I have a 10 month tortoise, i'm afraid he's sick...

[chandlerledray]

Alright thank you I'll set up a new enclosure for Peanut today, and do all the right changes. Thanks for your help

 

[Stephanie Logan]

http://www.tempgun.com/main.html

These are point and click thermometers that work very well to keep track of your temps all over your enclosure.

Please post photos and keep us updated on Peanut (and Franklin). We care!

Good luck and get it done soon.

 

[chandlerledray]

Just an update- I made a table for them today, didn't take too long (and only cost me 30 bucks of wood!) It is amazing, they are very happy. Also got a few different kinds of substrate, all mentioned in this thread. And I got a cute little water dish thing with a slope so it's easy for Pea to get in and out. It looks great and they are very happy. Peanut actually had his eyes open for a little bit! Hope he gets better soon.. Also picked up 2 therms and I'm maintaining the temperatures, just for clarification, there should be a basking area about 85-90 degrees and the other side be 75 ?
Also, what kind of edible plants can I get for them?

I'll post pictures later, after dinner time

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Just an update- I made a table for them today, didn't take too long (and only cost me 30 bucks of wood!) It is amazing, they are very happy. Also got a few different kinds of substrate, all mentioned in this thread. And I got a cute little water dish thing with a slope so it's easy for Pea to get in and out. It looks great and they are very happy. Peanut actually had his eyes open for a little bit! Hope he gets better soon.. Also picked up 2 therms and I'm maintaining the temperatures, just for clarification, there should be a basking area about 85-90 degrees and the other side be 75 ?
Also, what kind of edible plants can I get for them?

I'll post pictures later, after dinner time

You need Terramycin antibiotic ointment for his eyes. That was very important and should have been the first thing you got for him. Most feed stores will carry it.

 

[chandlerledray]

Okay, I'll pick up some tomorrow, will that help?

 

[Yvonne G]

Just a note of clarification:

When a tortoise's eyes are either stuck shut or swollen shut, or if he just plain old won't open them, first you correct the problem, then you try to sooth the eyes with the anti-biotic ointment. No, its not crucial, but the eyes are closed because they are hurting the tortoise. The ointment will sooth them and he will open them sooner than without the ointment. Its good to have on hand. Everyone who keeps a turtle or tortoise should have a tube in their tortoise supplies.

 

[Kayti]

Just a note of clarification:

When a tortoise's eyes are either stuck shut or swollen shut, or if he just plain old won't open them, first you correct the problem, then you try to sooth the eyes with the anti-biotic ointment. No, its not crucial, but the eyes are closed because they are hurting the tortoise. The ointment will sooth them and he will open them sooner than without the ointment. Its good to have on hand. Everyone who keeps a turtle or tortoise should have a tube in their tortoise supplies.

Wow, I uses to use tons of that stuff for my foster kittens. I didn't know it worked on reptiles too, or that you could get it without a prescription.
Worked great on my kittens though!

chandlerledray- congrats, it sounds like your moving in the right direction. Any progress on that temp gauge yet?

 

[chandlerledray]

Well, the temp gauge is getting up there, the highest I got it up to was 78, any ways on how to get it higher??

I'll definitely get some ointment, sounds like a good idea.

Also, at night time, what kind of heat should they have?

 

[Candy]

Go to www.africantortoise.com and look under general care and it will tell you the temperatures that you should be keeping your tortoises at.

 

[Meg90]

Can you take pictures of your updates? You need to drop that bulb down lower, or get another one. Sullys should have a hotspot of about 95-97, rest of hot side should be upper 80's, lower 90's. Cool side should be 70's.

No heat mats, or rocks. Those burn torts. You can only raise the ambient temp of the room, or add more overhead heating.

Glad you're making improvements.

 

[chandlerledray]

Okay here are some pictures of the old setup and the new one.

Old:
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z53/fluff4/IMG_1266.jpg
[IMG]http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z53/fluff4/IMG_1267.jpg

New:

---

Old:

---

The temperatures are still 78.6 on one spot and 72.4 on the cool side.

 

[Yvonne G]

see my reply on your other thread:

http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-11385.html

 

[chandlerledray]

Okay, I see what you're saying. I could buy a stand, or could I just put a nail in the wall and hang the light from there pointing downward or something? The clamps seem to be working pointing down because the wall is low enough where I can clamp it and point it downward and it seems that they are getting enough heat..Is it okay that I have 2 lamps for the basking area, and one for the cooler area? Because without one in the cooler area, the temp is way to low. I couldn't hang chains from the ceiling because my ceiling is high and I don't think my parents would really allow that :/

They both get along great, so separating is no issue.

 

[Yvonne G]

If lowering the lights doesn't raise the temperature, then you can try covering the habitat to keep the heat in.

Or put up a curtain rod across the middle or a bar of some sort that you can hang the lights from. They're just too far from the floor of the habitat. And shining at an angle allows the heat to escape upwards instead of going down.

 

[Isa]

nice ameliorations Your tortoises must be very happy to live in their new tort table! After some changes, your enclosure will be perfect

 

[chandlerledray]

Thanks!

Is the cool area being 78 good?

And their basking area is 88.

Peanut is actually walking around, but no eating yet :/

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Yvonne already mentioned the possibility of Frankin intimidating Peanut as a cause of Peanut not eating. Have you thought of separating them just for a couple weeks to see if that increases Peanut's appetite?

 

[chandlerledray]

I've never considered separating them, just because they are close. They sleep together and are next to each other most of the day.
I guess it's worth a shot, I mean if it'll be a possibility for Pea to get better, then of course.

 

[chandlerledray]

Okay, I just got back from taking Pea to the vet. :/
The vet said that he is pretty sick, he's very very very tiny for his age and his shell is still soft.
I told her about how he hasn't been eating and eyes have been shut for a week now. She said he is weak and that's why he has his eyes shut, she took him back and gave him a shot and now he's being force fed once a day until he eats on his own.
She said he has a 50/50 chance of getting better...:/
I'm pretty upset, the poor little guy.
What do you think? Will he start getting better being on medications?

What's weird is Frank went through the kinda same hting when he was peanuts age, do they all go through something around this time?

 

[Stephanie Logan]

From being on this forum, I have learned that hatchlings are just inherently fragile, and for some reason Sulcata hatchlings seem extra vulnerable.

I hope hope hope that little Peanut gets well soon! Good luck!:shy: