I have a fewt questions

[Nicole.Smiles]

I've had my baby tortoise for about 2 months now, he sleeps A LOT which i hear is normal for a baby.
Sometimes it looks like he has a problem opening his eyes, is there something i can do to help that?
also is humidity important? I've heard that it can cause pyramiding...
Thanks for the help in advance =)

 

[Meg90]

Lack of humidity can cause pyramiding. Being too dry can also cause their eyes to be stuck closed, or hard to open.

Can you post some pictures of your setup, and the tortoise? Guess he didn't sell huh? I saw the ad you posted on CL awhile back.

 

[FWishbringer]

I've been an owner about as long as you, and my baby was a few days old when I got him.

Since I recently went through this as well, let me see if I can ask all the right questions...

How active are they? Are they eating well? What is their diet? What is their water availability? So you soak them? Are they passing stool? What kind of lighting is used? What type of UVB bulb? Does he look dry? What is the substrate? What are your temperatures? Is it one eye or both? Do they look glassy or runny? Any nasal discharge? What color are the eyes? Has there been any eye discoloration?

Humidity is very important for hatchlings. They can become dehydrated overnight. As per exactly how much humidity, that seems debated among the experts, but all say at least 50%, and most say higher. I shoot for 70%-90%. I use topsoil (from Home Depot, their only 'clean with no fertilizers or other additives' topsoil, and I baked it in the oven to sterilize it) as substrate, which I keep moist by adding water to every day. It took 1/4 a 50# bag to do my enclosure, and to this, I add about 7 or 8 cups of water a day to keep it moist. I always keep a water dish available, which is a tupperware lid upturned, and holds the right amount of water so they can get their whole 'belly' in it, which they do when they go to drink. I have to put fresh water twice a day, since they drop tons of dirt in it, and poop in it. I also give them daily soaks in a 'bathtub' (glorified tupperware container), in warm water, and soak them a good 5-10 minutes daily. I was doing 10-15, but they have been getting in their water dish more, so I cut back on bath time. From all that I've read, a little too much water is MUCH better than not enough water. Dehydration can lead to all sorts of bad things, the worst of which, is death.

If it helps since it sounds Deasil is about as old as your little one, my little one wanders around for a few hours, naps about an hour, wanders a few hours, naps about an hour, wanders for a few hours, then sleeps for most of lights out. He wakes up usually once during the night for a dip in their water dish.

 

[Nicole.Smiles]

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!

I was using the reptile carpet stuff that the pet shop i got him from sold me.
Today i went out and bought zoo med excavator clay burrowing substrate and made a little burrow in it for him, im waiting for it to dry now before i put him in there, i also picked up some of the reptile bark which i was gonna lay on the ground over the clay stuff, could i just mist that daily?


He literally sleeps almost all day, i feed him the spring mix which he eats a lot of =) I always keep water in his tank but he doesnt seem to want anything to do with it.
I also soak him daily for about 15-20 minutes. Yes, he uses the bathroom regularly.
I have a basking lamp and a uvb light that is 5.0.
He doesn't look dry, and i have the temp under the basking light 105 and the rest of the tank at about 80.

His eyes look normal! Thats why i dont get why they're closed... but now that i know that it should be moist in his area.. hopefully that will fix it... Usually ill grab a Qtip and dab some water on them and he'll be ok...



I researched so much about how to raise a Sulcata before i got him and now im totally freaking out that im not doing any of it right =(

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@Meg90, No he didn't =) A few people where interested but in the end i couldnt sell him, im attached... =)

 

[franeich]

Is the uv a coil because those are bad for the eyes

 

[FWishbringer]

As a lot of people will tell you, if its the coil type compact fluorescent UVB bulb, then its horrible for their eyes and can lead to a host of problems, including blindness. From what I've read, they let too much of the wrong type of UV through, which is terrible for their eyes. One picture I saw somewhere around here showed how their tortoises eyes had turned almost red after a single day. They are bad news.

Regarding your reptile bark, what kind of bark is it? If its from pine, cedar, etc, then its very toxic. If its coconut coir, then the thread like stuff poses a impaction hazard if they eat it (mine tried, and that's probably why they got impacted, though I finally got them to pass). The two types of 'bark' that I've seen listed as acceptable are orchid bark and cypress mulch.

