My sulcata can’t open its eyes

[_Sulcata_tortoise_]

I have a sulcata tortoise that is about 7 to 8 months. When Tyson (Thats its name) was about 3 months he couldn’t open his eyes. The problem got better. Now he is having the same problem again. I got him eye drops, because they’ve worked before, but it doesn’t seem to help. I’ve also tried rubbing his eye gently with water and a cotton ball. Is there anything I can do to help? He walks around in his inclosure but with his eyes closed and hasn’t been able to eat for a couple of days.

 

[Cheryl Hills]

I have a sulcata tortoise that is about 7 to 8 months. When Tyson (Thats its name) was about 3 months he couldn’t open his eyes. The problem got better. Now he is having the same problem again. I got him eye drops, because they’ve worked before, but it doesn’t seem to help. I’ve also tried rubbing his eye gently with water and a cotton ball. Is there anything I can do to help? He walks around in his inclosure but with his eyes closed and hasn’t been able to eat for a couple of days.

Please post pictures of your tort and his enclosure. Eye problems can be caused by a lot of things. What kind of lights are you using? What are your temps, what are you feeding him? We have many experienced sulcata people on this forum that will help you but we need more info first.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Yep, what Cheryl said.

1. Take pix of the bulbs that you are using.
2. Take pix of your enclosure
3. Are you soaking daily in warm water?

 

[Toddrickfl1]

First thought, Coil bulb?

 

[Tom]

I have a sulcata tortoise that is about 7 to 8 months. When Tyson (Thats its name) was about 3 months he couldn’t open his eyes. The problem got better. Now he is having the same problem again. I got him eye drops, because they’ve worked before, but it doesn’t seem to help. I’ve also tried rubbing his eye gently with water and a cotton ball. Is there anything I can do to help? He walks around in his inclosure but with his eyes closed and hasn’t been able to eat for a couple of days.

Something is off, but we need more info to help you discover and correct the problem.

Most breeders start this species all wrong, and most of the care info that has been given for this species for the last 30 years has been wrong. We know better now, but much of the tortoise community has not kept up.

Tell us how you are housing, heating, lighting and feeding your baby, and we'll help you get this figured out.

 

[dmmj]

I figure bulb or humidity need more informa-ti-on please

 

[_Sulcata_tortoise_]

Something is off, but we need more info to help you discover and correct the problem.

Most breeders start this species all wrong, and most of the care info that has been given for this species for the last 30 years has been wrong. We know better now, but much of the tortoise community has not kept up.

Tell us how you are housing, heating, lighting and feeding your baby, and we'll help you get this figured out.

I figure bulb or humidity need more informa-ti-on please

Yep, what Cheryl said.

1. Take pix of the bulbs that you are using.
2. Take pix of your enclosure
3. Are you soaking daily in warm water?

First thought, Coil bulb?

Please post pictures of your tort and his enclosure. Eye problems can be caused by a lot of things. What kind of lights are you using? What are your temps, what are you feeding him? We have many experienced sulcata people on this forum that will help you but we need more info first.

He has a 60 watt bulb, it’s not a coil one though. And I took him outside with his inclosure so the temp went up a bit and the humidity went down a bit too. Also how long can he go without food? I’ve tried putting him on a tray of food but I don’t think he can tell if it’s food or not. Is there anything I can do to help him?

 

[Tom]

I've got a whole bunch of bad news for you. Brace yourself, but remember that my intentions are to help you, not berate you. You have to be told what is wrong in order to know what to make right. You got some bad and incomplete advice when you made your set up, so I'll point out each thing and tell you what needs to happen to fix it.

