Help (eyes closed, no appetite)

[Oshawott20]

I recently got a Hatchling leopard tortoise about 1 week ago. Yesterday I noticed he didnt have an apatite and now today he is walking around with his eyes closed and not eating. I haven't done anything differently since I got him. I feed him everyday and soak him every other day, I also give him a calcium and vitamin D supplement on him food every 3 days. Please let me know what could be the issues. Anything helps.

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

I recently got a Hatchling leopard tortoise about 1 week ago. Yesterday I noticed he didnt have an apatite and now today he is walking around with his eyes closed and not eating. I haven't done anything differently since I got him. I feed him everyday and soak him every other day, I also give him a calcium and vitamin D supplement on him food every 3 days. Please let me know what could be the issues. Anything helps.

Did you read the leopard hatchling care sheet? Do you have it in a completely enclosed enclosure so that you can actually hold humidity in there? Do you make sure that the temperature never gets below 80 at night and give him a basking spot of at least 90 degrees during the day? If they're not warm enough from what I understand they don't have much of an appetite they need heat and should be eating everyday one thing I've learned and I'm new to this like yourself is that tortoises like a schedule and Fort be the same they're not big on change at all so if you keep this in mind and keep things the same and do the right things you'll be fine there'll be some other experts in here sooner or later to answer your questions better than myself I also own a leopard hatchling as well if you're doing the things I mentioned it could be other issues maybe on the Breeders end of how he raised their hatchlings but like I said somebody you'll be in here to answer your questions better than me I just know they need heat to have an appetite and they need a basking spot to digest their food after they eat my particular schedule is I soak her when she wakes up I maybe let her wake up with the lights for about 10 minutes and then I Soaker the water temperature should be around 95 and not let it drop below 88 I usually don't let my drop but below 90 but then again I use a glass Pyrex bread dish that I can put a couple CD cases and cover the top to keep the temperature at a nice 90-something degrees for 20 minutes without having to change any water this is definitely the right place to get advice good luck with your baby tort!!! ?❤?

 

[Oshawott20]

Did you read the leopard hatchling care sheet? Do you have it in a completely enclosed enclosure so that you can actually hold humidity in there? Do you make sure that the temperature never gets below 80 at night and give him a basking spot of at least 90 degrees during the day? If they're not warm enough from what I understand they don't have much of an appetite they need heat and should be eating everyday one thing I've learned and I'm new to this like yourself is that tortoises like a schedule and Fort be the same they're not big on change at all so if you keep this in mind and keep things the same and do the right things you'll be fine there'll be some other experts in here sooner or later to answer your questions better than myself I also own a leopard hatchling as well if you're doing the things I mentioned it could be other issues maybe on the Breeders end of how he raised their hatchlings but like I said somebody you'll be in here to answer your questions better than me I just know they need heat to have an appetite and they need a basking spot to digest their food after they eat my particular schedule is I soak her when she wakes up I maybe let her wake up with the lights for about 10 minutes and then I Soaker the water temperature should be around 95 and not let it drop below 88 I usually don't let my drop but below 90 but then again I use a glass Pyrex bread dish that I can put a couple CD cases and cover the top to keep the temperature at a nice 90-something degrees for 20 minutes without having to change any water this is definitely the right place to get advice good luck with your baby tort!!! ?❤?

I have not read the care sheet but I will as soon as possible. I keep him in an open enclose with his heat lamp and uvb bold hanging above it. The temperature lever goes below 80 because my room is already pretty warm at around 78 and with the lights it makes it a lot warmer. I've been trying to buy a thermometer and humidity meter to see if I am keeping at right temps but I haven't gotten around to getting it. I have been leaving my lights off during the night time but since you say it cant go below 80 I could leave a light on during the nights to keep him warm. I purchased him from tortoise town and after reading some treads it seems to me that it may have not been the best choice.

 

[KarenSoCal]

You need to read this care sheet now and make changes quickly. "I haven't gotten around to getting it" is not going to work any more...your baby's life is in great jeopardy! You have a chance to possibly save it, but everything needs to be done NOW.

Get a digital thermometer/hygrometer immediately. You can get them at Lowe's, Home Depot, sometimes even at WalMart. Also get a laser temp gun.

You must cover his enclosure completely. You can use Plexiglas, aluminum foil, plastic like a shower curtain...he absolutely needs to be in a closed chamber. It is impossible to maintain the heat and humidity he requires in an open table. If you are using a screw in, compact, or curly type of light, get rid of it. His UVB light has to be a tube type, like a fluorescent tube. You might be able to buy one at a pet place, but in any case, do not buy a screw in UVB light. There is a good chance that is what is hurting his eyes. If you are not using a bulb like that, still do not buy any. They aren't any good for tortoises.

His basking bulb...what are you using? The temp right under the light should be 95-100°. The temp all over the rest of the enclosure, even at the coldest spot, should be 80°. And at night, never below 80°. The temps are extremely important...torts need heat to be able to digest food.