As per activity, I'm not well versed, but it sounds like your little one isn't very active. I'll wait for one of the 'smarter' people to comment though, since they are eating and passing stool. My little one has been having an issue with opening -one- eye, but careful observation has shown he opens it when he thinks I am not around. When he sees me, he closes the one eye. When eating, or if your little one thinks you're not around, do they open their eyes? I 'hide' where I can watch in a mirror, then hold still for a while. I would recommend NOT touching their eye with a q-tip though. With mine, the closest I come is using a dampened q-tip to coax them to open their eye by gently pulling down on their cheek (though I've given up on that now, since I know they open it when I'm not right there). If you want to wet them, I suggest doing what I did, and have since found is recommended... use saline solution. Its available at the drugstore or grocery store in the contact wearer's section. I have some handy since I use it myself, and I know its fine to put right into the eye. In the event they have anything in their eye, applying any pressure to the eye can cause Bad Things (take it from the perspective of a contact wearer.. that's why I would never use the q-tip ON their eye, even to moisten it if its closed!).

Temperature is a debatable topic. Some would say 105F is too hot, others would say it needs to be a little hotter. I took the average of the experts and went with 95Fish in basking, with a gradient down to room temp of 70F. I keep the whole range available at all hours by mixing UVB, CHE, seed warming mat (a lot of people say underheat is bad, but Yvonne praises them, and I'm not using it as primary heat, only to slightly warm the middle area, between hot and cold zones). I will note something though, 105F will suck the moisture out of substrate. Of the several cups of water I add daily to keep humidity up, 90% goes into the warm side, which I keep at 95F.

As per clay, never seen that asked (but I'm fairly new here) so I'll wait until Maggie or Yvonne can chime in. I find their advice helpful, since they frequently disagree with one another on debatable topics, but agree on the important stuff, lol. There's lots of knowledgeable people here, so do browse around!

Lastly, since no one else has asked yet, can you share pics of your little one and their enclosure? Would help people get an idea of their living conditions.
Here's mine http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-12924.html

As per new owner 'freak out', welcome to the club! I've come here with essay length posts about various things, most of it turning out to be on the minor side.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

That's surely not the thing to say if you want to stay friends with us!!!
You need to get rid of the coil bulb. I used them and Tony Stewart ended up blind, so a normal incandescent bulb is better until you get a good Trex bulb. In the wild they walk for miles eating and walking eating and walking, so exercise is seriously important to them. But...babies stay hidden so they don't get much exercise. You'll use a good substrate like cypress mulch and you'll keep it moist and that will prevent pyramiding. You want 70 to 80% humidity...
I think that 105 is too hot, I would back it down to 90 or 95 but everyone has their own opinion on that just like you said. He's sleeping a lot because he's a baby and that's what babies do. If you want one that is more active come and get Bob, he got out of his pen twice today. But because someone (I'm sorry, I forget who) but someone told me to put cinderblocks on the first stair and that's what I did, and he couldn't climb the stairs.
Well, I don't feel very well and I think I have gotten these two posters confused, so I hope whoever it was that needed the advice got it and I think I have to go lay down... I'm sorry I wasn't any help. I will be better tomorrow...

 

[matt41gb]

Your little sulcata will naturally hide a lot of the time. To them you are a predator. It will eventually learn to accept you as its foot source, and will become more active. Just give it time. I would look for lack of appetite, bubbles from the nostrils, and open mouth breathing. These can be signs that your tortoise could have an upper respiratory infection. Keep it warm, but not too hot 70ish in the cool end, and around 90 on the warm side.

-Matt

 

[Nicole.Smiles]

RE: I have a few questions

The bark doesnt say what kind it is on the bag it just says All Living Things is the brand, then Reptile Bark... it also says its natural forest floor substrate.


Im attaching a picture of his tank... i havent added the bark yet... the tank wont be finished drying until tomorrow so you also see a cup in his burrow lol.

But i just changed everything today so im not sure if this even helps at all. ill lower the basking to 95 he doesnt seem to go under it to much as it is, and i have the coil UVB light... so the one i need is the long kind that sit on top of the cage?

 

[DonaTello's-Mom]

'avoid accidental ingestion of substrate, which may cause impaction'<----This is what the 'zoo med excavator clay burrowing substrate' states on the package. I would not use this for my tort as I'd be afraid he'd dig it up and eat it=impaction. Buy him a little hide box ($5.00 walmart) plastic tupperware. Stuff some GRASS hay (not alfalfa=bad for them) in the hide or moist substrate. Very cozy for them. I use a 'seedling warmer' under the hide, warm and cozy!

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'natural forest floor substrate' is good but keep it nice and moist.

