Hatchling Sulcata with red puffy eye

[Love4tortoises]

Hi there,
I need some opinions on what might be going on with my hatchling sulcata. About 2 weeks ago my tortoise had a red puffy eye so I took him/her to the vet and they gave me some eye drops. After applying the eye drops for about a week, 3-4 chuncks of stuff came out of his/her eye and he/she seemed to be doing great. His/her eye was back to normal and I thought everything was great. It looked fine for about 2 weeks and now its back.

He/she is still eating, active and alert, but his/her left eye is very swollen, red and he/she cant open it... I would love to get opinions on what you guys might think is happening and why it came back... Is it the diet? Dehydration? Habitat? etc...?

Any help, opinions or suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thanks so much!

 

[Jacqui]

Hi! First can you answer some questions for us? Tell us what kind of light your using and how long is it on for. Then what is the substrate your using? Next how much humidity does the enclosure have? The entire enclosure or just a humid hide? Do you soak him? What are you feeding the little guy?

 

[Love4tortoises]

Hi Jacqui,

I have two bulbs to light the enclosure, one is a UVA/UVB bulb and the other is just a normal light. For 3/4 of the tank I have Critter Country pellets and then on 1/4 of the tank I have Eco Earth. I have never really been able to keep the humidity where I would like it so ideas on how to do to that would be great! The humidity is usually more on the tropical side than the desert side . I do soak him about 3-4 times a week in a luke warm bath for about 30-45 minutes or so. When I first got him, I kept water in the tank with him (which also helped keep the humidity a little higher and more on the desert side), but then read that that was really bad for them and they can get respirtory infections that way, so I took it out... Should I leave it in there? I buy a mixture from the store that has baby red chard, baby green swiss chard, baby arugula, and mild baby spinach which then I add dandilion leaves to and he loves it all! Any opinions on changes I could make, will be really appreciated!!

 

[erica anne]

Tom says no spinach. I doubt that's what's causing the red eye but it's just an FYI I hope your tort gets better soon!

 

[L82lalaland]

If you are using the coil lights they cause eye problems. Always keep water available for your baby in the cage. I soak mine daily for 20 minutes. Have you read Toms thread about Sulcata Hatchlings at the top of the Sulcata tortoise forum. He gives great advice on how to raise them. You might want to use cypress mulch and coco substraight it holds in the moisture better. But an enclosed tank seemed to help with my humidity problem. Also do you have a light on all the time because they do need dark time.
Hope this will help until the experts read your thread. It's hard to wait for responses when your baby is sick. They will ask you your temps, basking, hot side, and cool side, and your humidity level so if you could post these it would help them help you.
Hope your babyis better soon.

 

[wellington]

You need to give him water 24/7 in a shallow dish large enough for him to get in and out. Temps, no lower then 80 with humidity 80% Get rid of the pellet substrate, that stuff is no good. Coconut coir, cypress mulch or plain dirt. You need a ceramic heat emitter for night time heat that again night time temps should not go below 80. The threads you need to read are below in my post. They are Toms. If you still have some of the eye drops, use them. If you are using any coil type bulbs get rid if it, they cause eye problems. No spinach, but feed a varied diet of dark leafy green, such as kale, escarole, dandelion, optunia cactus, weeds, endive, Mazuri tortoise diet. If you have warm temps, get him outside whenever possible. Check out the tortoisetable.org for other safe things to feed.

 

[mctlong]

For 3/4 of the tank I have Critter Country pellets and then on 1/4 of the tank I have Eco Earth. I have never really been able to keep the humidity where I would like it so ideas on how to do to that would be great!

The eco earth is good. You can mist is down with water to help keep up the humidity. The dust from the critter pellets could be whats irritating the tort's eye. Its also hard to keep the humidity up with critter pellets, so you may just want to stick with the eco earth 100% and ditch the pellets. As Barb pointed out, Cypress mulch works really well too (its what I use).

When I first got him, I kept water in the tank with him (which also helped keep the humidity a little higher and more on the desert side), but then read that that was really bad for them and they can get respirtory infections that way, so I took it out... Should I leave it in there?

This is common misinformation. Your tort is not going to catch a respiratory infection from the water bowl or from increased humidity caused by the water bowl if you keep the enclosure nice and warm (80-85ish on the cool end and up to 110 directly under the basking light). Warm and humid is good. Cold and humid is what causes respiratory infections.

I recommend keeping the water bowl in the enclosure, just make sure its shallow enough for your tort to climb in and out easily.

If the tort's eye is still irritated, try rinsing it with luke warm water a couple times a day. If you can get your hands on some more of those eye drops that you said worked the last time, even better.

 

[Love4tortoises]

Thank you all SO much for the advice! I went ahead and got rid of the Critter Country stuff and just put down the Eco Earth in the entire tank and added his water bowl back in there so he can get in and out of his water whenever he feels like it. I also eliminated the spinach and added kale to his mixture instead so thank you for that helpful info!

As for his eye, I have been trying to clean it when I soak him and I do have left over eye drops, so I am continueing to use those as well. Just so you guys have some more information on his habitat... The temp during the day on the "hot" side of the tank is always between 90-95 with about 30% humidity and about 70-75 on the "cool" side. Do these temps sound about right?

