# My tortoise is chirping.



## Elyce (Mar 17, 2016)

I am unsure on how normal this is, my tortoise is chirping alot. In his sleep, and he seems very aggitated. Hes been on drops for two weeks and soon well tomorrow will be off of it. However he seems like a nostrill is clogged or something. Anyone else with a 5 month old Sulcata seen this?


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## Tom (Mar 17, 2016)

What are you using for night heat?

What are your four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking area and overnight low?

What type of UV bulb are you using?

How often are you soaking?


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## Elyce (Mar 17, 2016)

I soak him twice a week.
My tempatures are always 100 degrees in the heat he as a multi mixed light so one stimulates the sun but doesnt produce heat, while the other produces heat 75 watts each. The other is a moonlight heat stimulator also 75 watts keeps cool to the lowest 70 degrees, its zoo med brand. I planted organic wheat grass he gets into once in awhile but mostly i give him a fresh amount of organic food. Plenty of calcium and clean water not really tapped i do use bottle water. And i spray down twice a day for humidity but mostly on wood and rock and cypress mulch. Its very dry in the dessert.


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## Tom (Mar 17, 2016)

Elyce said:


> I soak him twice a week.
> My tempatures are always 100 degrees in the heat he as a multi mixed light so one stimulates the sun but doesnt produce heat, while the other produces heat 75 watts each. The other is a moonlight heat stimulator also 75 watts keeps cool to the lowest 70 degrees, its zoo med brand. I planted organic wheat grass he gets into once in awhile but mostly i give him a fresh amount of organic food. Plenty of calcium and clean water not really tapped i do use bottle water. And i spray down twice a day for humidity but mostly on wood and rock and cypress mulch. Its very dry in the dessert.



Sounds like you've got the wrong bulbs and your temps are too low. The chirping is likely the onset of a respiratory infection due to low temps.

Get the night temps up. No part of the enclosure should ever drop below 80.

They need it dark at night, but still warm. The moonlight bulb, does it make light? CHEs set on a thermostat work best.

The wattages of your bulbs are not what is important. The temperatures under them are what matters. The same bulbs can produce different temps in different enclosure for a wide variety of reasons.

You should be soaking daily, or close to it.

Is your non-heat producing daylight simulation bulb a coil type? If yes, that could also be a contributing factor. Those bulbs can burn their eyes and it hurts them.

All of this and more is right here:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/


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## Elyce (Mar 17, 2016)

Not a coil bulb, the night thing is we have iylt naturally 70 to 75 in the house, his surroundings is not lid covered so when it reads 70 in his tank i also add on a few because of the heat in the room. The moonlight as a floresent light so its a soft pruple. When i bought him he had a respatory infection hes been in drops for two weeks. If thats why hes chirping then the medicine isnt workingm


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## Tom (Mar 17, 2016)

What "drops" have you been using?

Who advised you on these drops and on the heating and lighting equipment you are using? Sounds like you've been talking to a pet store. These are the things that they typically suggest.


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## Tom (Mar 17, 2016)

Elyce said:


> Not a coil bulb, the night thing is we have iylt naturally 70 to 75 in the house, his surroundings is not lid covered so when it reads 70 in his tank i also add on a few because of the heat in the room. The moonlight as a floresent light so its a soft pruple. When i bought him he had a respatory infection hes been in drops for two weeks. If thats why hes chirping then the medicine isnt workingm



They don't need light at night, purple or otherwise. They need darkness and heat.

70-75 is too cold, especially if you are using damp substrate and misting.

The top of the tank should be covered to hold in heat and humidity. Without a cover, you are fighting a losing battle to physics.


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## Elyce (Mar 17, 2016)

I have two vets that are local and care for Sulcata tortoises, my tortoises vet perscribed them. A shot that young could creat necrosis.not a typical pet store, they owned a female adult sulcata for years and openly roams the store. So i took advice from someone selling but also owning.


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## Elyce (Mar 17, 2016)

Okay, thats easy to fix the moon light and adjust the heat at night


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## Tom (Mar 17, 2016)

Elyce said:


> I have two vets that are local and care for Sulcata tortoises, my tortoises vet perscribed them. A shot that young could creat necrosis.not a typical pet store, they owned a female adult sulcata for years and openly roams the store. So i took advice from someone selling but also owning.



I agree with the vets assessment that a shot could be bad for a baby.

But the fact that the tortoise roams loose in a store, and the fact the this baby was sick when you got it from them, tells me these people have the wrong idea about what a tortoise needs. Also, prescribing medicine for the symptoms of an RI without addressing and correcting the _cause_ of the RI is at best futile, and at worse dangerous.

All the info you need is in the threads I linked. Right now you need to make the entire enclosure no lower than 85 degrees day and night, and into the low 90s during the day would be good. This will help kick the RI that has been brought on by the cold temps. You still need your 100 degree basking spot, and you need to soak in warm shallow water in a tall sided opaque tub for 30-40 minutes a day. All the necessary electric heat is going to dry things out. The soaks will ensure good hydration during this treatment. Keep the temps that hot for at least two weeks AFTER symptoms disappear.

Please invite your vet here. We will not attack them or insult them, but its important that they learn that what they are doing is not right for this species. Please feel free to print out those threads and share them with your vets.


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## Elyce (Mar 17, 2016)

Im sorry, i should make it clear. I didnt buy the tortoise from the vet. And no im not going to invite a vet to the forum. Im sure i can share the idea of checking a tortoises surroundings better to them but anything else is well not theyre job! Thats my job, to learn adjust and change for the home sake of my tortoise. I do appreciate the threads i have read them. I found the climate control understandable but in California a bit well interesting for the humidity and temp. It gets hott here. I will be glad to change his atmosphere and hope to kick the infection.
Thank you very much.


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## Yvonne G (Mar 18, 2016)

Hi Elyce:

Tom lives in the desert too. But what's going on outside your house should have no impact on the tortoise's set up if you have the enclosure prepared correctly. Many people who live in the desert keep, for instance, redfooted tortoises that need to live in jungle-like conditions. This is accomplished by covering the enclosure to keep the moist air inside. This is what Tom is trying to get across to you. Forget about the fact that you live in the desert. Set up the enclosure like you've been told - moist substrate, the correct heat and lights, and a covered enclosure, and it won't matter that you live in a desert, because conditions inside the habitat will be correct for the tortoise.


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## Tom (Mar 18, 2016)

Elyce said:


> Im sorry, i should make it clear. I didnt buy the tortoise from the vet. And no im not going to invite a vet to the forum. Im sure i can share the idea of checking a tortoises surroundings better to them but anything else is well not theyre job! Thats my job, to learn adjust and change for the home sake of my tortoise. I do appreciate the threads i have read them. I found the climate control understandable but in California a bit well interesting for the humidity and temp. It gets hott here. I will be glad to change his atmosphere and hope to kick the infection.
> Thank you very much.



You are welcome. Please feel free to ask all your questions and share your thoughts. We are all here to talk tortoises and we hope we can help.


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