Help ! Am I Just Worried Or Is Something Wrong with Bo?

[Tom]

UPDATE: I spoke with our breeder, he agreed something strange was happening since the little one was very active before today—we went over the enclosure and all, and he recommended that we stop using the UVB light for a week.

He said: "It was a very strong healthy tortoise and my assumption will that it will bounce back quickly after the UVB gets absorbed by its body. These babies in the wild hardly see the sun long enough to even absorb the UVB. So they are not made to absorb synthetic UVB for long hours. That’s why i always suggest 1-3 hours. But if a tortoise us some issues after it’s been perfectly fine, it’s either they fed it something strange, too cool and damp at night, or it’s the UVB. 99% if the time, removing the UVB, fixes the issues. It’s like radiation, it builds and builds and the baby can absorb it quick enough and it starts to affect the organs. We aren’t even close to that stage yet. Usually happens after a month or so. But with a New uvb bulb, it could be strong levels of UVB. Too much is worse than not enough. I don’t even introduce UVB for the first two weeks of life."

Which makes sense to me.

So I was instructed to "kill the UVB. Don’t turn it on for a week. Sometimes too much UVB causes issues. Makes them lethargic. I would bring the soak down to 5-10 mins. Keep the heat lights on for 16 hours a day for the next week. But 95 should be the hottest. 100F is pretty hot. Sometimes too hot causes dehydration. Feed some romaine for the next two meals. It has a lot of water in it.
Sometimes those puffy eyes means too much UVB or cold and damp. I wouldn’t spray the enclosure. Instead, i wound pour a glass of warm water under the heat source.
I would also make a humid hide and place it under the heat source."

I asked if there was a way to help the little absorb the UVB and he said "Nothing you can do except soak. And offer food with high hydration like romaine. You need to flush it out. Takes about 48-72 hours. Also keep in mind that they go through growth spurts. And when they do that, they sleep more for 2-3 days. Keep me posted. Don’t panic unless it doesn’t eat for a week."

It made me feel a lot better and I trust my breeder—he's well-known and has been very helpful—I just wanted to put all of this here for others' input as well.

You should name and give credit to the breeder here. That is a lot of insight and even I can't find any point to argue there. I agree. I also have taken to using little to know UV with hatchings. Babies simply don't need it, and as your breeder noted, they hide all day in the wild until they grow and put on some size.

What type of UV bulb is it? You said slimline, but is that an HO type? 10.0 or 5.0? 7-9 inches away is VERY close. What size enclosure, and is there lots of "shade" and cover for the baby?

 

[victoria.shayne]

You should name and give credit to the breeder here. That is a lot of insight and even I can't find any point to argue there. I agree. I also have taken to using little to know UV with hatchings. Babies simply don't need it, and as your breeder noted, they hide all day in the wild until they grow and put on some size.

What type of UV bulb is it? You said slimline, but is that an HO type? 10.0 or 5.0? 7-9 inches away is VERY close. What size enclosure, and is there lots of "shade" and cover for the baby?

Randy from Tortstork is amazing really! He's been very patient with me and all my questions.

It's a Zoomed tube light 10.0, I was keeping it in one corner over his food slate to encourage UVB while he ate. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

There are places in the 2'x4' tort table with more coverage—though I will say the little one is pretty bold and doesn't "hide" too much, usually only at night. I'm looking for more plants (besides the air plants I currently have). And I need to make a more suitable humid hide—the little deli soup container is too small but all I had on hand. Should be getting a new one soon.

 

[victoria.shayne]

EVEN BETTER UPDATE: our little one is moving around just a little but he's moved himself into his favorite corner so I can finally breathe.

Thank you everyone—my anxiety had me on EDGE, expecting the worst. I'm going to continue to monitor him and follow randy's instructions to get our little one back in his super active routine!

 

[Tom]

EVEN BETTER UPDATE: our little one is moving around just a little but he's moved himself into his favorite corner so I can finally breathe.

