Need some help please! (sleeps a lot)

[Jenblalock003]

Hi everyone! One of my babies isn't acting himself. I noticed bubbles couple times from his nose but he was soaking at the time. But then I heard what sounded like a wheezing noise (again while soaking). He sleeps a lot, always In hid. He does eat though. I'm just worried bc the other one is active etc. I boosted the temps so that they are higher. They get two soaks a day. Mercury vapor bulb. 75-85 humidity closed tank. I also gave them a baby food carrot bath and put some on their lettuce which they ate. I'm trying not to freak out. Please help anyone with this past experience. Thank you.

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Hi everyone! One of my babies isn't acting himself. I noticed bubbles couple times from his nose but he was soaking at the time. But then I heard what sounded like a wheezing noise (again while soaking). He sleeps a lot, always In hid. He does eat though. I'm just worried bc the other one is active etc. I boosted the temps so that they are higher. They get two soaks a day. Mercury vapor bulb. 75-85 humidity closed tank. I also gave them a baby food carrot bath and put some on their lettuce which they ate. I'm trying not to freak out. Please help anyone with this past experience. Thank you.

Ps night time temps are 85-90 and day time 85-100.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Need some help please!

Are you using digital gauges for temps and humidity? And you say babies, could you quantify that, (age/size)?

 

[Jenblalock003]

RE: Need some help please!

Are you using digital gauges for temps and humidity? And you say babies, could you quantify that, (age/size)?

Yes digital. 3mth, 3.5 inches

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Need some help please!

They are both together, yes? I know it's never well received, but I'm thinking you should separate the two of them. Typically, in the wild they scatter when they hatch. When I first got two hatchlings from Tom, my friend couldn't pick hers up for a few months, and my Little Ricky spent lots of time in the hide. He ate, just wasn't as active as the other. That other one has been at my friends place now for better that a year, and hers is still a bit bigger than mine.

 

[Jenblalock003]

RE: Need some help please!

They are both together, yes? I know it's never well received, but I'm thinking you should separate the two of them. Typically, in the wild they scatter when they hatch. When I first got two hatchlings from Tom, my friend couldn't pick hers up for a few months, and my Little Ricky spent lots of time in the hide. He ate, just wasn't as active as the other. That other one has been at my friends place now for better that a year, and hers is still a bit bigger than mine.

I agree 100 percent. I was thinking maybe that had to do with it. But you know what's funny? I have ninja and baby...at first ninja was more dominant, more active, more controlling. Now it seems Baby is the more dominant one, like they switched places. I began bathing them separately and eating separately. They like to sleep next to each other and anytime I separate them (a divider in the middle of tank) they try to knock it down to get to each other. Idk I have another tank tho it's a bit smaller but I'll figure out the separate lighting and give it a shot. Thank you so much for your input.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Need some help please!

I would leave Ninja in the existing tank and set baby up in the new one. My thinking on this is Ninja already knows the tank and it will adjust easier to a known without Baby than an in know having to look over its shoulder for a while, while it's gets the lay of the the land. Did that make sense?

 

[Jenblalock003]

RE: Need some help please!

I would leave Ninja in the existing tank and set baby up in the new one. My thinking on this is Ninja already knows the tank and it will adjust easier to a known without Baby than an in know having to look over its shoulder for a while, while it's gets the lay of the the land. Did that make sense?

Yes perfect sense. We are going to set it up tomorrow, just gotta buy another mercury vapor bulb and CHE,..oh man expensive babies lol but they are worth it thank you so much. I'll follow up with an update after everything gets situated.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Need some help please!

After set up, you can set up your back up stuff from eBay. I've got +1 for every item in each enclosure. A little cheaper that way.

 

[Jenblalock003]

RE: Need some help please!

After set up, you can set up your back up stuff from eBay. I've got +1 for every item in each enclosure. A little cheaper that way.

Ok thank you!

 

[sibi]

RE: Need some help please!

Btw, do you have a temp gun? If not, you really need to get one. Temps are surprisingly different on the bottom than at the middle or top. Also, temps vary from one end to the other, depending on where your mvb is positioned. The wheezing is a common complaint. Also, when a tort is stressed, they may have bubbles at times. The important thing to do is keep temps warmer than normal for a few days. And, like Cowboy said, separate them because that may be part of the problem. Keep us posted.

 

[Jenblalock003]

RE: Need some help please!

