Help with sick sulcata

[JoJosMom]

Quick question- this morning Rocco had excessive tears streaming down his face. I've been taking care to really regulate the night box temps so it doesn't get too hot, and my temp stick showed it stayed between 83-85 during the night. Should I be worried?

As mentioned above, this species is known for their crying eyes. This naturally happens to decrease debris or irritants in the eyes. If your days are warming up above 70 degrees and the sun is out for a good part of the day, then you can bring the night temps down to about 78 degrees. If the day time is still filled with marine layer and never warming up above 70 degrees then leave the night temps at 80-82. We house over 150+ Sulcatas and we see this happen when it is very warm, windy, dusty or they have been digging in the dirt. Some will have both eyes, some just one. It varies and not all have it. You want to pay attention to the daily temps. Usually, their houses would not need to be heated this time of year, however because you are down by the ocean and the excessive marine layer has been sticking around lately, you do not want him cold constantly. That is what is making him not feel good. He has to be able to come out and bask during the day to warm his core.

Do you lock him in his house at night or can he come out freely if he wants to?

 

[Tom]

I just read the whole thread. It sounds like you were doing everything right, and I don't see an obvious cause of your problem. My best guess is the prolonged June gloom we had this year, so the warm temps probably helped prevent this from being an even bigger problem. I would leave the temps higher, and I would not worry about the tears.

You've gotten great advice from JoJo's mom and the other posters here on your thread. I also use large horse troughs for soaking the big ones, and I have someone help me lift them in when they are that large. Make sure you are using warm water for the soaks, and keep it warm in your cooler climate. It was 104 up here today. I had no trouble keeping my soak water warm today.

I think you also learned that vets don't know tortoises. You never inject a tortoise with vitamin A. Everything they eat is full of vitamin A. Also, what antibiotic did they inject? If it was Baytril, that is extremely painful to them and you need to watch for infection or skin sloughing at the injection site.

I'm glad he's feeling better and I hope that the trend continues.