# EMERGENCY!!!! (overheated)



## Atra42o (May 30, 2013)

I think my 9 month old sulcata is over heating!!! He's blowing bubbles out his mouth, he was soaking under a new bulb n I didn't realize it was too hot!!! Please help!!! What do I do?!?


I'm terrified!!! I'm wiping him down w/a towel soaked w/Luke warm water


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## tortadise (May 30, 2013)

*Re: EMERGENCY!!!!*

Place him in room temp area out of light and leave him be. Do not put him in cold or cool water.


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## Atra42o (May 30, 2013)

*EMERGENCY!!!!*

OH NO!!! As I was typing my husband put him in luke warm water, but I just took him out... He was only in there for 5 minutes or so.... Will that few minutes make it worse? He's stopped blowing bubbles after he put him in the water... He's perked up n walking around n wiping the ecoearth off his face... What else can I do? When will he show any bad symptoms?


Right now his entire enclosure is 83Â°


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## tortadise (May 30, 2013)

*Re: EMERGENCY!!!!*

Its ok. He should be fine. Just be cautious in the future with heat bulbs, and warm water. This also goes for outside during summer. 10 minutes in direct sun even in cool tap water can kill. Best advise is to get a temp gun. Just a few seconds to check everything before placement outside, and or soaking. We have all been there. The good thing is he is ok. Just watch him and dont use too much heat for a few days. 

Sent from my SPH-D710 using TortForum mobile app


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## Atra42o (May 30, 2013)

*EMERGENCY!!!!*

Thank u sooo much! I will definitely b more careful... I've had him since July 8th, but I'm unsure exactly how old he was since someone found him in their yard in Baltimore, md... All I have to go on is his umbilical scar was fresh n he still had his egg tooth (it fell off 3weeks later)... This is the first time anything bad has happened, so I'm kinda freaking out... Thanks again


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## wellington (May 30, 2013)

*RE: EMERGENCY!!!!*

For me, the best way to soak them is in warm water. Nothing else. When the water starts getting a little cooler then when you put it in, dump it and add new warm water. This way a tortoise can never over heat during a soak. This is the second one I have read about in about a week or so. I would play it safe and forget the light. Too hard to tell how hot they are getting without having a temp gun on them the whole time. I hope all turns out okay. Sounds like you got to him in time. Good luck.


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## alysciaingram (May 30, 2013)

*EMERGENCY!!!!*

The same thing happened to my tort a couple weeks ago. I placed him on the cool side of his enclosure under a cool, damp paper towel. He was sluggish for a day or so, but is back to his normal self. My vet recommended to me that I be conscientious about his exposure to too much heat, because after over heating once they are more susceptible. 

Hopefully more people realize that soaking a tort under a lamp is bad advice and is potentially fatal. Not that I'm blaming either one of us, but if someone can read it and learn from us, rather than experience it, all the better.

Glad your little one is ok.


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## Atra42o (May 30, 2013)

*EMERGENCY!!!!*

Thanks... Probably not going to sleep much tonight... I don't want to bother him, but I want to make sure he's ok n not having a hard time breathing (I read that drowning also causes bubbles from the mouth) He's been moving around, not as much as normal, but it was also 8pm by the time I felt I could relax a bit (he goes to bed at 8) I checked at 9 n he was relaxing out of his hide... I just checked again n he has moved to his hide... Ill keep updating everyone as needed... Thank u so much for all the help... All the info I've found on here regarding overheating says if he wasn't dead when I found him, he is probably going to b fine, n tortidise n I have been talking via pm, n they have been very reassuring n saying he will most likely b fine... So I guess it's just time to wait n see what happens... Thanks again


Thanks alycia... Glad ur baby is ok.. In the 9 months I've had him, nothing bad has ever happened... Not sure how old he is exactly, but I got him July 8th after someone found him roaming their yard (I live in Baltimore md so that is REALLY unusual) all I have to go on is his umbilical scar was fresh n he still had his egg tooth (it fell off 3 weeks later)... I think my mistake was thinking I could relax a little since I got him through the first year (almost) fragile hatchling stage... I haven't changed anything until last week when his basking bulb blew... I've read on here that using a regular bulb is ok, so my husband got one at lowes... It was fine until today (it was 95Â° outside) but I assumed (keyword lol) it would b ok since I had the a/c on... I will NEVER make that mistake again n hopefully, like u said, others will read this n learn from our mistake... Ill keep u posted... Apparently the next few hours will tell me that he is definitely ok... Not sure how long that is, but it's already been 3 hours since he started to act normal, so far so good 


Sorry, I spelled ur name wrong alyscia


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## Yvonne G (May 30, 2013)

*RE: EMERGENCY!!!!*

Just remember, if your house is 75F degrees, the soaking water isn't going to get any colder than 75F degrees. So even though it feels cool to your 98.6F degree body, it really isn't cold. I don't use any lights when I soak.


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## Atra42o (May 30, 2013)

Great advice Yvonne! It hadn't even occurred to me that it might feel cool even if its the correct temp... His enclosure is never below 80Â° at any time... I started putting him under his lamp during soaks this winter... I will never do it again though... These past 9 months I've learned so much, almost all from here, plus his reactions to everyday care... Don't know what I'd do without TFO... U guys have been more than helpful n always given me the best advice for oogway!! The only issue I currently have is a rep vet... They're r zero reputable vets around me... The only one retired a week after I got him... I've been searching for months, but everyone I met started with "I've never dealt w/torts" so I don't waste my time... Any suggestions?


