rubbing his eyes and not eating
- Thread starter Vinny and Ty
- Start date
Hi you might get more responses if you start your own thread rather than using this old one. The title may be misleading.
You're right, I think he needs a minimum 4 x 8 feet enclosure now he's grown. I can't see any water dish in there for him to self soak in and do you take him out to give him warm shallow soaks? The substrate looks pretty dry so maybe he's got some in his eye.
Some bulbs can hurt tort eyes, what are all the lamps you are using ? Can you post pics of those?
Temperature readings would also help.
Sorry for all the questions, but the more information and pictures you can post the more helpful members can be.
Last edited:
If you haven't already seen it this is the up to date carehseet you need to help you correct any mistakes.
tortoiseforum.org
The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? 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. What is...
tortoiseforum.org
Vinny and Ty
New Member
Thank you. I will start a new thread. He has water. He soaks every day. I am so confused about lights. It was too cold so I added a flood light 65W. Heat went up. He has that light, a ceramic heating light, a light for UV? and another heat light. Too much. What do I take away? In the picture, you can see 4 lamps. He needs heat, but no light?. All but ceramic one on after 8. I think I have the wrong bulb for UV light. Too many heat lights and a sick tortoise. Barely eating. Thanks again. Jill
You will find it very difficult to retain and control heat in an open table, that is why closed chambers are recommended for babes and young torts.
Post pics of your bulbs and we can tell you if they are safe and suitable - you won't be the first or last to be given wrong advice about heat/light but the sooner you know the sooner it can be can corrected.
Many of use a T5 HO uvb tube kit with a separate flood basking. I use Arcadia for both.
For night heat a CHE run through a thermostat is ideal because it just gives heat - torts need darkness to sleep.
This caresheet will cover heating and lighting and tell you the temps you should have
tortoiseforum.org
Post pics of your bulbs and we can tell you if they are safe and suitable - you won't be the first or last to be given wrong advice about heat/light but the sooner you know the sooner it can be can corrected.
Many of use a T5 HO uvb tube kit with a separate flood basking. I use Arcadia for both.
For night heat a CHE run through a thermostat is ideal because it just gives heat - torts need darkness to sleep.
This caresheet will cover heating and lighting and tell you the temps you should have
The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? 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. What is...
tortoiseforum.org
TaylorTortoise
Well-Known Member
Lighting/ temps is a complicated topic for people who are not used to what the standard requirements are for the specific species.
I remember it driving me insane and spending a lot of money… In fact I started out in a tortoise table as well, realized keeping my tort on the floor was impossible to maintain levels of humdity, proper lighting. So environmental factors play a role in how to control lighting/ humdity etc. Most of us here use thermometer gauges to keep track of temps/humdity. You can easily purchase from home depot or any garden center.
You only need 2 lights the most for a tortoise table like yours. Adding lights vary in size of enclosure/length. A small tortoise table does not need 4 lights only two. You want to have a cool side, and a basking side for your tortoise to have the option to get out of the heat and cool down.
Take away the extra lights you need one for heat one for uvb/basking most basking bulbs include the uvb which is why some people get confused and think they need all of these lighting systems. Most contain uvb in basking bulbs or vice versa.
I remember it driving me insane and spending a lot of money… In fact I started out in a tortoise table as well, realized keeping my tort on the floor was impossible to maintain levels of humdity, proper lighting. So environmental factors play a role in how to control lighting/ humdity etc. Most of us here use thermometer gauges to keep track of temps/humdity. You can easily purchase from home depot or any garden center.
You only need 2 lights the most for a tortoise table like yours. Adding lights vary in size of enclosure/length. A small tortoise table does not need 4 lights only two. You want to have a cool side, and a basking side for your tortoise to have the option to get out of the heat and cool down.
Take away the extra lights you need one for heat one for uvb/basking most basking bulbs include the uvb which is why some people get confused and think they need all of these lighting systems. Most contain uvb in basking bulbs or vice versa.
Noelluene
Active Member
Do you have any coiled UVB bulbs? Those can damage tortoises eyes by emitting harmful UVC.
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
- Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
- Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night.
- Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
- UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.
1. Overly dry dusty substrate. Coco coir is okay, but it must be kept damp and hand packed to keep the dust and mess down. Fine grade orchid bark would work much better for you and the tortoise.
2. CFL type UV bulbs are known to sometimes cause eye issue. Not all of them do it, but some of them do. Get rid of it and use a T5 HO type UV time for indoor UV instead, or real sunshine in a safe outdoor pen in the warmer months.
