Baby Greek Tortoise Sleeps All Day!

MzNENA

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Definitely will. Was one of those purchases I made, then stumbled onto the Tortoise forums & found that the coil bulbs were not liked whatsoever. I would agree as I've noticed myself the light from the bulb is pretty bright.

Anyone know of the least expensive yet effective Heat + UVB light bulb available?? :huh:

And considering buying a CHE as I've heard mentioned in previous forums myself to keep the enclosure at a stable temperature without having to worry about fluctuating temps in my basement anymore lol

So much that a tortoise owner can learn just from this forum! It is amazing & the advice given here is incredible! :D
 

StarSapphire22

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I really like my powersun...its a 60 dollar bulb, but it should last you quite some time, plus less electricity to run only one bulb. :) It's probably cheaper on Amazon, but I'd be nervous shipping a lightbulb.
 

MzNENA

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Very true. The less electricity needed to be used the better in any case. I'll definitely look one up on amazon :D


Also just received an email from Tyler of tortoisesupply.com who informed me our little tort is about 2-3 months of age !
Such a youngin :p
 

Jlant85

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StarSapphire22 said:
If her room temp is 74-75, I don't think night time heat is necessary. Mediterranean species can handle drops much much lower than that at night.

As far as your lid, I would recommend making a cutout for lights. Heres how I did mine.



I cut a square foot hole in my lid (my light is in a 10" dome) using a box cutters (a stronger tool is better if you have one...we didn't). I then sandwiched a square foot of hardware cloth between paint sticks for a frame and glued the sticks together with a super strong adhesive thats heat resistant. Originally, we then glued the frame to the lid, but the plastic bent too much and it popped off. Adhesive velcro worked much better, it can move with the plastic a little.

This will hold in heat and humidity better and prevent any escapes or other pets getting in. :)

I second the temp gun recommendation, as well. :)

If your baby is uber young, please make sure he gets warm soaks every day. Those little bodies can dry out and get dehydrated under those lights so easily.


Also, you mentioned your 50w bulb...are you providing UV light too?

My guess is a temp gun will tell you you're too cold. With no lid, and a lower wattage bulb, I don't think your enclosure is heating very efficiently.

I'm using a 100w Powersun on my enclosure, which I believe is of a similar size as yours. It's about 12" up.



+1 to this post! ^_^ closed chamber enclosure is awesome! This can maintain the humidity really well and also another suggestion i would add, go to the dollar store, buy a bottle spray and once the substrate begins to dry, SPRAY AWAY! ^_^ this will help maintain humidity and wont stress you out as much.


OH i just want to add! the storage bin for the X-mas tree! HUGE! FREAKING HUGE! One of the best closed chamber enclosure i've ever build under 50 buck! lol... sorry got excited...
 

MzNENA

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Thanks to everyone for the countless tips & much needed information! :)


You think you are prepared but reading these forums provides you with so much more information & tips one would never think of.


Now day 4 of having our Greek tortoise & still the same routine =/ Spends his whole day under his basking light & sleeps 90% of the day away.

Only activity I see from him is his walks to his food bowl every morning & then his walk back to his basking light :(

Eating really well, eats his entire bowl & find clumps of poop near him at least 2-3 times a day. Continuing his soaks daily.

With heating, deciding to chuck my UVB coil bulb & 50w basking bulb which seems to not be strong enough at all & purchasing this 3 in one bulb from Exo Terra

http://www.arcatapet.com/item.cfm?cat=17847

Should be here within 3 business days. Hope this helps :(

May purchase a CHE within my next paycheck as well.
Just hoping our baby tortoise isn't sick or going down hill. Kind of worried at this point.
 

StarSapphire22

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He's probably just cold. Once the new bulb gets here I'm sure he'll perk up. Keep us posted! :)
 

milkandsam

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This behavior is pretty similar to my Greek when I first got him, pretty sure just from the stress and new place. I'm sure he will buck up soon-especially with the light. :) I always made sure to soak mine several times a day and make sure he was hydrated and that I wasn't seeing any signs of infections. It was kind of my daily check up
 

Jlant85

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How is behavior now? Another thing you can do is add more decorations. Enough that he would want to explore whats on the other side of that rock ^_^ Geezz i wonder? type of environment. They also love to climb! And they are very good at it! so i built a mountain of rocks for him to climb on. Decorating your enclosure is one of the things i love to do! I change my enclosure probably once again...
 

gtc

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1. basking temp should be about 95-105 F
2. 70-75F on cool side during "lights on"
3. Down to 65F at night is FINE, you dont need a CHE
4. I agree, by a powersun 100W. That way you get, light, heat and UVB
5. Get rid of the coil bulb
6. Great advice on cutting a hole on the lid. Aim for 50-60% humidity during the day. You might notice the humidity jumps to 70% at night, this is fine.
 

