Baby Basking Too Long??

[ekm5015]

Hi all,

I just recieved my 12 week old sully from Marc at the Turtle Source yesterday. He looks great and was eating as soon as I put food in his cage. He has been spending a lot of time under his basking lamp though. Everytime I check him, he is chilling under the lamp. I have a 100w Reptisun in the zoomed deep dome fixture. From the bottom of the bulb to the substrate is about 13 inches and the temp is anywhere from 95-105 degrees.

1) Is this bad that he is spending this much time under the light? I have soaked him last night and this morning and provided him with moist coco coir to burrow in. I just don't want him to dehydrate and overheat cuz hes so small.

2) At this point I do not have a water dish in there because Marc says they will dirty it and get eye infections. Should I put a water dish in there? Or is soaking daily, providing moist substrate, and fresh greens enough to keep it hydrated?

Thanks and I will post picks later tonight.

 

[Seiryu]

Hi all,

I just recieved my 12 week old sully from Marc at the Turtle Source yesterday. He looks great and was eating as soon as I put food in his cage. He has been spending a lot of time under his basking lamp though. Everytime I check him, he is chilling under the lamp. I have a 100w Reptisun in the zoomed deep dome fixture. From the bottom of the bulb to the substrate is about 13 inches and the temp is anywhere from 95-105 degrees.

1) Is this bad that he is spending this much time under the light? I have soaked him last night and this morning and provided him with moist coco coir to burrow in. I just don't want him to dehydrate and overheat cuz hes so small.

2) At this point I do not have a water dish in there because Marc says they will dirty it and get eye infections. Should I put a water dish in there? Or is soaking daily, providing moist substrate, and fresh greens enough to keep it hydrated?

Thanks and I will post picks later tonight.

I'm not really sure. What is the ambient room temperature? Maybe if it's too cold, he is trying to stay warm.

As far as the water dish, I have never heard of a tortoise getting an eye infection from having a water dish. Maybe if you didn't clean it for weeks?

I change my Leos water 2-3 times a day and always wash good.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

That is pretty normal. My hatchlings do this too, especially right after they eat. If he's staying under it ALL the time, you might try bumping up the ambient temp in the rest of the enclosure.

Here are some suggestions:
1. Keep a water bowl in there at all times. I use terra cotta plant saucers from Lowes. They are cheap, work great and I clean and refresh them 2 or 3 times a day.
2. Do a shallow warm water soak daily for 10-20 minutes.
3. This is a new tip, many haven't heard it yet. SPRAY the carapace until dripping wet with plain water, several times a day.
4. Keep ambient 75-80 round the clock for babies with all this moisture and I'd lower your bulb just a little bit for a SLIGHTLY warmer basking spot. I keep it warmer due to all the pyramiding preventing moisture.
5. Give him at least one humid hide box to sleep and hang out in. This simulates a humid burrow that babies would use in the wild.
6. Please post pics. We love pics. We all want to see your set-up and your lil' baby.
7. Get a SAFE outdoor sunning/exercise pen going ASAP. Sulcatas need lots of room to roam and sunshine is like a magic health elixer. Seriously. It works wonders that we don't fully understand. When I say SAFE, I mean: Predator proof, half shade at all times, pesticide and fertilizer free and escape proof.

Enjoy the forum and keep those questions coming.

 

[ekm5015]

Thanks for the quick responses. I appreciate the feedback. I am putting in a hide tonight and will add a water dish as well. I guess I just need to make sure the water is fresh and clean. I will also post pics of the baby and his enclosure.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi ekm5015:

Welcome to the forum!!

 

[tortoisenerd]

Welcome to the forum! What kind of thermometer? If it isn't a temp gun, I am going to guess that your thermometer is off and it isn't actually that hot. Also, likely the tort is moving when you aren't watching. hehe Put a hide right next to the basking spot and right next to the food, in addition to a hide in a cool area and a moderate area. You can use boxes, containers, fake plants, a pile of timothy hay, etc. Avoid things that can be climbed. Hides with vertical sides are good. This helps the hatchling feel more comfortable. Yes, you need water in there. Change it as often as needed, use rocks to keep substrate away from it, and make sure the tort can use it safely (put them in front of it and in it and watch them use it).

 

[TortieLuver]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Your tort sounds completely normal to me. Mine spend a great deal basking too. They are very smart and if you have an area that is warm and cool, they will go where they need to. Your temp sounds good and I wouldn't worry. I keep water in mine at all times. They seem to really like it and hatchings need it. I have had little ones for years and haven't had any problems myself with keeping water in thei setup.

 

[ekm5015]

Welcome to the forum! What kind of thermometer? If it isn't a temp gun, I am going to guess that your thermometer is off and it isn't actually that hot. Also, likely the tort is moving when you aren't watching. hehe Put a hide right next to the basking spot and right next to the food, in addition to a hide in a cool area and a moderate area. You can use boxes, containers, fake plants, a pile of timothy hay, etc. Avoid things that can be climbed. Hides with vertical sides are good. This helps the hatchling feel more comfortable. Yes, you need water in there. Change it as often as needed, use rocks to keep substrate away from it, and make sure the tort can use it safely (put them in front of it and in it and watch them use it).

Thanks for the comment. I have two thermometers. One is zilla's infrared and the other is zoo med digital thermometer with a probe. They both give me slightly different readings. When I leave the probe under the light it reads 100-105. When using the infrared just above the substrate it reads slightly less, usually 95-100. I think thats a decent temp.

As of last night I installed two hides. One is right next to the basking area. It is about 3 inches tall, 6 inches deep, and a foot and a half wide with some moist coco coir in it. He will probably be hanging out there during the day.

The second is on the opposite side of his living quarters. It is actually a plastic tupperware container inside a glass aquarium which is laying on its side. The reason for this is because I attached a heat pad to the tank (directions said to only use on glass) to keep the hide warm and humid at night. Temeratures where at 80-85 degrees last night and he burrowed right in. I will post pictures tonight because what I said is probably confusing.

Lastly, I added a water dish and filled it with about 1/4''-1/2'' of water. Thanks for the feedback everyone and keep an eye out for pictures if you are interested.

 

[Yvonne G]

Thanks for the feedback everyone and keep an eye out for pictures if you are interested.

Of course we're interested! Are you kidding me????? We LOVE pictures.

 

[ekm5015]

Finally got to putting up pics of the baby and his enclosure. I even got a video of the little guy eating Click the link to take a look and let me know what you think. Lil Tort and His Enclosure

 

[tortoisenerd]

I wouldn't want the hide 80-85 at night. I would want to keep it at the low end of the day temps, so about 70 (some would say 75). They need a temp drop at night like they would get in the wild, and different temperature hide options. I really really don't like heat pads in any way for small torts (small in my mind meaning anything under 25 lb). If you need night heat (house under 70 F at night), then I would use a ceramic heat emitter or black light bulb. Things can go wrong and the pad could over heat, or the tort could not recognize the heat coming from the side/bottom vs. the top like in nature. If you insist on using a heat pad, attach it to the side (not underneath), get a reliable brand and thermosat, set it to a lower temp such as 70, and have a non heat pad hide option available too. I see heat pads as a risk and that there are safer options that do the same thing in a better way.