Btw, do you have a temp gun? If not, you really need to get one. Temps are surprisingly different on the bottom than at the middle or top. Also, temps vary from one end to the other, depending on where your mvb is positioned. The wheezing is a common complaint. Also, when a tort is stressed, they may have bubbles at times. The important thing to do is keep temps warmer than normal for a few days. And, like Cowboy said, separate them because that may be part of the problem. Keep us posted.

I will! Thank you so much for the help. And I have a infrared gun but think a temp gun is diff?

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Need some help please!

A temp gun typically has a laser that is used as a pointer. Based off the laser spot, you get a temp reading on the gun. This reading is based on a distance cone of accuracy. The further away, the reading won't be as accurate. Most guns have a legend on the side that enables you to find the sweet spot, distance wise, so you don't need to use the amazing science of mathematics to figure out what the temp truly is. I got mine on eBay. Here's a picture of mine;
If you zoom in on the, “barrel" you can see the gradient graph. Hope this helps.

 

[Jenblalock003]

RE: Need some help please!

A temp gun typically has a laser that is used as a pointer. Based off the laser spot, you get a temp reading on the gun. This reading is based on a distance cone of accuracy. The further away, the reading won't be as accurate. Most guns have a legend on the side that enables you to find the sweet spot, distance wise, so you don't need to use the amazing science of mathematics to figure out what the temp truly is. I got mine on eBay. Here's a picture of mine;
If you zoom in on the, “barrel" you can see the gradient graph. Hope this helps.

Thank you once again. We got all the lights today and tomorrow morning I will be looking into those. I'll keep you updated on Ninja!

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Need some help please!

Again, I'm cheap so I got mine from eBay. I compared the prices from various “real" companies, then only bought from a seller with great feedback.

 

[TortoiseWorld]

RE: Need some help please!

When is the last time you changed it's substrate?

Sometimes if you change the substrate it triggers activity. I recommend Compressed Coconut fiber (Zoo Med Eco Earth) mixed equally with Zilla's Jungle Mix.

Also daily substrate spot cleaning is important for a healthy tortoise environment.

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BTW, I have 3 different digital meters in the enclosure around the same area and all 3 have different readings. I do trust my temperature gun though

 

[Jenblalock003]

RE: Need some help please!

When is the last time you changed it's substrate?

Sometimes if you change the substrate it triggers activity. I recommend Compressed Coconut fiber (Zoo Med Eco Earth) mixed equally with Zilla's Jungle Mix.

Also daily substrate spot cleaning is important for a healthy tortoise environment.

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BTW, I have 3 different digital meters in the enclosure around the same area and all 3 have different readings. I do trust my temperature gun though

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I do have coconut coir and we just switched it out completely not even a week ago. In the morning I always clean out any food, poop etc. and then mix the substrate around. I think ninja will be a lot happier by himself. But he seems a little better. Walking around a little bit and eating and pooping so we shall see! Ty!

 

[Barista5261]

Need some help please!

Easy way to spot clean the substrate without having to sit there and pick it up by hand-- I use coco coir and I got a small, cheap cat litter box scooper and just sift out the old food, poop, etc. it also is good for helping churn the substrate before packing it back down [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH]

 

[Jenblalock003]

RE: Need some help please!

Again, I'm cheap so I got mine from eBay. I compared the prices from various “real" companies, then only bought from a seller with great feedback.

Ok sooooo

I finally had the chance to set up the new tank (I didn't want to do it until I had a day off so I could monitor the temps) so I put Baby in the new tank...remember this one is a smaller tank. He has same set up and I even put a couple of dandelions so he would be happy getting in there. All he did was pace and pace and pace. So after a while I put him back in the tank with ninja and he quit pacing. Humidity, temps, substrate the same in each tank...I think it's the size? The original tank is 40 gallons and the other one is smaller. I don't know what to do unless I just get another big tank.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Need some help please!

Maybe just increased activity due to being in a new enclosure. You know, looking around to find any potential monsters and what else may go through a young torts mind, as it were.

 

[Jenblalock003]

RE: Need some help please!

Maybe just increased activity due to being in a new enclosure. You know, looking around to find any potential monsters and what else may go through a young torts mind, as it were.

Lol yea I was thinking that. I'm scared tho bc before we switched tanks a couple mth ago I walked in the room and he had flupped over from climbing on the walls. Once we switched them into a bigger tank, he stopped. I'll prob go but a bigger tank and everything will work out.