Is my tortoise beginning to get sick?

[paemaker]

Hi everyone. I went to the vet last week to give my tort an examination and the vet said my tort's poop had germs and protozoa, so they gave me 2 deworming potions to give to the tort every day. Today, a couple of hours ago, I saw a bubble coming from my tort's nose while I was giving him potions. I suddenly knew it wasn't a good sign and I had no idea what had gone wrong with him during the time I prepared for his enclosure. Now I start to wonder how it happened. Probably, it's because I bought him a coco coir last Saturday and put it in to make him get used to it before moving to a new enclosure, and to keep the humidity high, I used water sprayed and closed the lid. The humidity remain at 60-80% as I expected, but yesterday it went to be the highest my thermometer ever recorded, it was 90%. I doubt that more than anything and I try to think of something else. Could that be the reason?

 

[wellington]

No, that could only be the reason if you are keeping him to cold.
How big is he and how big is the enclosure?
What temps are you keeping him at, all over temp, basking temp, night temp?
What kind of lighting and heat are you using?
What species do you have?
What exactly did the vet do to say he had germs and protozoas?

 

[paemaker]

No, that could only be the reason if you are keeping him to cold.
How big is he and how big is the enclosure?
What temps are you keeping him at, all over temp, basking temp, night temp?
What kind of lighting and heat are you using?
What species do you have?
What exactly did the vet do to say he had germs and protozoas?

Hi! Thank you so much for replying to my thread, here're my reply...

I usually take him for a walk on a small pillow with a fan open towards me and tort, it takes almost an hour daily, so that could be one of the reasons.

My tort's size was (the last time I measured) 2.5 inches. I think he's getting bigger now, but less than 3 inches, and the current enclosure he lives in is 15 inches.

Normally in the daytime, I keep the temp at 33-35 degrees Celsius on the basking spot, the ambient temps, will be 31-32 degrees. For nighttime, the temp is at 27-28 degrees.

I have 3 bulbs, an (intense) basking spot bulb, a UVB bulb, and an IR bulb. These are the light bulbs people in my country use the most. I always turn on both a basking spot bulb and a UVB together for a day. At dusk, I turn on an IR bulb because I want him to still feel active as I will take him for a walk and I turn it off when he's asleep.

The one I have is a Sulcata. He's now 4 months old. He was diagnosed with a respiratory infection a month ago, but he made it and has gotten much stronger, healthier, and very active (thank god!)

The vet took his poop for an inspection and they found some bacteria, germs, and protozoa in general. I can't tell the actual kind of germs they found.

At the moment, I've encountered the hardest part of raising him so far. I can't make him take potions at all. He'll always walk away after a small sniff. The vet told me he must take potions at the right dose daily, otherwise, it'll lead to drug resistance.

I hope these texts answer your questions. Let me know if you want more details.

 

[wellington]

Okay, all the care is wrong. He needs much bigger than a 15 inch enclosure. For now a 2x4 feet or a 4x4 feet, not inches.
He needs to be in a closed chamber enclosure with 80% humidity. Temps to never go lower than 80-85F day and night. Basking should not be an intense basking bulb but an incandescent flood bulb that reaches 95-100 and uvb should come from a tube florescent. Many where you live have wrong outdated info!
Do not put a fan on him and do not walk around with him in cold/cooler temps. His temp is to never go below 80-85.
I think the vet is wrong, so I wouldn't worry about giving him the rest of the meds. Most vets no nothing about tortoises and likely more so where you are.
Get things changed ASAP before it's too late!
Follow the caresheet and closed chamber threads on this forum.

 

[wellington]

Read this too
Thread 'Info For New People. Please Read This First.' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/info-for-new-people-please-read-this-first.202363/

 

[wellington]

And this
Thread 'The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threa...se-a-sulcata-leopard-or-star-tortoise.181497/

 

[wellington]

And this
Thread 'Closed "Chambers"' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/

 

[LudusPlus]

I'm confused on why you're walking your tortoise on a pillow for an hour with a fan pointing at it? Is this something someone else has told you to do, it sounds very odd. Especially for a species that needs humidity.

I don't know much about this breed and I'm just getting into tort raising myself so sorry if this is normal.

