baby leopard tortoise wont open eye

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

about 2 weeks

yea he will be fine.

 

[Rexx Doopson]

Im just wondering...... Can pure sunlight be a replacement for another uvb bulb? there is a huge window in my house that receives a lot of sunlight.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Im just wondering...... Can pure sunlight be a replacement for another uvb bulb? there is a huge window in my house that receives a lot of sunlight.

yes sunlight is way better than any uvb bulb, but UV doesn't go through glass or plastic.

 

[Rexx Doopson]

thank you again. ill put him in front of the window + get a bulb. thanks for your help

 

[Rexx Doopson]

would a reptisun 5.0 uvb be a good bulb?

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, if it's the long tube type, but no if it's the compact fluorescent bulb.

 

[Tom]

would a reptisun 5.0 uvb be a good bulb?

No. They emit very little UV.

In the care sheet that was posted it explains the best options for indoor UV and whether or not you need it based on how much your baby can see real sunshine outdoors.

How big is the enclosure and what distance to the tortoise will the UV source be?

 

[Rexx Doopson]

Its a tortoise house, but im closing off a big part of it, and the lights would be about 7-8 in. (based on my approxamation -dont know if i spelled that right- of how high the tortoise table hood is.) If it is needed closer for maximum uvb absorbtion i bet i can make some changes to make it lower. i just changed him into repti bark. hes not eating, but others in the forum say it's normal during a transition or change in the environment.

 

[Rexx Doopson]

If i moved him to an open-top enclosure - any tips about on how to hang his lamps?

 

[Rexx Doopson]

almost everyday he gets about 15-25 minutes of outdoor sun time.

 

[Tom]

Its a tortoise house, but im closing off a big part of it, and the lights would be about 7-8 in. (based on my approxamation -dont know if i spelled that right- of how high the tortoise table hood is.) If it is needed closer for maximum uvb absorbtion i bet i can make some changes to make it lower. i just changed him into repti bark. hes not eating, but others in the forum say it's normal during a transition or change in the environment.

When you say tortoise house, do you mean the wooden ZooMed Tortoise House? That is an open topped enclosure. Any enclosure that is open on top is going to allow cold dry room air to get into your tortoises living space that you are trying to keep warm and humid. You need a closed top.

What are you using for night heat? What are your four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking are and over night low?

At that distance a regular 10.0 long tube will meet your indoor UV needs, if you feel you can't get the baby outside often enough.

Forgive my sense of urgency, but babies do not have a lot of room for error. You have got to get the environment sorted out and soon.

These were linked before but here they are one more time for convenience. Please read them and make the needed adjustments:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[Rexx Doopson]

yea its the zoomed one, and by enclosed, i close the sleeping quarters (got him a log instead), and put a little box in which he spends most of his time. By open top, i meant without any covers, but any good closed tops you recommend? I'll probably use one of these closed top ideas w/ tinfoil or something, but i want to make sure im raising him right. I raised my basking to 95-100, cool, cold area now low 80's, night (cold spot around low-mid seventies, and high (under the nightlight red) around mid to high 80's. Its fine about your urgency, i care about these little tortoises as much as you do. i feel you.

 

[Rexx Doopson]

i have just one double dome in which i switch out his uvb and red light every day before bed. (if that kinda helps)

 

[Tom]

yea its the zoomed one, and by enclosed, i close the sleeping quarters (got him a log instead), and put a little box in which he spends most of his time. By open top, i meant without any covers, but any good closed tops you recommend? I'll probably use one of these closed top ideas w/ tinfoil or something, but i want to make sure im raising him right. I raised my basking to 95-100, cool, cold area now low 80's, night (cold spot around low-mid seventies, and high (under the nightlight red) around mid to high 80's. Its fine about your urgency, i care about these little tortoises as much as you do. i feel you.

Low 70's at night is too cold for a baby. Get him up to around 80ish for an over night low.

Red bulbs are no good. It messes with their perception and sleep cycles. Tortoises have better vision than we do. If you can see the red, so can they. Imagine what it would do to your sleep cycles if there were a bank of those red bulbs right over your bed. Imagine walking around your house and everything was all red all the time. Get a CHE and a thermostat. Since it will be controlled by a thermostat, I would get a 150 watt CHE. Radiant heat panels work even better than CHEs in closed chambers.

 

[Rexx Doopson]

Thanks. will do. Any other tips that the links didn't have?

 

[Rexx Doopson]

I renovated a box for space issues and brought it in my room. The place w/ the log is coverable w/ pieces of cardboard best for keeping humidity. It has damp moss and is continuously now refreshed with more moist (water). there is a naturalistic terrarium hood w/ the reptisun uvb (in which will be replaced soon for a better bulb) and a lamp w/ a 75 w heating bulb.

 

[Rexx Doopson]

There's a weird thing tho. Watson (his name) isn't eating his greens. in his dish he has watercress and napa cabbage(i know it has no nutritional value, but he likes it). even tho those are provided, hes walking around trying to eat cardboard and wet paper towels.

 

[crimson_lotus]

Cardboard is really not a good choice, nor are the paper towels, it will eventually mold..I recommend plastic christmas tree storage bins if you're looking for a cheap fix and you aren't handy, they are rather big and a good starting enclosure for babies.

 

[Rexx Doopson]

thanks. ill do that once this does start decaying. but why does he continuously try to eat them when he has perfectly good greens?