Tortoise not eating eyes closed

Lconticello · Mar 18, 2019

I have 2 Herman tortoise. They are about 3 months old. They both had big appetites up until 2 days ago. One of them barely eats and his eyes are shut for most of the day. He also does not move much. I lost a tortoise to MBD in past.

I changed out and purchased a new UVB bulb they also have a heat light.

I feed them daily Romaine and Zuccini Squash. I put calcium powder with D3 on food everyday. I have since backed off to every other day. Sometimes they do get some spring mix and I try and remove all spinach. They also like to eat weeds in between my brick pavers. Their environment is between 80-95 degrees with 50-60 humidity. The light is on 12 hours a day and I also try and get them Florida sunlight 4-5 times a week. Their bedding is hard pellet reptile bedding. I usually soak them 6 times a week between 5-10 minutes. Both of their shells feel the same at this time. This is why I need to find out what is wrong before the sick ones shell gets really soft.

Please help I can’t watch another one die a slow death to MBD.

Toddrickfl1 · Mar 18, 2019

What kind of light are you using, and did this start when you changed the bulb?

Yvonne G · Mar 18, 2019

One of your problems regarding MBD and UVB is the fact that your light is sitting on a screen. The small holes in the screen don't allow the UVB rays through. There needs to be nothing between the light and the tortoise but air.

Another problem is that your tortoises don't feel safe in that wide open space. Baby tortoises are prey and like to stay out of sight in order to stay safe. If I were fixing up that aquarium for a baby tortoise I would ditch the alfalfa pellets in exchange for fir bark and then I would moisten the bark/mulch. Then I would set three or four small potted plants around, sinking them down into the substrate, to offer more cover for the babies.

It is normal for a habitat with TWO babies in it for one of the babies to become dominant and the other submissive. The submissive baby will try to stay out of the others' way, hiding, cringing in the corner, not eating well. It's a good idea to have two separate enclosures if you have two babies. Tortoises are solitary creatures and they neither need nor want the companionship of other tortoises.

So, even though I don't have Hermanns tortoises, I have raised and taken care of many, many baby tortoises, and generically speaking, here's what I'd do:

separate them
change the bedding to something you can moisten
give each habitat more cover
cut holes in the screen for the light
make sure the temperature all over the whole enclosure is 80-85F and if not, then figure out a way to cover it to keep the warm, moist air inside.

Yvonne G · Mar 18, 2019

Another thing I just noticed is that you're measuring the humidity and temperature up too high. You want to know what it is down on the floor, not halfway up the wall.

Lconticello · Mar 18, 2019

Toddrickfl1 said:
What kind of light are you using, and did this start when you changed the bulb?

ZooMed ReptiSun 10.0 UVB. I just got a new one yesterday. I was thinking maybe the old bulb was not working. The only one was 5 months. I know you have to replace them.

Lconticello · Mar 18, 2019

Yvonne G said:
One of your problems regarding MBD and UVB is the fact that your light is sitting on a screen. The small holes in the screen don't allow the UVB rays through. There needs to be nothing between the light and the tortoise but air.

Another problem is that your tortoises don't feel safe in that wide open space. Baby tortoises are prey and like to stay out of sight in order to stay safe. If I were fixing up that aquarium for a baby tortoise I would ditch the alfalfa pellets in exchange for fir bark and then I would moisten the bark/mulch. Then I would set three or four small potted plants around, sinking them down into the substrate, to offer more cover for the babies.

It is normal for a habitat with TWO babies in it for one of the babies to become dominant and the other submissive. The submissive baby will try to stay out of the others' way, hiding, cringing in the corner, not eating well. It's a good idea to have two separate enclosures if you have two babies. Tortoises are solitary creatures and they neither need nor want the companionship of other tortoises.

So, even though I don't have Hermanns tortoises, I have raised and taken care of many, many baby tortoises, and generically speaking, here's what I'd do:

separate them
change the bedding to something you can moisten
give each habitat more cover
cut holes in the screen for the light
make sure the temperature all over the whole enclosure is 80-85F and if not, then figure out a way to cover it to keep the warm, moist air inside.

The first tortoise I got was by himself and he went down the same path this one is heading. I will try and cut screen so the light is direct. Maybe that will help. They both always do better when they are out in direct sunlight. I live in Florida so it is warm and sometimes the sun is strong and temp is around 80 degrees.

Toddrickfl1 · Mar 18, 2019

Lconticello said:
ZooMed ReptiSun 10.0 UVB. I just got a new one yesterday. I was thinking maybe the old bulb was not working. The only one was 5 months. I know you have to replace them.

Those coil bulbs have been known to cause issues. I had a similar problem with my Tort due to one

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/coil-bulbs.166917/

Toddrickfl1 · Mar 18, 2019

Lconticello said:
The first tortoise I got was by himself and he went down the same path this one is heading. I will try and cut screen so the light is direct. Maybe that will help. They both always do better when they are out in direct sunlight. I live in Florida so it is warm and sometimes the sun is strong and temp is around 80 degrees.

If your torts get 4-5 hours of sun a week there shouldn't be any reason your Tort would get MBD. In fact if you get them sunlight like that every week you don't even need a UVB bulb.

Lconticello · Mar 21, 2019

Toddrickfl1 said:
If your torts get 4-5 hours of sun a week there shouldn't be any reason your Tort would get MBD. In fact if you get them sunlight like that every week you don't even need a UVB bulb.

Update. I stopped using the coil light. The tortoise is still lathergic but has eaten a little more each day. He has also gone to the bathroom each day. His eyes are open now most of the time. The last two days we had a strong sunlights and I brought them outside. When he is in the sun he shows no signs of being sick. His appetite is big and he runs around. As soon as I bring him into cage he does not move. I am working on building new cage that I can leave outside but protect him from predators. I will keep you updated. We are moving in the right direction.

Lconticello · Mar 24, 2019

Update 2: So far so good. I purchased Mercury Vapor bulb and they are responding much better to light. Personally I think the old coil 10.0 bulb was not strong enough through the mesh screen. It was 13 inches away and with the UVB loss through screen the tortoise’s were not getting enough UVB. The new bulb is 100W and I purchased a wood tortoise house that is 12 inches from them. They both are eating and I try to get them at least 30 minutes of Florida sunshine everyday.

Yvonne G · Mar 24, 2019

Aha! a coil bulb! That's the culprit. Some of those bulbs have been known to burn young tortoises' eyes.

e-roth · Mar 24, 2019

Lconticello said:
Update 2: So far so good. I purchased Mercury Vapor bulb and they are responding much better to light. Personally I think the old coil 10.0 bulb was not strong enough through the mesh screen. It was 13 inches away and with the UVB loss through screen the tortoise’s were not getting enough UVB. The new bulb is 100W and I purchased a wood tortoise house that is 12 inches from them. They both are eating and I try to get them at least 30 minutes of Florida sunshine everyday.

Make sure bulb is on one end. Your tank is tall and thus hard for heat to dissipate. Lots of inexpensive options when they are tikes. I like the cement mixing trays you can get at Lowes. Also, consider soaking every other day but in tepid water and for a period of about 10-15 minutes.

Tortoise not eating eyes closed

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