Possible RI?! Help plz

[PumkinRulez]

Hello!!! I have had my baby Sulcata tortoise Pumpkin for a few months now. Two days ago pumpkin started to squeak, and I thought it was cute, so I took a video. I played with pumpkin and let her run around. The day after I panicked that it could have been a respiratory infection. I gave her a bath yesterday and she seems better. This morning I came down and she was sleeping, I woke her up to give her another bath, and when I woke her up she started to squeak and nose bubble a little. After the bath she ate a strawberry and she is all good again. It has improved over two days with the baths, but I’m still scared because she is only a few months old. She hasn’t shown symptoms other than nose bubbles and squeaks. I can’t take her to the vet because the current state we are in, but I really need help...

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

1. What are ur temps? Basking and ambient.. day and night
2. They dont need fruit.. its bad for them.
3. By run around.. do you mean on the floor in ur home? If so i wouldnt allow that.. to many dangers( even if ur keeping an eye on her)

and welcome to the forum!

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Also a pic of ur enclosure would be helpful so ppl can give you any advice or changes that can be made.

 

[PumkinRulez]

Tnx for reply
No more fruit!
I lowered the basking light light to keep it warmer,

soaked daily

less handling

the floor is like foam kid tiles in my reptile room

day and night light

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Ok...
1. Is that potting soil as a substrate? Looks like perlite in there. Very bad! Get urself some orchid bark or cypress mulch.
2. Ur gonna need to enclose the top in order to keep the humidity at 80%
3. I dont see a uvb bulb.. what type of bulb is in ur lamp?
4. I dont see a thermometer in there.. do you have one?

 

[PumkinRulez]

1- this is one the pet store gave me, I think there is potting soil, but not straigh up potting soil. There is a lot of weird Dry yellow mossy stuff too, I didn’t ask, I should have

2 I only have a screen TOP, what do u recommend I do?

3 I got this bulb that said Ithas uvb and heat buil

4 I have one called “great choice” it’s a circle one, I really want a temp gun, but I have to wait for my bday in a about a month or two,

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

1. Get rid of that soil right away! Go get some pure find grade orchid bark or cypress mulch. If u cant get it right now.. go out to ur yard and get some plain dirt until u can get something better.
2. For now u can cover the entire screen with tinfoil( will hold in humidity a lil better
3.u need to get a tube uvb bulb and long fixure. For basking go to home depot and grab a regular incandescent flood bulb
4. Those needle thermometers are garbage.. get urself a digital thermometer they also sell at home depot for like 10 bucks

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

As far as the RI. U need to make sure ur ambient temps dont drop below 85 day or night in any part of the enclosure. And do you leave ur bright light on all night? They need darkness at night. Ull need a CHE on a thermostat to keep ur temps at night

 

[PumkinRulez]

the only dirt I have is in my garden, and i can’t dig that up, I could add a TOP layer of mulch I have by my palm trees.
I also have reptile carpet and dog pee pads, would that work?

For the night, can I order something like a heat mat so it’s warm and dark?
I’ll go to Home Depot asap
What is a Che?​

 

[PumkinRulez]

Also, food wise, can I go 100% reptishay Jelli stuff? Pumpkin really likes that. I also give her dandilion greens and flowers occasionally

 

[PumkinRulez]

For the lid how can I avoid the heat lamp?

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

I wouldnt use repti carpet or tha mulch around ur tree. Some mulches have oils and chemicals that are not safe. A CHE is a ceramic heat emmiter that gives heat with no light.

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

The diet needs to be mostly weeds and grasses and suppliment with greens such as endive, chicory, kale, dandilion greens, collards etc and some mazuri pellets a couple times a week

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

here is a great thread to read through

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...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Maggie3fan]

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and get some fine grade orchid bark...you need to make a humid hide and get 80 or so % humidity, your substrate is too dry...in the wild...Sulcata NEVER come across that jelly stuff...feed good healthy greens or outside graze. I have almost 20 years of experience keeping tortoises and in all that time I have never used any thermometer but those cheap round ones...never allow that baby to walk around on the floor, that's really bad news...you are going to need to close off the top and hold in the humidity and heat...welcome...please read and follow this...

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

 

[PumkinRulez]

Ok, thank you. so what exactly can I do about the substrate? Paper towels??

 

[PumkinRulez]

When i can, is this the orchid beak you are talking about???

 

[Maggie3fan]

Ok, thank you. so what exactly can I do about the substrate? Paper towels??

I said to go to Lowe's or Home Depot and find "fine grade orchid bark...maybe a nursery close to you might have it...or you can get a brick of coconut coir...

When i can, is this the orchid beak you are talking about???

well, I've never seen that kind, but it looks like what I'm talking about only HD or Lowe's would be cheaper for more...

 

[PumkinRulez]

Ok thank you so much!!!!

 

[PumkinRulez]

Is there anyway to treat RI? Do you think my tortoise has it?