Is My Sulcata Alright?

[PrinceTheTortoise]

Hi to anyone who reads this! So I'm new around here and recently (a week ago) purchased a baby sulcata tortoise which I named Prince. Prince has been doing great, but earlier I noticed he (i'm assuming Prince is a boy) couldn't open his eyes. He was trying to open his eyes for a while then got one open, then after a while they were both open. But when he opened His eyes, there was goo on them. I don't know what this means, but is this some sorta infection I should worry about? Is there anything I can do? And can this cause death? He's also been kinda scratching his eye/head with the little spikes on his leg, does that mean his eyes bug him, or is this normal?

 

[T Smart]

Hi,

Do you mind providing a picture of your setup?

 

[Tortoise_Nerd]

This could do with humidity

 

[Tortoise_Nerd]

This could do with humidity

This happened to one of my Russians a while back so I changed the substrate and the humidity. I also began soaking her a lot more. After a day or two her eyes cleared up and stopped bugging her.

 

[Tortoise_Nerd]

This happened to one of my Russians a while back so I changed the substrate and the humidity. I also began soaking her a lot more. After a day or two her eyes cleared up and stopped bugging her.

I also bought reptile eye drops and gave them to her.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings and Welcome

Make sure you read up on the Care Sheet - https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

Lights: What kind of lights are you using? This “sounds” like a lighting issue...so upload some pictures of the type of bulbs you are using.

Soaking: how often are you soaking?

Upload some pix of lights and your overall enclosure.

Good luck

 

[PrinceTheTortoise]

Greetings and Welcome

Make sure you read up on the Care Sheet - https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

Lights: What kind of lights are you using? This “sounds” like a lighting issue...so upload some pictures of the type of bulbs you are using.

Soaking: how often are you soaking?

Upload some pix of lights and your overall enclosure.

Good luck

sorry for like a really late reply.. the lightbulb is a 50 watt lightbulb for tortoises. the eye problem had went away but came back, i got prince some eye drops, they work in opening his eyes but when wakes up from his nap, his eyes wont open

 

[PrinceTheTortoise]

Greetings and Welcome

Make sure you read up on the Care Sheet - https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

Lights: What kind of lights are you using? This “sounds” like a lighting issue...so upload some pictures of the type of bulbs you are using.

Soaking: how often are you soaking?

Upload some pix of lights and your overall enclosure.

Good luck

Maybe it has to do with his diet? what should i feed him, ive been searching online for things i should feed him but got even more confused. one website says one thing the other says not that.

 

[EllieMay]

Make sure that your not using the coil type bulb. It’s been proven to cause eye problems.. also, stop googling on the web. You’ll find all kinds of false information.. read the care sheets attached above and if you still have questions, do a search here in the TFO.. it’s almost certain that you’ll find an answer. These answers are based on real trial and error experiences.. good luck !

 

[drew54]

Can you give us your four temps?

Picture of your enclosure?

How old is the tortoise?

What substrate are you using?

What's the humidity?

How are you measuring your temps?

Do you have pics of the tortoise?

This info will better help us help you.

 

[PrinceTheTortoise]

Make sure that your not using the coil type bulb. It’s been proven to cause eye problems.. also, stop googling on the web. You’ll find all kinds of false information.. read the care sheets attached above and if you still have questions, do a search here in the TFO.. it’s almost certain that you’ll find an answer. These answers are based on real trial and error experiences.. good luck !

Ok, thanks!

 

[PrinceTheTortoise]

Can you give us your four temps?

Picture of your enclosure?

How old is the tortoise?

What substrate are you using?

What's the humidity?

How are you measuring your temps?

Do you have pics of the tortoise?

This info will better help us help you.

Prince Is about 3 months old. The substrate is fir bark. And the other stuff i dont really know about, sorry. But He's been ok living like this and seems to be happy. He is always active and out of his shell but for the past two days he has not been as active and is usually asleep. Is that normal? Also what foods do you recommend i give him?

 

[Yvonne G]

It has to do with multiple reasons: Substrate too dry, enclosure too cold, wrong light, enclosure not covered to keep cold air from your house out

The eye problem is NOT, I repeat - NOT - caused by his diet.

The biggest thing in the list I've given you is heat. You've got to cover that enclosure so you can keep a steady heat, all over the whole enclosure, of 80-85F degrees. This is very important if you want a happy healthy baby tortoise.

 

[PrinceTheTortoise]

It has to do with multiple reasons: Substrate too dry, enclosure too cold, wrong light, enclosure not covered to keep cold air from your house out

The eye problem is NOT, I repeat - NOT - caused by his diet.

The biggest thing in the list I've given you is heat. You've got to cover that enclosure so you can keep a steady heat, all over the whole enclosure, of 80-85F degrees. This is very important if you want a happy healthy baby tortoise.

Is 50 watts good? The box says uvb rays. How do I keep the substrate from being too dry? Also is it normal for them to sleep a lot? Thanks

 

[PrinceTheTortoise]

It has to do with multiple reasons: Substrate too dry, enclosure too cold, wrong light, enclosure not covered to keep cold air from your house out

The eye problem is NOT, I repeat - NOT - caused by his diet.

The biggest thing in the list I've given you is heat. You've got to cover that enclosure so you can keep a steady heat, all over the whole enclosure, of 80-85F degrees. This is very important if you want a happy healthy baby tortoise.

Also one more thing, is an aquarium tank good with the screen for the top? Because he is in one of those

 

[Yvonne G]

Is 50 watts good? The box says uvb rays. How do I keep the substrate from being too dry? Also is it normal for them to sleep a lot? Thanks

No. Most of us use at least 100 watts. It also depends upon the type of light. What type is your 50watt? The curly shaped compact fluorescent bulbs cause eye problems. Baby tortoises are prey so they HIDE a lot, but not really sleeping. It's not normal for them to sleep a lot.

 

[Yvonne G]

Also one more thing, is an aquarium tank good with the screen for the top? Because he is in one of those

No. the screen allows the warm air to escape and allows the colder air from the house to get in. Also, the screen deflects the UVB rays, so the baby isn't getting the UVB he needs to make his calcium work.

 

[drew54]

Could you post a pic of your tort and enclosure? That will help us out and we could give you better ideas on how to hang your lamps.