I will definitely keep you all posted on how his eye is doing... Hopefully with the change in his tank and the continued use of the eye drops, he will bounce back quick.

Thanks again!!

 

[mctlong]

Thank you all SO much for the advice! I went ahead and got rid of the Critter Country stuff and just put down the Eco Earth in the entire tank and added his water bowl back in there so he can get in and out of his water whenever he feels like it. I also eliminated the spinach and added kale to his mixture instead so thank you for that helpful info!

As for his eye, I have been trying to clean it when I soak him and I do have left over eye drops, so I am continueing to use those as well. Just so you guys have some more information on his habitat... The temp during the day on the "hot" side of the tank is always between 90-95 with about 30% humidity and about 70-75 on the "cool" side. Do these temps sound about right?

I will definitely keep you all posted on how his eye is doing... Hopefully with the change in his tank and the continued use of the eye drops, he will bounce back quick.

Thanks again!!

Thats a bit chilling for a sully. They like their homes alot warmer than we do and get sick when they get cold. The cool side should be at least 80 degrees (or a little warmer) and it should be around 110 under the basking light.

 

[Love4tortoises]

As I stated before, I just changed the tank to Eco Earth and now the temp is rising because the Eco Earth is going to be able to retain some of the heat. Now the high and low side is around where it should be High (basking) - 110ish.

The only thing that is worrying me now is that he is just sitting there wiping both of his eyes because the Eco Earth is somewhat "new" to him... He had a little bit before, but wasn't in it much and now that is all he has... Im sure I am just being a worried mom.

 

[Weda737]

I'd really suggest raising the humidity. Around 60 at least. That eco earth isn't as dusty when it's wet, that might help keep your tort from rubbing his eyes so much.

 

[Love4tortoises]

I'd really suggest raising the humidity. Around 60 at least. That eco earth isn't as dusty when it's wet, that might help keep your tort from rubbing his eyes so much.

Thank you! I have been trying to keep the humidity up, but cant seem to keep it as high as I would like... Any suggestions on how I might be able to keep the humidity in that range (60-70)?

 

[mainey34]

Possibly the reasons you are still having issues is everything has to coincide...your temps, and humidity. Humidity needs to be at 80% no lower for a little one..there should be no dust. And temps should never go below 80* this will cause a RI. If your little one is having trouble with the substrate you can mix cypress mulch and cocoir. I also do not agree with eliminating spinach. It should be given in moderation. It is high in ocelates. High in calcium. The best way to get your humidity up is to cover 3/4 of your enclosure with plexiglass or foil.

 

[Dizisdalife]

If you pack or tamp the eco earth down while it is moist it won't get into you tortoise's eyes (and everywhere else) as much. You'll have to tamp it down several times to get it to where you like it.

 

[Love4tortoises]

If you pack or tamp the eco earth down while it is moist it won't get into you tortoise's eyes (and everywhere else) as much. You'll have to tamp it down several times to get it to where you like it.

I didnt even think of doing this!! Thank you so much for this advice, not only has it helped stop getting stuff into the torts eye, but it is also helping with my humidity problem!! Thank you, thank you!

---

Possibly the reasons you are still having issues is everything has to coincide...your temps, and humidity. Humidity needs to be at 80% no lower for a little one..there should be no dust. And temps should never go below 80* this will cause a RI. If your little one is having trouble with the substrate you can mix cypress mulch and cocoir. I also do not agree with eliminating spinach. It should be given in moderation. It is high in ocelates. High in calcium. The best way to get your humidity up is to cover 3/4 of your enclosure with plexiglass or foil.

My humidity is rising because I have gotten the Eco Earth wet and packed it down so its holds moisture better and also helps keep it out of the torts eye. I am very happy about that! I never knew that the temps shouldnt ever drop below 80*, so thank you for that! I always thought from other readings that 70's was okay. This could be one of the main factors as to way everything is out of whack!

Humidity is up (85%), temp is up (100-110) and my tort is still eating and active. Does this sound like things are improving?

 

[Weda737]

Awesome, glad you're having a good turnaround.

 

[Love4tortoises]

Wanted to update you all and let you know that the conditions in Chewy's tank are going great! The humidity is at a constant 80% or above and the heat has not dropped below 80. The "hot" side is about 95-100 and the "cool" side is around 78-81. I bought a CHE yesterday and used that last night as his heat source and it kept the tank warm all night! Things are looking great and he is SO much more active! I also took out the UVA/UVB bulb because he is getting sunlight very often and isnt needed anymore. Yesterday I took him out to roam around for about an hour and he LOVED it! A pic is attached .

His eye is also looking better and better everyday. The swelling is going down and I am using the eye drops everyday. I am hoping that his eye opens up in the next couple of days and with the new conditions his eye wont do this again. Hoping for the best!

I wanted to thank every one of you for your opinions and suggestions! They have helped me tremendously and have made Chewy a very happy tort!

 

[Linzbragg]

Covering the top of your cage (lights included) with aluminum foil will keep humidity in for sure