7yr old Sulcata Lethargic

pebbles

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Hello All,

I am posting today because my Large 7yr old Sulcata has been acting strange the past couple of days. She is very lethargic and doesn't care to come out of her indoor home. (she sleeps indoors right now-until we can build her a proper outside enclosure) She usually goes out every afternoon and spends most of the day outside in our backyard.

She just wants to sleep, doesn't care to touch food, just doesn't want to do anything. Should I make a trip to the vet?

I have also noticed that she bobs her head a lot and breathes a little hard. Is this how Sulcatas normally breath or is that not normal?
 

Tom

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Where are you?

What are you using for night heat? Sounds like you need to keep her warmer at night.

Its been a cold winter. Where does the tortoise warm up on colder winter days?
 

pebbles

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I am in San Diego. She sleeps in her indoor enclosure with a UVB light to keep her warm.

It's been sunny here but it has been windy the past couple of days. Perhaps, that is why she doesn't want to go out?

We got her to move 30 minutes ago and go outside for a bit, and she finally ate! Success! But then she wanted to come back inside.
 

Dizisdalife

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The wind isn't that much of a factor. My 6 year old sulcata is outside everyday. Has been eating everything that he can get. Yesterday he grazed from 3:30 until 5:30 pm. The sun was gone before he stopped eating and went into his night box. My hunch is the same as Tom's, her night time temps are too cool. Or, she has developed a URI.
 

pebbles

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I need to look up the symptoms of a URI.

I'm going to keep her extra warm and see how that helps.

I took a video of her, I just need to figure out how I can post it.
 

pebbles

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Is it natural for their eyes to always look wet?

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pebbles

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I forgot to mention that last April we took her to the vet and they didn't tell me too much to be honest...I wanted to know if her making noise when she breathes is normal. They gave me medication to give her which included having to give her injections in the armpit throughout a whole month. That "breathing" sound I still hear time to time.

I went to one of the vets that was highly recommended in my area too. I got an assistant though not the well known vet. I was really disappointed because I feel I didn't receive proper answers.
 

pebbles

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Yes, I do and it gets turned off around 8p.m.

What is the problem with a UVB light? I was instructed here to use that when she was younger. She spends half of her day outside.

The house doesn't get very cold at night, but if it does our house heater turns on.
 
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SarahChelonoidis

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UVb lights are great for a day light source, but not suitable for night heat. If you turn it off at 8pm, that isn't what you are using for night heat though. How warm does your thermostat keep the house at night then?
 

Dizisdalife

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The UVB is a good source of daytime light and heat. It is not for night time use because tortoises need it dark to sleep. You sulcata still needs heat at night. I like to keep mine at 80-85° during the winter. In the summer I will let the air temp go as low as 70°
 

pebbles

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What kind of bulb should I be using for night heat? It is probably between 60-70 at night.
 

pebbles

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Her outdoor home won't be built until the next few months, so whatever it is I'm currently doing wrong, I would like to fix.
 

Dizisdalife

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The problem with bulbs for a tortoise the size of yours is that they aren't big enough. They concentrate the heat on a portion of the carapace and don't warm up the entire shell or body of the animal. In a big open space you just lose all the heat. I use a oil filled radiated heater in a night box to get the temps correct. There are other methods depending on the size of the box. Heat mats in combination with a radiated heating panel is one method.
 

pebbles

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It sounds to me like my biggest mistake right now is still keeping her indoors at night. I need to have her outside then in order to use radiated heaters.

I suppose this situation is a big reason to do it asap.
 

Dizisdalife

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It sounds to me like my biggest mistake right now is still keeping her indoors at night. I need to have her outside then in order to use radiated heaters.

I suppose this situation is a big reason to do it asap.
I think your girl is big enough to be outside full time. You will need a nightbox with heat for her to be comfortable.
 

Dizisdalife

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Tom

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Pebbles, your tortoise needs a warm area to be at night. You need to do something about this right away. Also, a tortoise that spends time outside every day does not need UV bulbs when indoors. It shouldn't hurt anything, but its an unnecessary expense.

Here are some night box ideas:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
These are a little bigger: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...ght-box-with-exploded-view.97697/#post-911275
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/double-door-night-box.129054/

You can see some different methods for heating in these too.
 
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