What should i do?

[jessicasatx]

We just moved our 6-7 month old sulcata from a 10 gallon glass tank to an open cage with different bedding. Now he isnt as active, isnt eating as much and had dry skin and eyes. We have just started daily warm baths and more watery foods, i also have a vet appt for thurs but am wondering if you know what i should do. Should i move him back to his old tank?

old tank

new tank

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. He needs to be in a proper enclosure. Not a dog cage. It's too open, can't possibly hold in heat or humidity. He needs to be in 80% humidity with temps at his level no lower then 80 and a basking of 95+. Please read Toms threads below in my post for proper raising and housing for your sully.

 

[lkwagner]

Yeah he's not active because his temps are probably wayyyyy too low, the humidity is too low, the substrate is wrong, and the enclosure can't be open like that. Please read toms thread on how to raise sulcatas and continue with daily soaks. You definitely need to boost temps asap

 

[jessicasatx]

Thank you both so much. So my next follow up questions are when should I move to a bigger enclosure and should it be glass tank also? And I'm guessing I don't need the vet?

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Now is the perfect time to get one of those Christmas tree plastic bins, which are perfect for a closed chamber which he very much needs. Remember hot and humid = healthy and happy. The openness of the cage and how cold he is, is why your baby is shutting down, if you will. Remember that with a closed humid chamber, you need to keep your ambient temps at 80 degrees. Also, coco coir is a better choice for substrate, in my opinion. : )

---

No, I think no vet ... yet ... must change habitat soon though. Your little sulcata is telling you his habitat sucks for him. Remember in the wild they are in hot and humid conditions. You almost have to keep these babies in a terrarium. It makes them feel safe and secure. And that makes them happy. When they shut down, something is "off". In this case, the cage is best left for the doggie. Crates do make dogs feel secure, like wolves in their dens. : )

 

[wellington]

I agree, you don't need a vet at this time. You need a new, better enclosure ASAP. If you can't do that now, then I would suggest closing up the dog crate with plastic or wood. However, a new enclosure should be first on the to do and buy list. The boxes mentioned is a great enclosure. The big ones that hold fake Xmas trees should be good for a while.

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Or, put baby back in the aquarium and create that hot and humid condition he needs, for now, there. You can get the Christmas tree container after Christmas, on sale. Yay! Baby should be okay for a little bit more in the aquarium. Some folks use foil on top, for a cover, or you can get a plexiglass piece, to hold in moisture. Add your substrate and some plants. Hot and humid = healthy and happy. The 4H Club. : )

 

[Linz2491]

A 10 gallon is too small as well!

 

[Elohi]

Now is the perfect time to get one of those Christmas tree plastic bins, which are perfect for a closed chamber which he very much needs. Remember hot and humid = healthy and happy. The openness of the cage and how cold he is, is why your baby is shutting down, if you will. Remember that with a closed humid chamber, you need to keep your ambient temps at 80 degrees. Also, coco coir is a better choice for substrate, in my opinion. : )

---

No, I think no vet ... yet ... must change habitat soon though. Your little sulcata is telling you his habitat sucks for him. Remember in the wild they are in hot and humid conditions. You almost have to keep these babies in a terrarium. It makes them feel safe and secure. And that makes them happy. When they shut down, something is "off". In this case, the cage is best left for the doggie. Crates do make dogs feel secure, like wolves in their dens. : )

---

Beebee, do you know who still sells the hue Christmas tree storage boxes? I ask because upon searching I'm finding most stores have switched to nylon duffel bags and huge bags made from tarp like material.

 

[lkwagner]

Or, put baby back in the aquarium and create that hot and humid condition he needs, for now, there. You can get the Christmas tree container after Christmas, on sale. Yay! Baby should be okay for a little bit more in the aquarium. Some folks use foil on top, for a cover, or you can get a plexiglass piece, to hold in moisture. Add your substrate and some plants. Hot and humid = healthy and happy. The 4H Club. : )

I wouldn't put it back into a 10 gallon

 

[Yvonne G]

To be perfectly honest with you, Jessica, the cage doesn't look all that much bigger than the tank. I really don't think you've gained much more space.

If it were my baby, and I wanted him out of the aquarium, I'd buy a big plastic tote. I've never been a fan of the cages for tortoises. They're just too open. If you are really dedicated to keeping him in the cage, then at least wrap something around the lower half of it. Newspaper, brown paper, anything to give it a more closed in feel.

I like this size plastic bin for baby tortoises:

This one happens to hold baby box turtles, so it's heavily planted. It's about 3' long and a foot and a half wide.

 

[edwardbo]

With all the info on here,you should know better than to post this post,read the care sheets,and the posts from TOM.arghhh! .does the term HUMID hide mean anything to you....do your home work THEN report back to us on what you've done to remedy this situation.Jessi your a smart girl ,start studying and let us know what your going to change .with love.

 

[kjr153]

Tom is going to have a heart attack if he sees this.... Hurry delete.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Hi Jessica,

Thank you for posting your question. I hope you are receptive to the advice that has been given to you. It's in your little guys best interest.
You can't change the past but you can give him a better future

Look into how to recreate the hot and humid African season these guys hatch into and ask for help along the way. Many of us will do our best to aid you in creating the right set up.