 

[paemaker]

Okay, all the care is wrong. He needs much bigger than a 15 inch enclosure. For now a 2x4 feet or a 4x4 feet, not inches.
He needs to be in a closed chamber enclosure with 80% humidity. Temps to never go lower than 80-85F day and night. Basking should not be an intense basking bulb but an incandescent flood bulb that reaches 95-100 and uvb should come from a tube florescent. Many where you live have wrong outdated info!
Do not put a fan on him and do not walk around with him in cold/cooler temps. His temp is to never go below 80-85.
I think the vet is wrong, so I wouldn't worry about giving him the rest of the meds. Most vets no nothing about tortoises and likely more so where you are.
Get things changed ASAP before it's too late!
Follow the caresheet and closed chamber threads on this forum.

I'm getting a new enclosure for him, a 2x2.5 feet enclosure. It's not as big as you suggest because I live in an apartment and it's not a big room, so this one is my best choice. Also, it's a closed chamber enclosure, so I think humidity won't be hard to control except for lighting and temps. Now the thing is I'm confused with the incandescent flood bulb with the other types of light bulbs. I attached a picture of my current basking spot bulb and you can tell me if is this the type you mentioned or not. Anyway for the UVB fluorescent tube, luckily, I can find it here and I plan to buy it very soon.

I'm confused on why you're walking your tortoise on a pillow for an hour with a fan pointing at it? Is this something someone else has told you to do, it sounds very odd. Especially for a species that needs humidity.

I don't know much about this breed and I'm just getting into tort raising myself so sorry if this is normal.

That's definitely not normal. My tort was diagnosed with bloating and the vet suggested that he needs more walks, so I walk him on a pillow because I can enjoy seeing him walking on a pillow that is on top of me. Normally the fan is toward me, not my tort and it's not an hour, just as much as he can. I think I wrote it wrong. Sorry for making you guys misunderstood.

Don't worry about my tort, I'll not bring him to a cold place.

 

[wellington]

That small of an enclosure is too hard to get the correct temps.

I'm confused on why you're walking your tortoise on a pillow for an hour with a fan pointing at it? Is this something someone else has told you to do, it sounds very odd. Especially for a species that needs humidity.

I don't know much about this breed and I'm just getting into tort raising myself so sorry if this is normal.

No it's not normal and is very wrong.

 

[wellington]

I'm getting a new enclosure for him, a 2x2.5 feet enclosure. It's not as big as you suggest because I live in an apartment and it's not a big room, so this one is my best choice. Also, it's a closed chamber enclosure, so I think humidity won't be hard to control except for lighting and temps. Now the thing is I'm confused with the incandescent flood bulb with the other types of light bulbs. I attached a picture of my current basking spot bulb and you can tell me if is this the type you mentioned or not. Anyway for the UVB fluorescent tube, luckily, I can find it here and I plan to buy it very soon.


That's definitely not normal. My tort was diagnosed with bloating and the vet suggested that he needs more walks, so I walk him on a pillow because I can enjoy seeing him walking on a pillow that is on top of me. Normally the fan is toward me, not my tort and it's not an hour, just as much as he can. I think I wrote it wrong. Sorry for making you guys misunderstood.

Don't worry about my tort, I'll not bring him to a cold place.

No intense bulbs
A tube florescent
An incandescent flood
Ceramic emitter if/when more heat needed
The 2x2 is way to small to get correct temps. You really need to find a way to get a bigger enclosure or rehome him to someone that can properly take care of him.

 

[paemaker]

No intense bulbs
A tube florescent
An incandescent flood
Ceramic emitter if/when more heat needed
The 2x2 is way to small to get correct temps. You really need to find a way to get a bigger enclosure or rehome him to someone that can properly take care of him.

If you insist on that size, I think it's possible for me to get one. I've got no problem with that at all, but I don't quite understand about the incandescent flood bulb. Since not many people use it here, it's hard to find one, but I'll find it for the best of my tort.
My question is, do light bulbs have to be for reptiles specifically, or can be the same as those used by humans?
Or would you be so kind enough to share some pictures of your incandescent flood bulb? I need a very good reference, so I can get the right bulb.