 

[FWishbringer]

The tube type would be better than a coil, but what I'm using (which everyone recommends) is this.. http://www.google.com/products?q=tr...ent=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wf

As per the substrate... http://www.1catdog.com/product/All-Living-Things-Reptile-Bark.html says its made from Fir trees (which is in the pine category), which is poisonous to your little one. I hate to say it, but you're going to want to get rid of that too, and switch to something else. I've got my own 'first attempt' bag of coconut coir that was used then retired quickly. Depending who you talk to orchid bark, cypress mulch, or clean topsoil are going to be what you're going to need to find. I haven't found any local places selling orchid bark, but Home Depot carries the mulch and topsoil. If you go with topsoil, make sure you have a knowledgeable person help you find clean, pure topsoil. "Potting soil" is not topsoil, as it has fertilizers or other stuff added, and many things labelled topsoil add manure as a fertilizer. If you go with mulch, make sure its not treated in any way. Many types of mulch have herbicides or dyes.

Next thing I'll repeat, which I myself was told, aquariums are bad as they don't allow for good air circulation and the tortoises don't understand they can't walk through the glass. The thing to remember is 'if they can see through it, they will try to get through it, regardless of what may occur'. A $7 plastic container meant for storing coats under a bed makes a wonderful enclosure. Its what I'm using, and I have a retired-after-one-month aquarium in the closet. This thread is chock full of good ideas... http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-661.html (and I want to point out, they started with coir, but scrapped that and switched to topsoil later on... I wonder how many people didn't switch substrate at least once when they started, lol)

And maggie, my apologies if you thought my comment was negative, it wasn't meant to be. You and Yvonne have been some of the most helpful people here! You both have your own approaches to things, which always makes for lots of insightful posts!

 

[Nicole.Smiles]

Awesome, i havent even opened the bark yet so ill return it tomorrow and get some topsoil probably, the save with the UVB light.

The aquarium is only temporary, im waiting for my boyfriend to come back in town and we're going to build a tortoise table =)

 

[Yvonne G]

You'd think that fir and pine are in the same category, however, they aren't. Fir is not one of the aromatic oil trees, like pine is. In fact, fir is what orchid bark comes from. I've used orchid bark for years and years with no ill effects.

 

[Tom]

Nicole, I agree with Yvonne, the orchid bark is fine. I've been using it for 20 years on just about everything. You can mix it with whatever plain soil you get for a good substrate or just use it alone. Sometimes you just have to try different things to see what works for you in your situation.

On the aquarium: Tubs and tortoise tables are better, but don't worry too much about it. Me and many others have been raising chelonians in glass tanks for 30 years. Just make sure all your temps are good. Cool side, warm side, basking spot and night time. I use a remote digital probe ($10 at Walmart or a hardware store) AND an infared heat gun ($25 online or at many reptile stores) to check these regularly. If it looks like he's always pushing at the glass, trying to scratch and dig through the corners, or stressing out in some way, just put up a visual barrier on the bottom 4" of the tank. If he's hiding too much, you made need to do this to male him feel more secure. On the rare occasion I had this happen, I'd cut up a brown paper grocery bag for this and tape it up. I never had this problem with any turtle or tortoise, but I had a few lizards start to rub their snouts too much. The visual barrier stops this.

On the bulbs: There are many opinions on this because everybody's situation is different. I use a single regular 75 watt incandescent spot bulb on one end of my 6x2' enclosure and nothing else. The night temps stay warm in my reptile room, so I don't need anything for night time. My tortoises get sunshine almost everyday so I feel no need to provide additional, artificial UV. Sometimes I'll switch to a UV bulb during the winter if I have a cold spell that lasts longer than a week or two. Here are my observations on UV bulbs, use what you like: ALL the flourescent ones are ineffective. I wouldn't waste any money on them. The T-REX Active UV heat bulbs are good and worth the money. If your house stays above 70 at night you can simply stick one of these over one end of your tank/tub and be done with it. This will give you the necessary heat AND UV. If your house drops below the seventies at night, I would recommend a Ceramic Heating Element for night time. The best way to use these is to suspend them, by the cord, above your basking area and raise or lower them to get the desired temp. Always use the ceramic based light fixtures and not the "plastic" ones. I like to use a big, flat rock directly under my basking lights too. Helps warm the whole area when they aren't on it and gives them safe belly heat when they are on it.

BTW, SUNSHINE is really really good for them. I recommend that every one build or make a safe outdoor enclosure for sunshine on warm days. This can be as simple as a kiddie pool with a bushy potted plant in the middle for shade or as elaborate as you want. Just watch out for predators and over-heating.

Good luck and keep those questions and pics coming.

 

[Nicole.Smiles]

you have been so much help! Thank you =)

I live in Chicago, it just snowed again yesterday!
As soon as it gets warm again ill be taking him outside =)

 

[DonaTello's-Mom]

I use coconut coir mixed with top soil. Half and half. Works good for me and my tortie!