept, soaked and drank water. I rubbed his eyes with a q-tip with warm water and he eventually opened them just a tiny tiny bit & I put it drops in. Next day he was able to open his eyes and he was more active, but not like normal. Today is the same, he still won’t eat, I dont know if he drank, but I did soak him for 10 minutes in water and carrot juice. During his soak I let him on a towel to walk around, that’s when he started clawing his little mouth and I noticed all the peeling skin
This vet injected Baytril into a baby tortoise. Baytril is very caustic in nature and it burns and causes terrible pain and damage at the injection site. Its like injecting bleach. That this vet doesn't know this is an indication of how ignorant he/she is about tortoises. This bill was a lot lower than it could have been, but you've still paid money for a vet to do harmful things to your tortoise, and never address or correct the cause of the problem in the first place. Most people in most places would have paid $300 or more for this same thing.

When antibiotics are needed, there are others in the same family as Baytril, and just as effective, without the burning side effects. Any vet treating reptiles should know this. Please don't beat yourself up about this. You've done everything you know to do to be a good tortoise keeper. You've made logical and rational decisions every step of the way to do the right things for your tortoise, and there is no way anyone could have known about the things I've been telling you. Its completely understandable to buy a "Tortoise house" for housing a tortoise. You recognized your baby had a problem, and you immediately took it to a vet for help. You are to be commended for this. You had no way to know that the vet is ignorant of tortoise care and would do the typical wrong things that all ignorant vets do. Its very difficult to find a reptile vet that knows what they are doing anywhere in the whole country. I only know of a handful of them. I'm sorry you are going through this, and I hope some good can come of this experience for you.

Going back to discovering and solving your problem, where did you get this tortoise? That might be the primary cause of your problems.
 

CHELBREANN

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Location (City and/or State)
Louisiana
Thank you, I really appreciate your kind words. ? I bought him from a breeder here in Louisiana. She has a totally different setup for her babies, they stay in a 10 gallon aquarium with a heater on the outside to keep it warm. Most she sells, then keeps the picks. Once they pass the “baby stage”, she has a big tortoise table outside on her porch for themThe temp I was told was 70-85, that she feels like 90 & up burns her baby’s shells. Humidity was 80, but not constant, she lets it get down to 45 then sprays and turns fogger on until it reaches back to 80. I’m pretty sure my tortoise house was to cold and dry when I put him inside his home because that’s exactly what my stats were at the time. She has been feeding them grass, weeds, romaine, carrots, Brussel sprouts, only sweets every so often like a treat.

She has other babes, and adults that seem to be doing particularly well despite everything, so I thought that these were the right thing for me to do as well. I just checked on Thor, his temp has been 87-90 all night, humidity 75-80, that’s with me waking up and spraying. Now last night his humidity stayed around 85-90 with me spraying plants every hour...so I’m hoping I can keep it up during the day.

I just checked on him, he’s sleeping a lot, but pretty alert when I pet him or get him out for soaks and “attempt feeding”. I’ve tried so many foods, bell pepper, carrot, romaine, brussel sprouts, clover grass, rose petals, grass cut from outside, even strawberries and blackberries to see if that would get his appetite going. Nothing :/ Omg! this is probably something else, I even told the vet but of course nothing...he hasn’t pooped since he’s came home (that I’ve seen) he has never pooped in his water, is it possible he’s pooping inside his home & me not see it?

All I know is I just want to learn what I need to know to give this baby the best life. I hate he’s had to go through all of this :(
 
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