Baby Sulcata Eyes

[Fell80]

Hi all,

I purchased a baby sulcata tortoise two days ago from a reptile vendor. He informed me that the little guy was only a couple of months old. I brought him home and set him up in a rubbermade container. I did not feed him the first day as I wanted him to settle in. I noticed his eyes seemed a little swollen and he kept them closed a lot but I figured it was because he was scared from his long day.

Today I noticed more of the same and I am starting to become very paranoid. He ate a TON today. He refuses to eat hay but he tore up some different grocery store greens, more than I though he could eat. His eyes are open when he walks around and when I bathed him today. He does not seem lethargic. He will move under his heat light and nap for a couple hours then move a foot or so to his shady hide and sleep there.

The eyes are what is really scaring me. They seem sort of puffy and swelled. I was thinking maybe some kind of infection. He rubs his front leg off his face a lot. I put some eye drops for turtles that I had but it did not seem to help much.

Like I said he is set up in a rubbermade container. His substrate consists of a mix of cypress mulch, eco earth, and playsand. He has a heat lamp and a basking site that is at 95 degrees. I also have a repti sun strip light (I ordered an arcadia MVB today). There is a terra cotta water dish in there along with a warm and cool hide. I was worried about dehydration so I added some spanish moss and keep the substrate moist. I also set up a humidifier next to his rubbermade container.

I am sorry for the long post I just wanted to try to cover everything as I am very worried about the little guy.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

welcome to the forum! what substrate are you using? whats the cage humidity? are you using a coil bulb? pics of the cage and the tort will help.

 

[Fell80]

thanks, im glad to be here. the substrate is a cypress mulch, play sand, eco earth mix. humidity hovers around 55-60. i will try to get pics up asap

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

I would change out your substrate and not use sand. It sometimes irritates baby eyes. The Reptisun strip, that's a fluorescent tube, right? So it's not the light that's causing the eye problem. (The spiral-shaped compact fluorescent bulbs cause the type of eye problems you're seeing)

There's an eye product sold in pet stores called vetericyn. It's a soothing gel for eyes.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

bump up the humidity to 80%+

 

[Fell80]

Yvonne, it is the fluorescent tube and I switch up his substrate real quick. Will a store such as petsmart or petco carry vetericyn? Is there anything else I could do for him as I have read some articles about putting the oil from fish oil pills on their eyes? Does this sound like anything real serious such as an RI or hatchling failure syndrone?

russian/sulcata/tortoise, does the humidity need to be that high in the entire enclosure? I have a humid hide which has around 80%. I am not sure how to achieve humidity that high in his entire tub while still keeping the lights on him.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

i think that would be okay. does he sleep in the hide? make sure the substrate stays really moist. replace the sand because it can cause impaction in the torts intestines.

 

[Fell80]

He didnt last night but he did for a while today. Is it normal behavior for the a baby tortoise to move between the light and the different hides and just nap for a few hours?

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

He didnt last night but he did for a while today. Is it normal behavior for the a baby tortoise to move between the light and the different hides and just nap for a few hours?

yea thats normal. i think its called thermo regulating his body temperature, its if he gets to hot he will more to a cooler area and if it gets to cold he will move to a warmer area. baby torts like to sleep a lot like any other baby

 

[Fell80]

thank you both so much. i really appreciate all of your help

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

thank you both so much. i really appreciate all of your help

no problem dude.

 

[Fell80]

 

[Fell80]

 

[Fell80]

Any idea what could be the root problem from the pictures?

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Any idea what could be the root problem from the pictures?

i think its the play sand thats messing with his eyes. remember to soak him everyday.

 

[Fell80]

okay well i switch him over the just straight cypress mulch and I have soaked him both days that I have had him for 20 minutes

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

okay well i switch him over the just straight cypress mulch and I have soaked him both days that I have had him for 20 minutes

good. remember to keep the water warm.

 

[Tom]

There are two usual culprits when there are eye problems like this. Sand and coil bulbs. Sand might be your issue, but its possible that someone else had him under a coil bulb before you got him.

And babies don't eat hay. That's for adults.

Here are some threads to help you:
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/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[Yvonne G]

Yvonne, it is the fluorescent tube and I switch up his substrate real quick. Will a store such as petsmart or petco carry vetericyn? Is there anything else I could do for him as I have read some articles about putting the oil from fish oil pills on their eyes? Does this sound like anything real serious such as an RI or hatchling failure syndrone?

russian/sulcata/tortoise, does the humidity need to be that high in the entire enclosure? I have a humid hide which has around 80%. I am not sure how to achieve humidity that high in his entire tub while still keeping the lights on him.

Normally the vitamin A deficiency (swollen eyes - fish oil treatment) is seen in box turtles. You don't see it very often in little sulcatas. You usually see it when the animal stops eating. But there can be other causes too. You mentioned a couple of them. Since we can't figure it out, all you can do is try all the 'treatments' we know that help the condition: Soak for about 30 minutes daily in a mixture of Gerber baby food carrots and water, vitamin A drops in the eyes, more shade to give relief from the harsh lighting, make the habitat warmer, get rid of the sand, etc.

I bought my first bottle of Veterycin online, but then I saw that Petsmart carries it.

 

[keepergale]

I agree with all the above advice.
As your tortoise is still eating well you can also add Vitamin A heavy foods to the diet. Bok Choy for example.