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## pfara (May 30, 2013)

There's one in Abingdon that has 2 tort vets there. Haven't been there, yet, but it's called Chadwell Animal Hospital I believe. Also check out arav.org for a list of reptile vets. But the plus side to Chadwell is that it's next to Wegmans (cactus and organic greens)


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## Atra42o (May 30, 2013)

I think I may have called already, but ill try again in the morning... I think they said they don't have much experience w/sulcatas... I don't want to spend a bunch of money just for them to lump him in w/other species... I'm afraid they might make a mistake that could end up harming him in the long run, if not worse... I am so thankful to have someone so close to me, it's great knowing I can talk to u whenever  thanks for the heads up 


Just as a heads up, my first thought when I saw the bubbles was that soap somehow got into his tub while I was filling it... Then I remembered reading about overheating on here... That's when I started to panic... But I wanted to thank everyone on TFO, because w/o u guys, I'd still b freaking out right now... Thanks for all the responses n encouraging words... U guys have helped more than u realize n in more than one way


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## pfara (May 30, 2013)

Atra42o said:


> I am so thankful to have someone so close to me, it's great knowing I can talk to u whenever  thanks for the heads up



No kidding, right?  You can always call them up and ask a few quick questions about how they would properly care for a sully. The worst thing they could say is "Toss 'em in a sandbox and throw something green for them to eat once a month." Lemme know how it goes and though it's prolly super hard to do, if Tortadise et al. say oogs should be okay, then try to relax a bit. <3


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## Atra42o (May 30, 2013)

Lol thanks, I'm really trying... Ur probably right, everything is pointing to being ok so far, it's the next few days I'm worried about... I've had him since he was about a week or so (itll b a year july 8th) n have over reacted on more than one occasion, but it's hard not to b worried since I've grown so attached n have gotten him almost all the way out of the "fragile hatchling stage"... It would devastate me n the rest of my family to get him this far only to lose him due to my stupidity... I feel horrible


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## sibi (May 30, 2013)

So glad your baby is fine. I also don't put a lamp when soaking because of what you just experienced. Please keep us posted.


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## Atra42o (May 30, 2013)

But I really appreciate having u to talk to, so glad u messaged me  xoxox


Glad my experience helped Sibi  if nothing else good comes from this, I'll take comfort in knowing I helped someone else from making the same mistake I made... I'll definitely keep u posted, thanks for the support


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## pfara (May 30, 2013)

Text me if you want. I'll pull an all nighter with you if you're gonna go all psycho-mommy-mode like I would (if roles were reversed.) We can trade phone pics of the kids. I gave my guys mazuri for the first time today and took a bunch of mazuri face pics lol.


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## Atra42o (May 30, 2013)

Lol ur amazing!!! Thanks  I already pm'ed u my number earlier... I'm not gonna make u stay up, but i probably will, so if ur up, I'd really appreciate the company... Plus I wanna c the pics  idk if u have seen pics of oogie on here, but I have A TON on my phone... Thanks again, u made me laugh!!


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## Dar's mum (Jun 2, 2013)

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear about your baby. Hope he's ok now.
I have been bathing my Russian under the lamp and never dreamt that I could overheat him! 
I definitely stop doing it! Thank you for sharing your experience!

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using TortForum mobile app


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## Madkins007 (Jun 2, 2013)

In a properly designed habitat, the tortoise should always have access to a good warm area big enough for its entire body, but should never be exposed to temperatures that could cause damage- for most species, that is going to be somewhere in the 95ish F range- but remember to measure it under the hot light where the back of the tortoise would be, not on the ground.

Kelly/Tortadice- I have complete respect for your experience and knowledge, but I am curious. Dr. Mader (Retpile Medicine and Surgery) recommends a short cool bath for no more than 20 minutes after a minor burn, but I cannot find any good info in there about what would most likely be considered heat exhaustion or heat stroke if it happened to a human. What is your source for your info?


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## tortadise (Jun 2, 2013)

I will look the for the original PDF from which I read on shocking a reptile from heat-cool too fast. It applies to mammals/humans too. In this scenario I don't think it would of been a problem. But most can knee jerk react and play them in an ice bath which can cause serious issues. This article kinda sums of what that article I read was about. Its not 100% pertained to the issue. But I recall a "systemic inflammation" sort of reaction when extreme temperatures were drastically changed. 

It gets in waaay over my head for sure. Especially when it gets into what organs and nervous systems do when temperatures are overly heated or cooled and how they are affected, I will try to find the original that pertained to tortoises and definitely shoot it over to yah. Good stuff to read for sure. I believe it was prichard that authored it, if I recall.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15970487


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## Atra42o (Jun 2, 2013)

Dars mom- thank u... He's doing great now... I started putting him under his lamp over winter because I didn't want him to get an Ri n the water always felt pretty chilly to me ... One small detail that was overlooked could have easily taken his life... I'm so glad that my experience may have prevented a potentially tragic mishap for ur baby... Yvonne made a great point... Even though the water may feel cool to us, it may b the perfect temp for them as r body temps r much higher... I went out n bought 3 new thermometers so I won't have to guess anymore... Good luck w/ur baby


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