 

[wellington]

Sorry, I didn't see where you were from until now. I'm not sure what you can get there. But Amazon and Arcadia have incandescent flood bulbs. No the flood bulbs are what someone would buy for their home use. A regular incandescent lamp bulb, like you use in a house lamp, can be used too for reptiles for more light and they also give off heat.
A 2x2 will be hard to keep a basking temp along with the rest of the area being a different temp of 80-85. A 2x4 works easier to get the correct temp areas. As it is neither size will last long as Sulcatas grow fast with proper care.

 

[paemaker]

Sorry, I didn't see where you were from until now. I'm not sure what you can get there. But Amazon and Arcadia have incandescent flood bulbs. No the flood bulbs are what someone would buy for their home use. A regular incandescent lamp bulb, like you use in a house lamp, can be used too for reptiles for more light and they also give off heat.
A 2x2 will be hard to keep a basking temp along with the rest of the area being a different temp of 80-85. A 2x4 works easier to get the correct temp areas. As it is neither size will last long as Sulcatas grow fast with proper care.

Oh sorry, I never told you where I'm from. I'm from Thailand. Amazon is not active in Thailand but they do ship to Thailand. I can purchase Arcadia light bulbs but I need more information. Now, about the incandescent flood bulb, I understand that its purpose is to generate ambient heat to hold sustainable temp (because the light from a flood bulb spreads out at a greater angle). However, I still need to have a basking spot bulb for my tortoise. It's a 100w basking spot bulb. I think it generates so much heat that I have to purchase a lower wattage bulb.
Correct me If I'm wrong.

 

[wellington]

No, the flood bulb is for basking. Because it spreads out, it's not so intense in the shell and cause it too pyramid.
Ceramic heat emitters are no light but heat, they are good for added day heat and for night heat. You can also add a regular incandescent bulb for added light and day heat.

 

[paemaker]

No, the flood bulb is for basking. Because it spreads out, it's not so intense in the shell and cause it too pyramid.
Ceramic heat emitters are no light but heat, they are good for added day heat and for night heat. You can also add a regular incandescent bulb for added light and day heat.

Okay, now I understand it. I always thought the flood bulb was only for generating ambient heat, and with that means, I don't need to have the basking spot anymore. Am I right?
The CHE, many people really recommend this one over the IR bulb. I plan to get it soon.
I'm sorry to ask you this, but you mentioned a regular incandescent bulb. I don't get it. If I have a flood bulb for basking, do I have to have it or what's the purpose of it? I guess it is for ambient heat and to increase more bright in the enclosure.

 

[wellington]

Yes you got it.
Yes, you got it with the regular incandescent bulb too. Just for more light and if more day heat is needed.

 

[paemaker]

Yes you got it.
Yes, you got it with the regular incandescent bulb too. Just for more light and if more day heat is needed.

Yes finally! Thank you for making me understand all of this. It's just confusing when I talk to a lot of people. They gave me the same information with different details, but I think I can stick to this info. So today, I went to find a flood bulb and an incandescent bulb in the store, but I did not find any of them. The salesman told me, they do not sell this type of bulb anymore. It's just hard to find it in my country, like I told you, but I'll find it. Anyway, thank you again. I'll keep learning from this forum.

 

[wellington]

Yes, they are hard to find here too. They are discontinuing them. But they can still be found. The Arcadia, because they are for reptiles, are easier to find and I don't think are being eliminated, but more expensive. So if you can find them, that are not the Arcadia, buy a few of them. Also, when it is warm enough to get him outside, do that so you can preserve the life of all the bulbs.
It all can be confusing. I have gotten confused myself over the years since I joined this forum in 2011, because even more is discovered, usually by Tom and then gets changed, for the good and some of us have to learn some stuff over again. That's why though, this is the best place for information. Information and care is always updated if it needs to be and a lot of people will help.
Never be afraid to ask, most of us have been there.

 

[Yvonne G]

Oh, LOL! I'm sorry for laughing, but it just struck me funny. Your vet meant the TORTOISE needs to do more walking, not you! A tortoise's digestive tract depends upon him doing a lot of walking in order to keep things moving along in the digestive tract. Maybe the vet felt the enclosure was too small for the tortoise to walk around in.