Your chamber is small so you do not want a MVB and CHE on at the same time, it will be far to hot for your tort. This is why you need the themostat, it will control the CHE during the night.
Help there's something wrong with my tortoise
- Thread starter sherlock15
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Baby food soaks are super important right now. Mix baby food (carrot, sweet potatoes or squash...something with a high Vitamin A content) 50% food and 50% warm water. Soak the tort for 30 mins 2x a day and make damn sure that water/food stay warm because if it cools off your just making it worse. Basically here's what's been happening to your tort.
Your tort cannot digest food unless its inner core body temp is 85 degree. If it cant digest food it wont eat so as to not have food rotting in its gut.
You let it get too cold so it quit eating as much or is not eating altogether. This causes the lack of vitamin A which after a week or two leads to the swollen eyes. The cold plus damp leads to a respiratory infection.
Your tort cannot digest food unless its inner core body temp is 85 degree. If it cant digest food it wont eat so as to not have food rotting in its gut.
You let it get too cold so it quit eating as much or is not eating altogether. This causes the lack of vitamin A which after a week or two leads to the swollen eyes. The cold plus damp leads to a respiratory infection.
sherlock15
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I'm going to do everything you tell me but I might not be able to do it all at once. I'm about to start my senior year of high school. So there are extra costs and everything I need adds up to a lot of money. What would be most important to get first ?
Hi. I just drove home from work thinking about your situation. Can't remember driving home. Lol.
Everything you need to do is connected with each other. So no one thing will correct your problem. However I think you need to take a step back before you move forward when your funds allow it. Your priority at the moment is your tortoises health not the enclosure. So if I was you I would move your tort to a smaller box for now and keep him warm and hydrated. If you look under "enclosures". The first thread is yvonnes on making enclosures for babies. Maybe if you get a mvb bulb for now and make something like what's in that thread, for now you've covered everything to bring your tort back to good health. Soon as your tort is healthy its going to want out of a small box though. Also good soaks are essential for you at the moment. This is only my opinion.
sherlock15
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Ha-ha. You got me stumped there. What are the dimensions of the tank?
sherlock15
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Its 20'' long by 11" wide by 12" high
Yeah I just googled it. I know a gallon of wine is 4.5ltrs. And a gallon of fishing maggots is 8 pints. But not gallon into tank size. Lol.
Anyway. I would use that for now. Your torts not active so space shouldnt be a big issue until he's better. The problem your going to have is it getting too hot. So you need to keep an eye on your temps. I'd set something up and see how it is for a while before putting your tort in.
sherlock15
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K will do. Which light should I use ?
I was thinking you should still get that mvb that you mentioned for now. So you get heat light and uv. This sounds like your cheapest option for now. At night you could change that over for your CHE. Are you sure your CHE doesn't give off much heat?
Yumm.
I'm sat on sofa smiling. On winter days when even fast flowing rivers are trying to freeze over, some fisherman put a maggot in there mouth to warm it up, give it more wiggle.
sherlock15
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I'm still going to get the mvb and I'm sure it doesn't give off much heat. I meant should I use the light bulb or Che for the tank ? Thanks for all your help.
Put CHE in. But I meant use mvb in the tank. You haven't got any way of giving your tort uvb and warmth at the same time at the moment other than getting an mvb.
sherlock15
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I'm going to be getting a new mvb on Wednesday.
OK. Well for now your tort is not getting UVB what ever you do, until Wednesday. So you may as well get your smaller set up done to keep him warm with the CHE. Your other option is to some how seal your existing enclosure to make it a closed system so he gets warm. But without the funds your only option is tin foil over the entire enclosure. Not sure how that would pan out with it being a larger enclosure.
Do you have any rolls of foil.
sherlock15
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Nice. You don't mess about.
. So now you could do with some foil. The way you have that you could lay your foil flat on that mesh lid and cut a hole in the foil where the light sits. Rather than drape it over the light and enclosure. Impressed.
sherlock15
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What would be a good temperature to keep it at?
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