PLEASE SOMEONE HELP (tortoise upside down)

DrSpurred

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Guys so I was at school and I logged onto my live camera to check on my baby sulcata and I noticed he was flipped over so I called my neighbor and she ran over and flipped him back over and has been sitting with him for the past hour and now he wont stop flipping over. His terrarium is completely blacked out so he cant see out, its winter here also so he hasnt been outside for as long as ive had him but i really just dont know what to do now. He was flipped over for about 10mins from what I can tell from the cameras. I just got off of the phone with all my associates who work at surrounding veterinary clinics and they told me he might have a Vestibular infection which is similar to Vertigo in the way that they become very uncoordinated and don't really know what they are doing, I schedule another appointed with my friend but he doesnt go in until friday and when I get home today from school I have to go straight to work. I really dont know what to do to help him. He is currently in a very large ceramic bowl inside him terrarium away from his basking light but the ambient tempature is 80F. Someone please help me figure out what to do, ive never ran into this situation before.
(sorry for all the typos Im in class and needed to rush this forum post and dont have time to correct)

@Tom
 

Frogg.Queen

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The situation with your baby sulcata sounds really strange [emoji848]
If it’s an infection like your veterinarian said, I’d suggest keeping him cozied up, since most illnesses in reptiles are due to too cold of temperatures. Keeping him in a uvb basking area of 80-85 degrees would be my suggestion.
Other than that, what’s the humidity of his enclosure? Sulcatas are desert tortoises and need to stay really dry (humidity should be 30% or less) sometimes humidity gives desert tortoises a lot of illnesses, like colds and RI.
Can you post a photo of your sulcata’s enclosure so I️ can get a better idea of some factors to your sulcatas health?
Also, a tip for when baby tortoises are sick: feed them some carrots! They have vitamins that help fight off sicknesses :^)
Make sure to soak him daily as well in warm water.
 

JoesMum

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What is he flipping on? Is it always the same place. Most times this is caused by a tortoise that thinks it’s enclosure is too small or by there being a hazard that needs modifying to prevent the suicide bids
 

Frogg.Queen

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Also, forgot to mention; try to give the tortoise some space. If you handle him a lot it can stress him out, if you leave him in his enclosure he’ll be able to rest. Sometimes the best treatment for a tortoise is just giving them space. ;;
 

Hugo's Home

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The situation with your baby sulcata sounds really strange [emoji848]
If it’s an infection like your veterinarian said, I’d suggest keeping him cozied up, since most illnesses in reptiles are due to too cold of temperatures. Keeping him in a uvb basking area of 80-85 degrees would be my suggestion.
Other than that, what’s the humidity of his enclosure? Sulcatas are desert tortoises and need to stay really dry (humidity should be 30% or less) sometimes humidity gives desert tortoises a lot of illnesses, like colds and RI.
Can you post a photo of your sulcata’s enclosure so I️ can get a better idea of some factors to your sulcatas health?
Also, a tip for when baby tortoises are sick: feed them some carrots! They have vitamins that help fight off sicknesses :^)
Make sure to soak him daily as well in warm water.
Wait wait wait.. I thought hot and humid is excellent for sulcatas. Why they do so good in floridia, closed chambers etc to simulate the monsoon patterns when they hatch in the wild. Cold and humid causes RI and colds.. more so for babies than adults.. idk just from what I've read on here..
 

JoesMum

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Wait wait wait.. I thought hot and humid is excellent for sulcatas. Why they do so good in floridia, closed chambers etc to simulate the monsoon patterns when they hatch in the wild. Cold and humid causes RI and colds.. more so for babies than adults.. idk just from what I've read on here..
Sulcatas need 95-100F directly under the basking lamp. No less.

A baby in a viv needs a minimum of 80F for the ambient temperature day and night.

What is the floor area of the enclosure and what is the Straight Carapace Length of your tortoise? Here's how to measure SCL
http://www.tlady.clara.net/measure.htm
 

Hugo's Home

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Sulcatas need 95-100F directly under the basking lamp. No less.

A baby in a viv needs a minimum of 80F for the ambient temperature day and night.

What is the floor area of the enclosure and what is the Straight Carapace Length of your tortoise? Here's how to measure SCL
http://www.tlady.clara.net/measure.htm
Wait me or Dr spurred? I'm guessing Dr spurred. I'm so confused.. lol
 

Melis

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The situation with your baby sulcata sounds really strange [emoji848]
If it’s an infection like your veterinarian said, I’d suggest keeping him cozied up, since most illnesses in reptiles are due to too cold of temperatures. Keeping him in a uvb basking area of 80-85 degrees would be my suggestion.
Other than that, what’s the humidity of his enclosure? Sulcatas are desert tortoises and need to stay really dry (humidity should be 30% or less) sometimes humidity gives desert tortoises a lot of illnesses, like colds and RI.
Can you post a photo of your sulcata’s enclosure so I️ can get a better idea of some factors to your sulcatas health?
Also, a tip for when baby tortoises are sick: feed them some carrots! They have vitamins that help fight off sicknesses :^)
Make sure to soak him daily as well in warm water.
This is not accurate information at all. Please refrain from giving advice to people when you are not a subject matter expert. Lots of novices come to this site to get accurate information, due to so much inaccurate information floating around the web. Please, please, please do not spread information that is false.
 