 

[Elohi]

Jessica seems to be interested in providing what is best for her tort, hence trying to make changes.

Edward, your response shocked me a little...if I received a response like that when I was so new to this forum, I wouldn't have returned. I don't see how such a snippy response is helpful.

and I agree with the others. Your little tort needs more space. And that space needs to be hot and humid for the health and well being your tortoise.
Really big plastic totes are a cheap route. I got a 54 gallon Rubbermaid at Home Depot for $20. There are various ways to cover the top to hold in the heat and humidity, I chose a big sheet of plexiglass. I cut holes in it for the lamps. It is working very well, I'm quite pleased.
I'm still quite new to keeping tortoises so I am still seeking the advice of those who know much more than myself. There is a lot of information here and a lot of people to help guide you when you have questions. What else can we help you with?

 

[kjr153]

I too am guilty of not providing the proper care for my Sulcata at first. The pet stores are just as clueless as we were. They give wrong and misleading advice about proper care for the poor tortoises. I'm glad you found the forum. If it wasn't for the forum my tort would not be a happy one. Like Heather said, you cannot change what has happened in the past. Learn from your mistakes and move forward. I have asked so many questions on the forum. Some people get annoyed because it is the same questions over and over. I get that, but at the same time if you never ask, you never know. Hang in there. You have total support from tort lovers.

 

[Jacqui]

I am so glad your asking for help and suggestions. That takes a lot to do and I am proud of you for doing so. I will agree with the folks saying not to put him back into the ten gallon. There is just no way to have any temp variation, let alone room in something that small.

Yvonne showed you a good, simple, and fairly cheap setup that will work for awhile. If you want to keep your cage, then do what was suggested (put up sides, change substrate into something that holds moisture like coir or soil). Your hides will not last long once you have the needed humidity/substrate. Might want to think about changing to something else or better yet perhaps take a small plastic container and have damp long strand spagnum moss in there (plus make sure it stays warm). Also check to see if, because of the cage height, are you having your lights too high to really work as well as they should?

Do you have like a temperature gun? Those are really helpful in knowing exactly what temps are in each area and are more accurate then the round thermometers.

I am sorta surprised that he hasn't figured out how to squeeze through those bars, they seem rather wide. Don't worry, you will get it worked out. Enclosures are always a process that never ends and always needs a new tweaking.

 

[jessicasatx]

Aside from edward thank you all for your info. I posted asap to this forum last night cause we were so worried. I didn't even attempt to look at any other area of forum so for those of u who are "scolding" me, remember you were a first timer tort owner too at one point. If not for my thick skin i would not have came back. Help others out Don't yell at them and discourage them.


The place we bought him at had him in a tank like mine and didn't have any info. I have looked around online but the info varies so much. I actually bought a humidifier for his cage and it just came today. I put him back in the tank until I can buy a plastic tub on thurs. I have him a warm soak as soon as he was back in old tank and he already looks happy to be back home. He is walking all around What do you guys think of the ceramic heat emitters ir what ever they are called that don't give light but heat all the time?

I only have his best intrest in mind. We treat him like a child and we are like new parents again. So it's def a learning experience. Again thanks to most of you for the help!

 

[Elohi]

Hi Jessica,
This is my set up. This is my night shift though. I use a black light in one side and a CHE in the other for nighttime. I may change that to two CHE's soon. (Humidifier in the picture because I had a drop in humidity)



During the day I have a MVB (mercury vapor bulb) on one side and based on temps, the CHE may or may not also be on. I have ground sphagnum peat moss and ground coconut coir for substrate. It's dirt-like and has held moisture well without molding. I have three leo hatchlings so I have multiple hides and a larger humid hide made from a plastic to go box. I have a Tera cotta catch saucers for food and water dishes. The enclosure is always above 80F and gets up to 93F at times. The mvb bulb is where the most warmth is and they occasionally bask under that lamp. The humidity is between 80-99% depending on varying factors like room temp and humidity OUTSIDE the enclosure. I have a humidity/temp meter inside the enclosure at all times. I occasionally move it around and temp check if I've made changes.
My Leo's are very young so I feed them twice a day, everyday.
All of the things I've done for my Leo's, and even my ornate box turtle have come from the guidance and advice of this forum. I had little previous experience. I love this forum and hope you will find it a great tool to getting your tort set up properly.
I got almost all of this stuff and lowes and/or Home Depot. The ground coconut coir came from petsmart.
Mercury vapor bulb came from petsmart as well. The rest was the hardware stores. My setup isn't real pretty but it's working really well. Hope this helps some.

 

[wellington]

The ceramic heat emitters or CHE are great for heat and no light for night time. They last forever too. Don't buy any less then 100 watts. Also get a metal dome light from a Home Depot type store that has a ceramic socket to house the CHE. A couple more days in the small tank won't hurt until you can get another, larger and better enclosure. I like coconut coir for a substrate, it holds humidity really good and won't mold. Don't forget to check out To s threads below to help you get set up.