Here goes:

• These guys hatch at the start of the rainy season over there in Africa. Contrary to what the old books and websites say, they need high humidity. At least 80% round the clock, and a humid hide that is near 100% humidity inside.
• Your substrate needs to be damp and three times thicker. Cypress mulch is okay, but fine grade orchid bark is better.
• You can't maintain the correct humidity and temperatures with an open top. You need a large closed chamber of some sort, with all the heating and lighting inside. Buy or build one.
• Warmth. They need it. 24/7. I only see one bulb on your enclosure. They need night heat.
• Those stick-on dial type thermometers are not reliable or accurate. You need a digital one from the hardware store to measure temps at tortoise level all around the enclosure.
• That water bowl isn't suitable for a hard shelled animal. Too tippy. Get a terra cotta plant saucer and sink it into the substrate. Get another one for food.
• There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them.
  2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species like sulcatas or leopards.
  3. Light. I use florescent tubes for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height.
  
  
• There is something terribly wrong if he's 7-8 months and hasn't grown at all. This might be something done wrong at the breeders, or it might be a combination of all the things mentioned above.

Any or all of the above could be causing or contributing to your eye problem. What you need to do is correct all of the above, soak the baby daily, and every other day add some carrot baby food to the soaking water.

Please read these for the proper care and set up and make the necessary adjustments:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Your questions and comments are welcome.

 

[_Sulcata_tortoise_]

I've got a whole bunch of bad news for you. Brace yourself, but remember that my intentions are to help you, not berate you. You have to be told what is wrong in order to know what to make right. You got some bad and incomplete advice when you made your set up, so I'll point out each thing and tell you what needs to happen to fix it.

Here goes:

• These guys hatch at the start of the rainy season over there in Africa. Contrary to what the old books and websites say, they need high humidity. At least 80% round the clock, and a humid hide that is near 100% humidity inside.
• Your substrate needs to be damp and three times thicker. Cypress mulch is okay, but fine grade orchid bark is better.
• You can't maintain the correct humidity and temperatures with an open top. You need a large closed chamber of some sort, with all the heating and lighting inside. Buy or build one.
• Warmth. They need it. 24/7. I only see one bulb on your enclosure. They need night heat.
• Those stick-on dial type thermometers are not reliable or accurate. You need a digital one from the hardware store to measure temps at tortoise level all around the enclosure.
• That water bowl isn't suitable for a hard shelled animal. Too tippy. Get a terra cotta plant saucer and sink it into the substrate. Get another one for food.
• There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them.
  2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species like sulcatas or leopards.
  3. Light. I use florescent tubes for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. It helps to have a UV meter to test and see what your bulb is actually putting out at your mounting height.
  
  
• There is something terribly wrong if he's 7-8 months and hasn't grown at all. This might be something done wrong at the breeders, or it might be a combination of all the things mentioned above.

Any or all of the above could be causing or contributing to your eye problem. What you need to do is correct all of the above, soak the baby daily, and every other day add some carrot baby food to the soaking water.

Please read these for the proper care and set up and make the necessary adjustments:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Your questions and comments are welcome.

Ok than you! I will read the links and get him what he needs ASAP. But I also read of similar cases but the tortoises end up dying.. is there a way to prevent that? He’s walking around but has his eyes closed and bumps into the glass. Also is that a normal size for his age? He grew since I first got him but I don’t know if he’s supposed to be bigger. If I bathe him in carrot juice with that help with his eye problem? And is baby food or making the juice better? Thanks.

 

[Tom]

Ok than you! I will read the links and get him what he needs ASAP. But I also read of similar cases but the tortoises end up dying.. is there a way to prevent that? He’s walking around but has his eyes closed and bumps into the glass. Also is that a normal size for his age? He grew since I first got him but I don’t know if he’s supposed to be bigger. If I bathe him in carrot juice with that help with his eye problem? And is baby food or making the juice better? Thanks.

I don't know what is wrong with the eyes, but eye problems are common with babies that aren't thriving for whatever reason. The carrot baby food will get some nutrition and vitamin A into him as well as hydration. It just seems to help in cases like this.

What does he weigh? That will tell us more about what we are dealing with.

As far as survival probability, no one can say for sure. Do you know how the baby was started? Dry desert conditions, or monsoon season conditions? If the baby was started dry, then you might be seeing the effects of chronic dehydration. Some of them make it and some of them don't. Time will tell.