Thank you everyone—my anxiety had me on EDGE, expecting the worst. I'm going to continue to monitor him and follow randy's instructions to get our little one back in his super active routine!

Keep us posted on how things go for the next few days. We will all learn from your experience.

 

[victoria.shayne]

Bo is feeling much better today, eating up his romaine—I offered only the romaine to flush out the UVB since it's full of water. Fingers crossed he poops today. Wish I could post a video of him munching! He does have his own instagram if anyone wants keep up to date (@bobo.the.herms) We still have another 48hrs before we can safely assume the unabsorbed UVB has been flushed out, so I will keep updating everyone! Thank you again, I love this community!

 

[Jan A]

Bo is feeling much better today, eating up his romaine—I offered only the romaine to flush out the UVB since it's full of water. Fingers crossed he poops today. Wish I could post a video of him munching! He does have his own instagram if anyone wants keep up to date (@bobo.the.herms) We still have another 48hrs before we can safely assume the unabsorbed UVB has been flushed out, so I will keep updating everyone! Thank you again, I love this community!

So glad Bo is doing better. Remember ...your stress/anxiety stresses your tort. The journey you are on with Bo is the same journey all pet owners are on--providing them with the best living conditions we can. TF is here for you!!

 

[victoria.shayne]

(final)UPDATE: Bo seems to be back to normal after munching on romaine for the last two meals, no baby food bath needed! (see pics below, taken this morning) He's also pooped this morning for the first time in three days and I couldn't be more proud lol. Randy's instruction seems to have worked like a charm!

I will be making a few adjustments and adding a few things to his enclosure—since adjusting his basking lights Ive notice one of 75W bulbs pointing right down only gets the temp up to 90F where it should be at least 95F for the warm side so I will be switching one bulb to a 100W bulb to keep the temp up in his enclosure. I will be posting his updated enclosure later today in a different thread.

 

[Krista S]

I’m so happy to read that little Bo is feeling better! Good job getting on top of this so quickly. Bo is as lucky to have you, as you are to have him.

 

[victoria.shayne]

I’m so happy to read that little Bo is feeling better! Good job getting on top of this so quickly. Bo is as lucky to have you, as you are to have him.

Aw thank you, I can’t tell you how nice that makes me feel. This little one is going to be adored and spoiled, he’s my first baby. I also can’t tell you how thankful I am to everyone who helped me figure this out.

 

[Ledesordre]

I might be wrong of course, but based on other posts here and research, having 2 basking bulbs depending on the type size and distance on a baby can be far too intense for them and definitely can harm their eyes! I’m surprised no one has suggested this reading through the comments. If anything I would turn off the basking bulb before the UVB and also try to get him some natural sunlight daily. Temps too warm and light too intense can be just as bad if not worse than having inadequate amounts especially on a fragile baby.
Can you post a pic of your enclosure with light distances and the type of bulbs you are using?

 

[victoria.shayne]

I might be wrong of course, but based on other posts here and research, having 2 basking bulbs depending on the type size and distance on a baby can be far too intense for them and definitely can harm their eyes! I’m surprised no one has suggested this reading through the comments. If anything I would turn off the basking bulb before the UVB and also try to get him some natural sunlight daily. Temps too warm and light too intense can be just as bad if not worse than having inadequate amounts especially on a fragile baby.
Can you post a pic of your enclosure with light distances and the type of bulbs you are using?

I see your point, the basking bulbs are in dome fixtures, and are 24" (2ft) above the substrate. In my opinion, they are high enough that the brightness of the bulbs seems like sun—there are some setups I've seen where the light fixture is like right on top of them!

I'm using ZooMed basking spot bulbs in dome fixtures as mentioned, one is 75W on the cool side and in the basking or warm side is the 100W bulb.

I would LOVE to give him natural sunlight of course but we live just outside Boston so it's not going to be safe to take him outside until at least middle of June when temps are above 80F consistently.