The heat at night needs to be from a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE). You can buy them at pet stores. They produce heat, but no light. Your baby needs for it to be dark at night. A CHE screws into a regular light bulb socket, and hangs inside the enclosure. It gets put on a thermostat so it only comes on when needed.

You can do something like this to make his table enclosed. It's not perfect, but it works.

For this, you would put a shower curtain over the whole thing to keep in the heat.

Or this:


You need a bar that goes the length of your table. You hang your lights and CHE from the bar.

Read this, and make the closed chamber over your table. Then make any changes according to this care sheet. Don't ask pet shop people for advice...they will steer you wrong. Log on here instead. There's usually someone here who can advise you.

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Oshawott20]

Thank you so much for everything. I'll be sure to do everything you have told me to do.

 

[Oshawott20]

Also i use a 10 uvb buld from zoo med and a 75w basking spot lamp also from zoo med. Is there anything wrong with thoes lights? And i will buy the temperature/ hydrometer today. I am also making an enclosure around him as we speak.

 

[Yvonne G]

If the UVB is a spiral-shaped bulb turn it off immediately. That's probably the reason his eyes are closed. Use the T5 tube type fluorescent UVB instead along with radiant heat panel.

Make sure the overall temperature is 80-85F degrees, day and night.

Soak the baby daily for 15-20 minutes in warm water and when you put him in front of the food step quickly out of his sight (but he won't eat until his eyes are open).

 

[Oshawott20]

If the UVB is a spiral-shaped bulb turn it off immediately. That's probably the reason his eyes are closed. Use the T5 tube type fluorescent UVB instead along with radiant heat panel.

Make sure the overall temperature is 80-85F degrees, day and night.

Soak the baby daily for 15-20 minutes in warm water and when you put him in front of the food step quickly out of his sight (but he won't eat until his eyes are open).

The UVB bulb I use is not spiraled but it is rectangle spaded. Will that still be a problem or will I need to get the one you told me about.

 

[Yvonne G]

Can you post a picture of it? I don't understand.

 

[Oshawott20]

This is it

 

[Yvonne G]

That bulb needs to be mounted horizontally, like in an aquarium hood. When it's mounted vertically it burns the baby's eyes. From what I'm learning, it isn't very good at providing UVB anyway, so best to not use it.

 

[Oshawott20]

do you think it will be good enough for now until I can get the money to get the light you told me about. or I need a new light now.

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

here's a picture of my enclosure as you can see with the lid up there's a basking bulb on the right which is a 65 watt regular old BR30 indoor flood bulb that you can control on a dimmer switch to get the desired amount of heat and you want ... put a piece of tile or flat stone underneath it for them to bask on preferably tile cuz it's safer for them.... also at the center the picture is the c h e hanging down through a hole a cut in the plywood it completely covers the top of the enclosure and I can get the humidity as high as the mid-90s and it never goes below 80% the UV light which is a T5 high output I only run for a few hours a day because she's a baby and they don't get as much UV until they get older in the wild because of hiding in the bushes from predators and staying on the down low where it's humid the rest of the day I run a little tiny LED light bulb which puts out no heat but plenty of bright light to simulate daytime and I don't run my c h e during the the day because the Basking Bulb Has the cooler end of the enclosure in the low 80s no lights at night just darkness and the c h e to keep it above 80 which I set mine for 83 just to make sure it stays above 80 which it pretty much maintains the whole enclosure at that temperature....Yvonne has you pointed in the right direction.... I just wanted to post my pictures to show you my setup if you put your light on a timer for 12 hours it's perfect and the c h e just runs off the thermostat which doesn't run during the day because the Basking light raises the temperature in there above the maintain temperature of the heater

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

do you think it will be good enough for now until I can get the money to get the light you told me about. or I need a new light now.

Now!!!!! (Smiling)

 

[KarenSoCal]

do you think it will be good enough for now until I can get the money to get the light you told me about. or I need a new light now.

That UVB bulb needs to be removed now. It is most likely what is burning the eyes. Until you get the tube type UVB, your baby will be OK without it. Just make it sooner, rather than later.

The spot type basking light is also not the best to use. Get a regular incandescent flood bulb from a hardware store. Walmart might have them. Try a 65 watt. No LED...if it says "replacement" bulb, do not buy it. You want incandescent. Flood, not spot.

 

[Yvonne G]

do you think it will be good enough for now until I can get the money to get the light you told me about. or I need a new light now.

It's the reason your baby's eyes are stuck shut. That light has burned them Turn it off immediately!!

 

[Oshawott20]

I turned the light off and will be buying a T5 light today

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

I turned the light off and will be buying a T5 light today

Comes with a free bulb

 

[Oshawott20]

Do you know if there is any other cheaper options or is that the best deal?

 

[zovick]

Comes with a free bulb

That light you just posted above is the type you should be using. Reptisun T5 10.0 UVB is what I used for years. There are other brands, too, but the one you posted is fine.

You also should soak your baby daily as Yvonne mentioned.