# Baby Sulcata won't move much. Please help!



## Heather Guerrieri (Oct 14, 2017)

My 3 month baby Sulcata (his name is Reptar) is acting funky. Just 2 days ago, he was eating perfectly fine. He was running around, eating like normal. He has done this before and I figured out it was his eyes. When they would only open after a bath, I got some eye drops and then I ended up buying the Terramycin and he went back to normal the next day. 

He becomes sluggish or doesn't move at all for a good 3 days or so. So I have to put him close (not directly under because he doesn't even do that during his normal days) to his heat lamp during the day and then the CHE at night. 

I'm not sure if this is normal every now and then or if something is going on. It scares me so much.

Things you want to know:
-Temps are: 100-105° (°F) under basking lamp, coolest corner is about 75° but he never goes over there unless it is during the day. 80° under the CHE at night.
-Humidity is 60-80% at all times.
-He's in a 40 gallon Rubbermaid tub with a handmade chicken wired wooden lid. <very well made and sturdy.
-I've been putting 2 blankets over the top at night to keep the CHE working throughout the enclosure.
-I got him from Kamp Kenan who had the exact type of enclosure (Rubbermaid tub).
-I have a water dish and he gets a warm bath once a day.
-I feed him a lot of grasses from the yard, about once or twice a week he gets ZooMed Natural Grassland Tortoise Food (the pellet looking stuff). He eats a few bites but then wants grasses and other green stuff instead, but still offered. He eats some stuff like the cactus and other approved plants/leaves that are on the good list on Tortoisetable.uk? 

He gets fed once a day plus has grass in there during the day while I'm at work just in case he gets hungry.

-The Reptisun 100W heat light is on for 14 hours. The Reptisun 10.0 UVB light is on for maybe 8 hours. The long UVB light is on for about an hour or so during the day while he is eating. 
-He has pooped yesterday and once today in his water. He never poops in there for me. He peed on me today while we were basking out in the real sun today.
-I use the reptibark, coco coil, and the moss mix as a substrate. I keep it moist. I put the bath water into the tub as well as spray it at least once a day in the morning.
-The bath water and all water is filtered.
-He doesn't burrow yet. He doesn't even try to dig. He just lays around. He doesn't even get under the moss... he lays on top of it.

I am deeply in love with tortoises and turtles. Always have been since I was a kid. He's my first tortoise. I feel like I did a LOT of research before I bought him and I am constantly looking up dos and don'ts.

Do Sulcatas do this? Have days they don't want to eat or even move?


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## wellington (Oct 14, 2017)

Hatchlings will sleep a lot. However, mine (leopard) had only two hatchlings has never not come out to eat and at least take a roam around the enclosure a couple times. I think one thing you need to do is get your night heating elements on a thermostat. It's possible it's getting way too hot.


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## Heather Guerrieri (Oct 14, 2017)

wellington said:


> Hatchlings will sleep a lot. However, mine (leopard) had only two hatchlings has never not come out to eat and at least take a roam around the enclosure a couple times. I think one thing you need to do is get your night heating elements on a thermostat. It's possible it's getting way too hot.


See but I didn't think mine was a problem until I read a bunch of posts on here saying that it needed to be 80°minimum at night and in the coolest part of the enclosure? It is usually 74° in my house. So I used to turn the lights all off and had no heating element on at night because the humidity was still about 60-70%. I do live in Arkansas, so humidity is a friend in this case. 

He has done this once before but I did the same thing as I did before, and it hasn't helped him.

Maybe tomorrow he will surprise me. That's what I'm hoping is that he kicks out of this little funk and goes back to normal. Maybe there was something random in the last batch of grass he ate before all of this? I'm not sure how they react to that kind of thing. If they get an upset tummy or something?


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## wellington (Oct 14, 2017)

High humidity and temps below 80 will make a sick tort. 
The temp all over, except the basking spot should be 80 day and night with humidity at 80%.


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## Heather Guerrieri (Oct 14, 2017)

wellington said:


> High humidity and temps below 80 will make a sick tort.
> The temp all over, except the basking spot should be 80 day and night with humidity at 80%.


I've recently changed to that. Before, I was told 70° at night was okay. So I got some misleading information.


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## wellington (Oct 14, 2017)

Heather Guerrieri said:


> I've recently changed to that. Before, I was told 70° at night was okay. So I got some misleading information.


Yes you did. 
I know my leopards slow down come colder fall weather. Even when they were strictly inside with their nice warm temps. Just be sure it's not getting too hot at night and keep up the warm soaks. Hopefully it's nothing serious. 
Are you giving any calcium? A small pinch twice a week on its food. They don't usually like it, so try to hide it on its favorite food. 
Keep us posted on his he's doing. Good luck


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## Heather Guerrieri (Oct 14, 2017)

wellington said:


> Yes you did.
> I know my leopards slow down come colder fall weather. Even when they were strictly inside with their nice warm temps. Just be sure it's not getting too hot at night and keep up the warm soaks. Hopefully it's nothing serious.
> Are you giving any calcium? A small pinch twice a week on its food. They don't usually like it, so try to hide it on its favorite food.
> Keep us posted on his he's doing. Good luck


Yes. I try to sprinkle it in the ZooMed food but also on the grass. Either one about 2 or 3 times a week.

Thank you for your input! Will do! I hope he does what he did last time and does great tomorrow..


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## Bee62 (Oct 15, 2017)

Hello Heather,
it is possible that your baby tort has the beginning of a RI. When it was humid but too cold at night in the enclosure of your baby tort he could have got sick. Can you show us some pics of your tort and the enclosure ?
How look the eyes of your baby ? Swollen? Closed ? We need pictures to help you with your problems. Healthy sulcata babies are never lethargic and they will eat the whole day long with short breaks. When a sulcata baby is inanctive there is something wrong.


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