TechnoCheese

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The situation with your baby sulcata sounds really strange [emoji848]
If it’s an infection like your veterinarian said, I’d suggest keeping him cozied up, since most illnesses in reptiles are due to too cold of temperatures. Keeping him in a uvb basking area of 80-85 degrees would be my suggestion.
Other than that, what’s the humidity of his enclosure? Sulcatas are desert tortoises and need to stay really dry (humidity should be 30% or less) sometimes humidity gives desert tortoises a lot of illnesses, like colds and RI.
Can you post a photo of your sulcata’s enclosure so I️ can get a better idea of some factors to your sulcatas health?
Also, a tip for when baby tortoises are sick: feed them some carrots! They have vitamins that help fight off sicknesses :^)
Make sure to soak him daily as well in warm water.

The basking temp for a baby sulcata should be 95-100 degrees, and the lowest temp the enclosure can go is 80. Sulcata tortoises are born in African grasslands during monsoon season, and stay in very humid burrows for the first year or so of their life. All tortoises have to have very humid enclosures as hatchlings, and even adults benefit from it, as long as the temps aren't too low.

Please read some of the care guides under a specific tortoise's section. TFO is working hard to correct these misconceptions that the internet has put out. It just seems that you have researched in those areas. :)
 

Chizbad

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The situation with your baby sulcata sounds really strange [emoji848]
If it’s an infection like your veterinarian said, I’d suggest keeping him cozied up, since most illnesses in reptiles are due to too cold of temperatures. Keeping him in a uvb basking area of 80-85 degrees would be my suggestion.
Other than that, what’s the humidity of his enclosure? Sulcatas are desert tortoises and need to stay really dry (humidity should be 30% or less) sometimes humidity gives desert tortoises a lot of illnesses, like colds and RI.
Can you post a photo of your sulcata’s enclosure so I️ can get a better idea of some factors to your sulcatas health?
Also, a tip for when baby tortoises are sick: feed them some carrots! They have vitamins that help fight off sicknesses :^)
Make sure to soak him daily as well in warm water.

Everything I’ve read over the last few weeks on these forums is the opposite of what you are saying regarding humidity. Hot and humid grows the best torts... the environment they truly come from is not desert but “edge of desert”, actually Mediterranean/Rain forest like. I’m not saying you are wrong but rather the talking heads in here seem to think the opposite of your beliefs and pretty much all agree on a closed chamber enclosure to keep in humidity
 

DrSpurred

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His humidity is 85 and the temperature is perfect. I removed all the wallpaper, I thought maybe he thought it was real so I replaced it with black non see through wallpaper but he is still trying to get out.
 

DrSpurred

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I removed all the items and he keeps going all over the Terrarium in each corner and flipping himself, I have a 75gl tank and he's 3inch so it's not a issue of space or maybe it is idk
 

Bambam1989

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Is it always in the corners that he is flipping? Could it be that the reflection from his enclosure is being cast against the glass making it look like there is an illusion of more space?(hope that made sense).
If it is always the same corner maybe place a hide there. The photo comes across to me of a frustrated and confused tortoise not a sick one.. I am not an expert just expressing some ideas.
 

JoesMum

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Is it always in the corners that he is flipping? Could it be that the reflection from his enclosure is being cast against the glass making it look like there is an illusion of more space?(hope that made sense).
Or he might be trying to chase away the other tortoise... his reflection.

If it is always the same corner maybe place a hide there. The photo comes across to me of a frustrated and confused tortoise not a sick one.. I am not an expert just expressing some ideas.
I too would look at putting something in each corner to deter him. Plants are the obvious thing. Real or fake (as long as they’re green with no white or red)
 

MPRC

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Could placing something non reflective inside of the glass possibly help?
 

DrSpurred

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It's not reflective, I lined the outside and inside with black electrical tape so it's impossible to for any reflection to occur, he seems so off now, he won't move and just seems very ill (i know when there is something wrong with my tortoise). I just can't pinpoint what exactly the issue is.
 

GingerLove

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Oh no! Is he able to flip himself back? If so, how long does it take him? This is very odd, I'm so sorry you have to stress over this! Keeping my fingers crossed for your baby!!! Hopefully some others can keep offering good suggestions...

PS. Does it seem neurological to you??
 

MPRC

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If you are truly concerned that he is not acting well you may want to see if you can find a reputable reptile vet to see before the weekend.
 

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