Is my baby sulcata sick?

Yvonne G

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no, just look at that gular. Sulcata all the way!
 

Yvonne G

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Hi! :) No basking light yet as Tom mentioned BUT since he is indoors & by a window, there’s natural light during day (and I turn on room lights in case), at night lights are off.

I also take him out Everyday for natural UV.
"Light" is not the same thing as heat. He needs to be able to warm his inner core to 80F or above in order to digest food. Without a heat source the tortoise 's inner core is the same temperature as the room he sits in.
 

Prenchpries

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"Light" is not the same thing as heat. He needs to be able to warm his inner core to 80F or above in order to digest food. Without a heat source the tortoise 's inner core is the same temperature as the room he sits in.

But his temps never go below 30C esp now that it’s summer in the Philippines. It’s a stable 33-35C is his room right now.
 

Yvonne G

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Phew thank you! :)
Would it be ok to ask for your opinion on his eye? Will monitor again tomorrow but if he still doesn’t eat, I’ll probably call a reptile vet for consultation .
Maybe he scratched it??? I can't see the eyes well enough to offer an opinion.
 

Prenchpries

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Maybe he scratched it??? I can't see the eyes well enough to offer an opinion.

maybe, as I see him scratch sometimes while soaking. He scratched a lot more than usual yesterday... :/ is it supposed to stop him from eating though?


It’s a inside joke.
Lol sorry, noob here. But hey your baby looks beautiful!!!
 

Tom

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Omg... have I been duped that it’s a sulcata ????
No. Its a sulcata. And it still needs a basking lamp. 32-35 is not too hot, but they don't do well with an overall uniform ambient. They need a warm ambient, but they also need a basking lamp. The area directly under the basking lamp should get to around 36-37.
 

Prenchpries

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No. Its a sulcata. And it still needs a basking lamp. 32-35 is not too hot, but they don't do well with an overall uniform ambient. They need a warm ambient, but they also need a basking lamp. The area directly under the basking lamp should get to around 36-37.

Got it, will finally have time to get an incandescent flood bulb tomorrow for the basking light.

Any opinion on his eye?
 

Prenchpries

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We brought Ube to one of the more well-known reptile vets in my city. He didn’t mention RI, but he did say the ff:

1. Ube’s shell is too soft. He recommended 6-8AM basking in direct sunlight.

2. He’s a little dehydrated because he hasn’t eaten in 2 days. Vet injected him with the reptile equivalent of IV fluid just for nourishment.

3. He noticed the hind right leg had some peeling skin, and gave me surgical Betadine to treat it for twice a day for 2 weeks.
 

luke2431

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Hi everyone!

I acquired a baby sulcata named Ube (our native term for purple yam). He was born March 28, 2020 and is currently hovering between 43-48 grams. I’ve always fed him variety since we got him — hibiscus, water spinach, rose, grasses, trefoil, aloe, ferns, lettuce, etc — and give a sprinkle of Reptical w/o D3 once or twice a week. He doesn’t seem to like Mazuri. His enclosure is currently an open-top, medium-sized terracotta planter (diameter is about 20" which I know is too small), with several plants. Substrate is plain organic soil (no perlite or small rocks) with some sphagnum moss on top. My living room is somewhat like a greenhouse (lots of glass with not much ventilation) so temperatures are always 30-34C. I place the hygrometer inside his indoor enclosure and it usually reads between 65-80% (high 80-90% when it’s raining). I soak him 1-2x a day for 15-20 minutes at a time, he always has water & regularly tracks it, and I regularly mist his enclosures too. I take him out for sun every morning in his outdoor enclosure for 2 hours, sometimes more if noon isn’t too hot, but I always bring him in before dusk (he likes sleeping in his hide outside which usually measures 33-35C and 75-80% humidity). Now I just wanted to ask some questions since most information available is for temperate climates & not much info is available for baby sulcatas in the Philippine tropics.

1. I understand a closed chamber enclosure is the optimal way to raise babies. I’ve already ordered a tub (36x17x19 inches) and will make necessary adjustments to make this a closed chamber until he outgrows it. Given the natural humidity in my country, I think it would be easy to maintain 80-90% humidity in his closed chamber even without heating, since it’ll be indoors anyway, in a place with no AC & little ventilation. Does this make sense or am I being naive? I’ve reached this conclusion seeing how humid his outdoor hide can get, as well as our normal outdoor temps ranging 33-36C with 50-70% humidity.

2. I feel like my baby is too light for a 2-month old sulcata. He has never reached 50g while in my care, and I am worried he’s sick. When we first got him (on May 12th) and for the first couple of weeks, he was eating a lot. But it seems that his eating has decreased starting last week & he’s been slightly more lethargic. He used to be awake from 8-10AM & 2-4PM. Now he’s only awake in the morning then asleep the rest of the day. He doesn’t have the same appetite for food but he still poops & pees normally.
Baby sullys sleep from alot- 18 hours a day sometimes!!!!
 

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