Acclimation

[christykaake]

I moved a 5-6 year old (20 lb) sulcata tortoise recently (about a week ago) from Dallas, where it’s humid, to El Paso, where it’s extremely dry. I have no prior experience with tortoises, only what I’ve been reading in the past few weeks. He is eating and pooping and excreting the calcium normally… my only worries are that he is napping a lot, around 6 hours during the day? Also his eyes are watering a lot… I don’t hear any breathing issues or anything. But is this him just acclimating from humidity to dry heat? Or does he have a respiratory infection? Or do they just nap a lot? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome.
We have many, fine, Sulcata keeping members here.

 

[wellington]

Did you have him in Dallas or did you just adopt/buy him from someone in Dallas?
Tortoises do need time to get used to a new area. They were taken from what they know and plopped some where they know nothing about. As long as he is eating, drinking, etc, he should do/be fine. Give him some time to adjust
Tortoises will have watery eyes from time too time. Not sure what will cause it. Yes URI can but it doesn't sound like that's why yours has watery eyes. I would guess the humid to dry. Also in the hottest parts of the day most tortoises will go someplace cooler and sleep it away, coming out early a.m. and later p.m.
You can help with humidity by running a sprinkler and/or spraying his area down.

 

[christykaake]

Did you have him in Dallas or did you just adopt/buy him from someone in Dallas?
Tortoises do need time to get used to a new area. They were taken from what they know and plopped some where they know nothing about. As long as he is eating, drinking, etc, he should do/be fine. Give him some time to adjust
Tortoises will have watery eyes from time too time. Not sure what will cause it. Yes URI can but it doesn't sound like that's why yours has watery eyes. I would guess the humid to dry. Also in the hottest parts of the day most tortoises will go someplace cooler and sleep it away, coming out early a.m. and later p.m.
You can help with humidity by running a sprinkler and/or spraying his area down.

I adopted him from someone who has had him and his brothers in Dallas their whole lives

 

[wellington]

I adopted him from someone who has had him and his brothers in Dallas their whole lives

Did they tell you anything about him? Like that he occasionally has running eyes, or that he sleeps about 6 hours a day? Just wondering if some of this is his normal behavior or is it the knew area and getting adjusted.

 

[christykaake]

No… she didn’t tell me anything except that he eats a head of romaine each day… which I thought was not good because they’re supposed to eat mostly grass… so I was going to try and wean him off the romaine once he gets used to his new home.

 

[Tom]

I moved a 5-6 year old (20 lb) sulcata tortoise recently (about a week ago) from Dallas, where it’s humid, to El Paso, where it’s extremely dry. I have no prior experience with tortoises, only what I’ve been reading in the past few weeks. He is eating and pooping and excreting the calcium normally… my only worries are that he is napping a lot, around 6 hours during the day? Also his eyes are watering a lot… I don’t hear any breathing issues or anything. But is this him just acclimating from humidity to dry heat? Or does he have a respiratory infection? Or do they just nap a lot? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

He's not excreting calcium. Those are urates and its a sign of dehydration. You need to soak this guy in a tall sided opaque tub every other day for a few weeks.

In summer, they really need to be able to burrow to escape the intense heat of the surface. Encourage him to burrow where you want it by starting the burrow for him. You will have to block the burrow entrance in fall when the temps start dropping and then make him sleep over night in his...

... Heated night box. They need a heated shelter. Night temps should not drop below 80 for this species. Here is an example: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/single-tortoise-night-box.181515/

Sleeping during the heat of the day is normal and good.

This species is sometimes called "The Crying Tortoise" because their eyes do this regularly. Totally normal for a sulcata.

You are right that they need to eat mostly grass, or grass hay, but romaine isn't bad either if they are also eating lots of the right stuff.

Refer to this for the correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

 

[christykaake]

He's not excreting calcium. Those are urates and its a sign of dehydration. You need to soak this guy in a tall sided opaque tub every other day for a few weeks.

In summer, they really need to be able to burrow to escape the intense heat of the surface. Encourage him to burrow where you want it by starting the burrow for him. You will have to block the burrow entrance in fall when the temps start dropping and then make him sleep over night in his...

... Heated night box. They need a heated shelter. Night temps should not drop below 80 for this species. Here is an example: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/single-tortoise-night-box.181515/

Sleeping during the heat of the day is normal and good.

This species is sometimes called "The Crying Tortoise" because their eyes do this regularly. Totally normal for a sulcata.

You are right that they need to eat mostly grass, or grass hay, but romaine isn't bad either if they are also eating lots of the right stuff.

Refer to this for the correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

Ok thank you, I have been soaking him in a kiddy pool every other day. I will get him something better when I find it. And will work on the heated night box as well. Thank you for the information

 

[TaraMaiden]

He's not excreting calcium. Those are urates and its a sign of dehydration. You need to soak this guy in a tall sided opaque tub every other day for a few weeks.

Hi, thank you for this... I actually read this in a book written by a Herpetological vet....?

"In a well-hydrated tortoise, these urates are secreted normally when urinating. In a dehydrated tortoise that is recycling its urine, the urates are not secreted, and can slowly build up into a bladder stone. The exact cause is unknown. Dehydration plays a significant factor in this disease."

so, it seems a little bit of urates are normal. It's when you DON'T see them, that there may be cause for concern...?

Thank you for your opinion! X

 

[Tom]

Hi, thank you for this... I actually read this in a book written by a Herpetological vet....?

"In a well-hydrated tortoise, these urates are secreted normally when urinating. In a dehydrated tortoise that is recycling its urine, the urates are not secreted, and can slowly build up into a bladder stone. The exact cause is unknown. Dehydration plays a significant factor in this disease."

so, it seems a little bit of urates are normal. It's when you DON'T see them, that there may be cause for concern...?

Thank you for your opinion! X

You also don't see it when they are very well hydrated. No need to concentrate your urine if you are well hydrated.