Watery Eyes

[Papillon17]

Hello everyone, I have had my Sulcata tortoise for about a little over three years now. I need some help to understand why my baby has watery eyes. The first time I took him to the vet for it he had little bubbles tiny ( nothing green or mucus coming out), they ended up giving me antibiotics for him. They told me at that time that he might be a little too hot in his place, but i keep an eye on the temp every day and its been at a good temp. I did start to spray down his area to keep it a little humid but I spray his place every 2-3 days. It's been some time and I just noticed yesterday that his eyes were watery, no bubbles just water as if he has been crying. I'm not for sure if I should take him back to the vet since they don't seem to know much about reptiles and I don't want to give my baby meds if he doesn't need it. If anyone can help me I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

 

[Ink]

@maggie3fan aren't sulcata tortoises known for watery eyes?

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Whats the humidity in his enclosure? And it can be normal.. they are called the crying tortoise

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

He prob didnt need antibiotics to begin with

 

[Maggie3fan]

@maggie3fan aren't sulcata tortoises known for watery eyes?

Yes, they are called the "crying tortoise", and promise you won't tell, but I agree with Chubbs. However, you 'might' check his ambient temp and make sure it's not too hot all over and not just under a basking light

 

[Papillon17]

Whats the humidity in his enclosure? And it can be normal.. they are called the crying tortoise

I have never read that they were called that, but his humidity always stay around 50. More towards summer raises around 60 and up depending on how hot it is, also I give hime baths twice a week.

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

I have never read that they were called that, but his humidity always stay around 50. More towards summer raises around 60 and up depending on how hot it is, also I give hime baths twice a week.

How big is ur guy?

 

[Papillon17]

He prob didnt need antibiotics to begin with

I agree with that, when I did take him to the vet he was fine it was just the little bubbles. His eating is great, walks around I have not seen anything else that was concerning. But after going to the vets so many times not for him but my bearded dragon I then realized the vets don't know much about reptiles and didn't want to go back.

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

I agree with that, when I did take him to the vet he was fine it was just the little bubbles. His eating is great, walks around I have not seen anything else that was concerning. But after going to the vets so many times not for him but my bearded dragon I then realized the vets don't know much about reptiles and didn't want to go back.

Most vets dont. They just go out back and flip through a book or google

 

[Maggie3fan]

I have never read that they were called that, but his humidity always stay around 50. More towards summer raises around 60 and up depending on how hot it is, also I give hime baths twice a week.

He needs to be soaked daily for abt 10 minutes, he needs 80% humidity and his temp should never go below 85 Fahrenheit

 

[Papillon17]

How big is ur guy?

I couldn't get his weight but his length is 12" and width is 7 1/2". I was trying to send a picture but its giving me a bit of a hard time

 

[Maggie3fan]

He needs to be soaked daily for abt 10 minutes, he needs 80% humidity and his temp should never go below 85 Fahrenheit

In Vegas, he needs shade outside and a cool water soaking dish

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

I couldn't get his weight but his length is 12" and width is 7 1/2". I was trying to send a picture but its giving me a bit of a hard time

Just click the attach files button and hit photo library

 

[Papillon17]

In Vegas, he needs shade outside and a cool water soaking dish

80% is pretty high humidity isn't it? Ive always just read that it needs to be between 40 to 60 at least.

 

[KarenSoCal]

80% is pretty high humidity isn't it? Ive always just read that it needs to be between 40 to 60 at least.

As hatchlings they need 80% humidity to help prevent kidney damage from dehydration. Then they need 80% humidity to prevent pyramiding and the resulting MBD. That is the ideal...in reality it isn't that high when they are outside in our single digit climate. But they do need humidity as much as possible for as long as they are actively growing. Pyramiding theoretically can start at any time.

 

[Papillon17]

Thank You for that,
At what age does the humidity need to start decreasing? And also i actually do not have him outside yet. My partner and I are going to once the backyard is done. Papillion does have a lot of room right now, we have built him an inside home its 4x8ft box he has a water, shade and basking area. We do still take him outside to get some natural sun as well.

 

[KarenSoCal]

Thank You for that,
At what age does the humidity need to start decreasing? And also i actually do not have him outside yet. My partner and I are going to once the backyard is done. Papillion does have a lot of room right now, we have built him an inside home its 4x8ft box he has a water, shade and basking area. We do still take him outside to get some natural sun as well.

The humidity never needs to go down. A humid environment is good for tort shells. But especially when they move outside, the relative humidity in our desert location is often in the single digits percentage.
Very, very dry. Once outside full time, you will need to build a heated night box for him. Most keepers who live in dry climates put shelves in the night box and put bins of water on them to try to raise the humidity a bit.

If Papillon's carapace is 12", it's time for him to move outside in a huge outdoor area. At that size, 8x4ft really is small.

Here's info about the night box if you need it.

What You'll Need to Build A Night Box

I just typed up a list of the needed supplies to build a night box and thought I'd copy paste it here: For sulcatas, I make the doors 26x16". This will fit all but the largest of large males for their entire life. If you end up with one of the giants, you will eventually have to make another...

tortoiseforum.org

Here is the 4x8 rendering of Tom's Night Box. With Exploded view.

This is a rendering I did based off of @Tom 's heated night box enclosure. Its probably not a 100% accurate. Door is offset to one side for my personal needs but can easily be moved. Let me know if you see any issues with it. Feed back appreciated. High res renderings can be downloaded here...

tortoiseforum.org

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Double Door Night Box

As the years have gone by and I build more of these boxes, I learn more and more each time. This one is the latest and I incorporated everything I've learned over the years. I also tried to take lots of pics so I can explain in more detail some of what is going on. It will take multiple posts to...

www.tortoiseforum.org