 

[_Sulcata_tortoise_]

I don't know what is wrong with the eyes, but eye problems are common with babies that aren't thriving for whatever reason. The carrot baby food will get some nutrition and vitamin A into him as well as hydration. It just seems to help in cases like this.

What does he weigh? That will tell us more about what we are dealing with.

As far as survival probability, no one can say for sure. Do you know how the baby was started? Dry desert conditions, or monsoon season conditions? If the baby was started dry, then you might be seeing the effects of chronic dehydration. Some of them make it and some of them don't. Time will tell.

I got the saucers and a second light bulb to switch at night. And I also got a thermometer. I bathed him in carrot juice and at first I could see one of his eyes start opening up put they closed again. My aunt also tried cleaning it with a q tip but said that he might be blind. So I’m gonna take him to th vet today. Wish me luck!

 

[Ben02]

I got the saucers and a second light bulb to switch at night. And I also got a thermometer. I bathed him in carrot juice and at first I could see one of his eyes start opening up put they closed again. My aunt also tried cleaning it with a q tip but said that he might be blind. So I’m gonna take him to th vet today. Wish me luck!

Good luck at the vets. Be very careful though, as Tom said earlier there are lots of people who follow old and bad advice for sulcata care especially, most vets mean well towards the animal however they give bad advice such as raising them in dry conditions.

 

[Tom]

I got the saucers and a second light bulb to switch at night. And I also got a thermometer. I bathed him in carrot juice and at first I could see one of his eyes start opening up put they closed again. My aunt also tried cleaning it with a q tip but said that he might be blind. So I’m gonna take him to th vet today. Wish me luck!

No light bulbs at night. You need something that maintains warmth but doesn't make light. A ceramic heating element or a radiant heat panel works well for this, and its best to run it through a thermostat so that it doesn't get too hot and dry everything out. I use these thermostats and like them:
https://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller

Be careful at the vet. There is no semester on tortoise husbandry in vet school, and most of them refer to a vet handbook or website that will tell them to do a "vitamin injection" or harmful antibiotics so they have something to charge you for. Both of which are likely to be harmful or fatal to your little baby. Don't let the vet do these things. There is nothing a vet is going to tell you in a case like this that we aren't telling you.

I ask again: How was your baby started by the breeder or seller? Dry routine or monsoon conditions? This will tell us more than anything else.

Also, have you ever used any UV bulbs over your tortoise?

 

[_Sulcata_tortoise_]

No light bulbs at night. You need something that maintains warmth but doesn't make light. A ceramic heating element or a radiant heat panel works well for this, and its best to run it through a thermostat so that it doesn't get too hot and dry everything out. I use these thermostats and like them:
https://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller

Be careful at the vet. There is no semester on tortoise husbandry in vet school, and most of them refer to a vet handbook or website that will tell them to do a "vitamin injection" or harmful antibiotics so they have something to charge you for. Both of which are likely to be harmful or fatal to your little baby. Don't let the vet do these things. There is nothing a vet is going to tell you in a case like this that we aren't telling you.

I ask again: How was your baby started by the breeder or seller? Dry routine or monsoon conditions? This will tell us more than anything else.

Also, have you ever used any UV bulbs over your tortoise?

So I shouldn’t take him to the vet? I have no idea my mom bought him for me as a Christmas gift. But she said the others had cracked shells. His light is a uvb light. The night light is a black light that gives off 60 watts as well. I took him outside a while ago. He seems active and walks around but bumps into stuff because he cannot see. Yesterday he did drink some of the carrot juice but hasn’t really eaten anything. I’m going to try the carrot juice again later today to see if that will help. I was also deciding wether or not to take him to the vet. Should I? I read it was a lot of money so I was thinking on selling some stuff so I could take him. Also is there anything I can do to help him eat since he hasn’t been eating much? Also could you send me like screenshots of all the things you recommend? I went to the pet store yesterday and was a bit confused on what and which brand to get so I got the light bulb in the mean time. Thanks

 

[_Sulcata_tortoise_]

No light bulbs at night. You need something that maintains warmth but doesn't make light. A ceramic heating element or a radiant heat panel works well for this, and its best to run it through a thermostat so that it doesn't get too hot and dry everything out. I use these thermostats and like them:
https://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller

Be careful at the vet. There is no semester on tortoise husbandry in vet school, and most of them refer to a vet handbook or website that will tell them to do a "vitamin injection" or harmful antibiotics so they have something to charge you for. Both of which are likely to be harmful or fatal to your little baby. Don't let the vet do these things. There is nothing a vet is going to tell you in a case like this that we aren't telling you.