StarSapphire22

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Re: RE: Baby Greek Tortoise Sleeps All Day!

gtc said:
1. basking temp should be about 95-105 F
2. 70-75F on cool side during "lights on"
3. Down to 65F at night is FINE, you dont need a CHE
4. I agree, by a powersun 100W. That way you get, light, heat and UVB
5. Get rid of the coil bulb
6. Great advice on cutting a hole on the lid. Aim for 50-60% humidity during the day. You might notice the humidity jumps to 70% at night, this is fine.

I mostly agree with this...I'm currently raising a baby Hermanns, so care is nearly identical. According to the resident Hermanns expert, Chris, here's his temp recommendations:
"Ambient should be 75-80 but as high as 85 is fine. At night it can drop well into the 50s with no ill effects. Basking area should be 95-100." Obviously a Greeks temperature tolerance will be slightly different, but I would aim for an ambient of 75 and basking of 95-100. 105 is too hot for a little one (in my opinion). But everyone does things a bit different, watch your tort and see what he likes best. :)

I do agree with the numbers gtc provided for humidity as well. Though higher is ok. My main goal with humidity is to get my sphagnum moss moist, versus hitting a certain ambient number...so I'm about 10% higher than all those numbers. If you don't have sphagnum moss in your enclosure, it's really helpful keeping humidity up and your tort will love to burrow in it.

Decorations are also good, and if you do live plants they can also have some snacks! I highly recommend pansies in a small enclosure...very popular to eat usually, low in height, and the torts love hiding under their trailing stems....and they're pretty for us to look at! :)
 

MzNENA

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The advice being given on this thread is amazing! I could never have imagined temperature as being such a crucial part of a tortoise's well being from the research I looked up prior to purchasing our greek tortoise. You learn so much from the forums.

Well 5th day now.
As usual our tort was fast asleep by the time I awoke. He burrowed himself on the first night I had him, but hasn't burrowed since. Just hides under a leaf when sleeping now :huh:
20min soak this morning, which he also slept through almost the entire thing. Peed on my hand quite a bit as I took him out. Went to his basking spot immediately after.

I will be receiving his new bulb by Tuesday at the latest. 125 Solar Glow UVB/ basking light from Exo Terra.
His current bulb (50w) only keeps his basking area between 85-90 degrees at about 7 inches from the enclosure.

Getting rid of his coil UVB bulb.
With him being about 3 months of age & only his 5th day here, is it safe to turn off his UVB coil bulb until the new bulb arrives?? :-/ About 2/3 days

I've noticed he wasn't opening his left eye as much recently. Or he'd open his right eye & a minute later, would slowly open his left. Gave frequent soaks & sprayed water over his shell & head in case it was a foreign object. But I'm wondering if it was the UVB coil bulb that had the impact.

Don't see any signs of him traveling beyond his food bowl at all in the enclosure. Have the half log there & cuttlebone but it remains untouched.
May add more rocks throughout for additional decor to get him moving.

As I mentioned substrate is 50/50 organic top soil & coconut coir/eco earth which I hope retains humidity well. I spray his substrate with a water bottle twice a day. Good for moisture? Or too much? Photo of substrates provided below.

He did warm himself up & walked to his food bowl to eat a few lettuce greens that I sprinkled with calcium powder & spray with water for added moisture, but his appetite is diminishing a bit.
He'd eat his entire bowl by the end of the day. Now more than half remains by the end of his days.

He also has a small bump on the first vertebral scute in his front there. Wondering if this is normal or the possibility of something else? :exclamation:

Photos included, included with the left eye that he's been keeping shut a bit.
Sorry for the really long posts. Just keeping you all updated and additional advice will definitely help :D:D
Thank you all for your time
 

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StarSapphire22

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UV being gone for a couple days is just fine.

Your enclosure looks and sounds great, with the exception of temperature. I, personally, would add sphagnum moss (for humidity, burrowing, and "people pretties") and a couple more plants. These are more personal preference though, and for extra stimulus. They aren't necessarily "necessary."

The eye could be light related yes. Anything is going to be hard to diagnose without upping the heat and ruling that out first. Watch out for signs of a URI, though. I would keep doing soaks 2x/day for about 30 minutes each.

Don't worry about long responses. You're being thorough and doing research. That's GOOD!
 

gtc

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MzNENA said:
The advice being given on this thread is amazing! I could never have imagined temperature as being such a crucial part of a tortoise's well being from the research I looked up prior to purchasing our greek tortoise. You learn so much from the forums.

Well 5th day now.
As usual our tort was fast asleep by the time I awoke. He burrowed himself on the first night I had him, but hasn't burrowed since. Just hides under a leaf when sleeping now :huh:
20min soak this morning, which he also slept through almost the entire thing. Peed on my hand quite a bit as I took him out. Went to his basking spot immediately after.

I will be receiving his new bulb by Tuesday at the latest. 125 Solar Glow UVB/ basking light from Exo Terra.
His current bulb (50w) only keeps his basking area between 85-90 degrees at about 7 inches from the enclosure.

