4-yr-old Cherryhead: eyes stay closed when awoken

Evereigh Mann

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Hello:

Has anyone experienced this?

My 4-yr-old Cherryhead--who appears to be the only male in my creep of 5--takes 30 seconds and sometimes longer to open his eyes when picked up and/or jostled in the mornings. They are outside year 'round here, where we're on an island off the Gulf Coast of Florida. For whatever reason, this one has always been particularly skittish and anti-social, and I generally don't handle it much. Upon undertaking the yearly ritual of winterizing one end their enclosure about a month ago, I became aware of the eye issue. At first I thought it might be parasites, so I gave it a dab of Panacur a week apart. At the same time, I have been giving him warm baths every two or three days. He eats normally and acts as he always has...apart from the first 30 seconds or so after he's awoken in the morning, when he looks like a blind old man. I do notice his eyes are slightly watery at times, and I have observed him rubbing his head to one side, as if to be trying to remove an imaginary cover from his eyes.

Should I be worried?

This is his 4th "winter," where it may get to the high 40s a few nights from December through February; they do have a Stanfield heat pad that keeps them warm in the enclosed area. Each of the other four appear fine with no issues.

It's only supposed to get down to 61º tonight, but I brought him inside in a large plastic tub for observation. We gave him a warm bath, and he pooped up a storm while eating grapes, tomato, and squash. We even gave him a small scrap of raw tuna that he devoured in seconds. He also ate 4 Mazuri pellets and a hibiscus flower from our tree earlier in the day. If there were a parasite causing the eyes to be closed when awoken, wouldn't he refuse to eat?

It won't let me attach a video of the eyes closed when first awakened, but here is one photo with his eyes closed taken from a video clip a week or so ago, along with two others from him eating inside the plastic pen tonight.

Is this serious to the point of being life-threatening? Might this go away? Any/all advice welcomed. Thank you!

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IMG_8920.jpegIMG_8928.jpegIMG_8930.jpeg
 
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Blackdog1714

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I think they are too cold in the enclosure area. Do you have a night box? THe issue is with the pad as from the manufacturer -- warm temperature over the surface of the pad of 30° to 35° F above air temperature --- so if it gets to 40 degrees then the warmest it will get is 75 degrees and so on. A Night box is critical in that even in Florida you still can get too cold at night. Attached is the thread
 

Evereigh Mann

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Hello, and thanks to everyone for opining.

I don’t think it’s a question of the sleeping area being too cold, and here’s why: I enclosed the end where their hide is with a custom-fit wall on a Saturday back in November (like I do every year); the temps hadn’t dipped below the high-70s at that point, and it was that morning when I noticed this tortoise had his eyes closed. I have taken him inside of our house for the night on two occasions over the past month, but his eyes are closed in the morning. I constantly monitor them in their heated hide area on the cooler nights, and their shells are always warm to the touch. The only place where cooler outside air may come in is through the small passageway that has thick slats of rubber hanging down to keep the warm air in and cold air out.

If it were the hide being too cold, wouldn’t the other 4 exhibit the same symptom with closed eyes?

We gave him an extended bath last night, where we kept dumping/adding warm water for 2 hours or so. This morning his eyes opened up after 5 seconds or so. I also noted him drinking water for a solid minute when I took them out of the hide and scattered Mazuri pellets in their main area before heading off to work. His appetite is as robust as ever.

Are the closed eyes in the morning a symptom of dehydration, and how long does it usually take to remedy this?

Thanks!
 

Blackdog1714

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Hello, and thanks to everyone for opining.

I don’t think it’s a question of the sleeping area being too cold, and here’s why: I enclosed the end where their hide is with a custom-fit wall on a Saturday back in November (like I do every year); the temps hadn’t dipped below the high-70s at that point, and it was that morning when I noticed this tortoise had his eyes closed. I have taken him inside of our house for the night on two occasions over the past month, but his eyes are closed in the morning. I constantly monitor them in their heated hide area on the cooler nights, and their shells are always warm to the touch. The only place where cooler outside air may come in is through the small passageway that has thick slats of rubber hanging down to keep the warm air in and cold air out.

If it were the hide being too cold, wouldn’t the other 4 exhibit the same symptom with closed eyes?

We gave him an extended bath last night, where we kept dumping/adding warm water for 2 hours or so. This morning his eyes opened up after 5 seconds or so. I also noted him drinking water for a solid minute when I took them out of the hide and scattered Mazuri pellets in their main area before heading off to work. His appetite is as robust as ever.

Are the closed eyes in the morning a symptom of dehydration, and how long does it usually take to remedy this?

Thanks!
Have you used a thermometer to actually measure the temp in the enclosure? Can you provide a picture so we can give you more accurate advice? Also do you have a soaking area in enclosure or a way way spraying them daily?
 

Evereigh Mann

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It was just a simple question of dehydration; all is well now.

Thank you.
 

Evereigh Mann

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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
FL
We stepped up the bathing regimen from once every 2 or 3 days to twice a day. His eyes now open right away in the mornings.

Thanks to all who participated.
 

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