I ask again: How was your baby started by the breeder or seller? Dry routine or monsoon conditions? This will tell us more than anything else.

Also, have you ever used any UV bulbs over your tortoise?

So my aunt scheduled an appointment for Tyson with a reptile vet this coming Monday. I hope it goes well since they specialize in reptiles. Do you think that would make a difference from a regular vet? My aunt also said that they would probably do a vitamin injection,do you know how do tortoises die from that? Like is it just the injection or like an overdosage?

 

[Tom]

There is nothing a vet is going to be able to do for your tortoise. If they do a vitamin injection, it will do more harm than good. Its a waste of money.

Here is the thing: If this problem is fixable, correcting the heating and lighting and other problems I mentioned should fix it. If this tortoise was started too dry and incorrectly as a baby, nothing anyone does can save it. No amount of money spent at a vet will correct the problems caused by a dry start.

What I would do is make the enclosure and temperatures as perfect as I could, and then wait and hope for the best.

What kind of UV bulb were you using? Cfl type that you screw into a socket? Mercury vapor bulb? What distance form the tortoise is it?

 

[_Sulcata_tortoise_]

There is nothing a vet is going to be able to do for your tortoise. If they do a vitamin injection, it will do more harm than good. Its a waste of money.

Here is the thing: If this problem is fixable, correcting the heating and lighting and other problems I mentioned should fix it. If this tortoise was started too dry and incorrectly as a baby, nothing anyone does can save it. No amount of money spent at a vet will correct the problems caused by a dry start.

What I would do is make the enclosure and temperatures as perfect as I could, and then wait and hope for the best.

What kind of UV bulb were you using? Cfl type that you screw into a socket? Mercury vapor bulb? What distance form the tortoise is it?

I don’t really know what UV bulb it is. I also did the carrot juice again yesterday his eye opened up for a couple seconds but shut it again.

 

[2wgasa]

I think the light bulb you show is UVA so must have come with the usual "reptile kit."

I've never had a baby tortoise but the experienced people on this forum all seem to agree on their proper care and feeding. So first thing, did you read the links that @Tom posted? If not, please do now so that you have the weekend to act.

Then cancel Monday's vet appointment and use the money to make every correction listed as soon as possible.
If it has made it this long, I think s/he will do its part to get better.

Best of luck and hope to someday see you asking how to make a giant night box for Tyson.

 

[_Sulcata_tortoise_]

I think the light bulb you show is UVA so must have come with the usual "reptile kit."

I've never had a baby tortoise but the experienced people on this forum all seem to agree on their proper care and feeding. So first thing, did you read the links that @Tom posted? If not, please do now so that you have the weekend to act.

Then cancel Monday's vet appointment and use the money to make every correction listed as soon as possible.
If it has made it this long, I think s/he will do its part to get better.

Best of luck and hope to someday see you asking how to make a giant night box for Tyson.

Tyson seems to be more active since Wednesday, he actually seems like his normal self again except he can’t see. Also I feel terrible not knowing the difference but, what’s the difference between UV and UVA lights? Also I’m guessing Tyson is a boy, sorry if it bugs you!

 

[Tom]

I don’t really know what UV bulb it is. I also did the carrot juice again yesterday his eye opened up for a couple seconds but shut it again.

That is a colored light bulb. Those do not produce the needed UVB, and they should not be used over reptiles. The colors mess with their heads and can confuse them and upset their circadian rhythms.

Does your tortoise ever get outside? Has it had any UV since you've had it? How about a calcium supplement with D3?