Getting rid of his coil UVB bulb.
With him being about 3 months of age & only his 5th day here, is it safe to turn off his UVB coil bulb until the new bulb arrives?? :-/ About 2/3 days

I've noticed he wasn't opening his left eye as much recently. Or he'd open his right eye & a minute later, would slowly open his left. Gave frequent soaks & sprayed water over his shell & head in case it was a foreign object. But I'm wondering if it was the UVB coil bulb that had the impact.

Don't see any signs of him traveling beyond his food bowl at all in the enclosure. Have the half log there & cuttlebone but it remains untouched.
May add more rocks throughout for additional decor to get him moving.

As I mentioned substrate is 50/50 organic top soil & coconut coir/eco earth which I hope retains humidity well. I spray his substrate with a water bottle twice a day. Good for moisture? Or too much? Photo of substrates provided below.

He did warm himself up & walked to his food bowl to eat a few lettuce greens that I sprinkled with calcium powder & spray with water for added moisture, but his appetite is diminishing a bit.
He'd eat his entire bowl by the end of the day. Now more than half remains by the end of his days.

He also has a small bump on the first vertebral scute in his front there. Wondering if this is normal or the possibility of something else? :exclamation:

Photos included, included with the left eye that he's been keeping shut a bit.
Sorry for the really long posts. Just keeping you all updated and additional advice will definitely help :D:D
Thank you all for your time

Hi :) Glad to see how much you care for your tort. Replace the coil bulb with a normal incandescent bulb (I'm almost sure you have one in your home already). Use this as the light + heat source and lower it to increase basking temps to 100F. Your baby will do fine without UVB for a few days. This should fix the eye problems (coil bulb) and the sleeping\appetite problems (too cold).


P.S. make sure you are not soaking your tort in water that is too cold. Also....when you soak for 20-30min the water can get too cold (even if it was warm at first). This is why I soak under (or close to) the basking light. If your soaks are too cold, your tort might be getting even more "sleepy".
 

MzNENA

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StarSapphire22 said:
UV being gone for a couple days is just fine.

Your enclosure looks and sounds great, with the exception of temperature. I, personally, would add sphagnum moss (for humidity, burrowing, and "people pretties") and a couple more plants. These are more personal preference though, and for extra stimulus. They aren't necessarily "necessary."

The eye could be light related yes. Anything is going to be hard to diagnose without upping the heat and ruling that out first. Watch out for signs of a URI, though. I would keep doing soaks 2x/day for about 30 minutes each.

Don't worry about long responses. You're being thorough and doing research. That's GOOD!

Thank you for the advice! I have since turned off his coil bulb & will remain with his regular basking bulb until the new one arrives. What other plants would you suggest that I can add to the enclosure for a Greek tortoise?
And sphagnum moss, will definitely look into purchasing some! Is it readily available in certain stores??
Thanks again for the reply! :D


[qoute]
Hi :) Glad to see how much you care for your tort. Replace the coil bulb with a normal incandescent bulb (I'm almost sure you have one in your home already). Use this as the light + heat source and lower it to increase basking temps to 100F. Your baby will do fine without UVB for a few days. This should fix the eye problems (coil bulb) and the sleeping\appetite problems (too cold).


P.S. make sure you are not soaking your tort in water that is too cold. Also....when you soak for 20-30min the water can get too cold (even if it was warm at first). This is why I soak under (or close to) the basking light. If your soaks are too cold, your tort might be getting even more "sleepy".
[/quote]

Thank you kindly for the reply! Pretty sure I may have an incandescent bulb around the house I will definitely look around for one!
I had noticed I'd use room temperature water to soak him in but it would start to grow cold within 5 minutes so have been keeping his soaking dish a bit closer to his basking light seeing as when it started to grow cold, he would try to climb his way out of there lol. He was pretty good this morning at not moving a muscle when I kept the dish near his basking light lol.
Once again I appreciate the needed information, thank you so much for taking the time! :D
 

MzNENA

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Forums made a mess of my photos. Duplicating uneccessary ones lol
But here is my substrate photo.
50/50 of each
 

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StarSapphire22

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Sphagnum moss can be purchased at Lowe's or Home Depot for about $4 for a good-sized bag. Many people like that stuff...I don't. It's got almost as many sticks and leaves and extra crap in there as moss, it's super crunchy, and a icky beige color (which isn't that huge of a deal, but green is nicer looking). Petco and Petsmart will also carry some. It may be labeled as "natural terrarium moss." Usually it's in a green square box, and runs about $8. For me, those extra few bucks are worth it. It's nice and green, and other than the occasional stick or leaf it's "crap-free", it's soft and fluffy and comes in little chunks that you can lay down like carpet. Stuff directly under the heat lamp can get a little baked though, and turn tan and crunchy over time, and it does have a bit of an earthy smell sometimes.
 

MzNENA

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I will definitely go your route & purchase the pet store moss. $4 is not much more to spend & if it has less (crap) to deal with, then that's definitely worth my money lol
So where's the best place to keep the moss in the enclosure? Under the basking light?
 
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