New here and need some help

[Ricksul]

Hi all,
I'm new here and just got my Sulcata babies yesterday. Here is my question.
My two babies did not move or open their eyes in their pen. I turned the heater and Sun Dome on and it's not help. But they move around very well when I put them on my carpet. The tortoises house is 40''by 20'' and I use ZooMed reptile bark and grass hey for substrate. I spray a lot of water in the tortoises house.

Anyone knows why?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Ricksul, and welcome to the Forum.

It could be any number of things, so you need to read the import threads at the top of the Sulcata section and make any changes to the babies' habitat that are required. Babies are pretty sensitive to their environment and it sounds to me as if something is off in theirs.

 

[kathyth]

To get to the Sulcata section go to the main page.
At the top click on Forums
Scroll down to " African" the Sulcata.
Start at the top and read.
You will learn everything!

You are off to a good start

 

[Tom]

Are you using a coil type UV bulb?

What are your four temps?

How often are you soaking them?

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. As Tom asked, are you using a coil bulb? If so get rid of it ASAP. It has been known to cause eye problems. Also, check out the threads at the bottom of my and Toms post. They are all great for raising a smooth, healthy sulcata.

 

[Ricksul]

I soak them 3 times today and the two bulbs are Exo-terra Solar Glo 160W and Exo-terra Heat Glo infrared red. the temp in the habitat is 85

 

[Ricksul]

Hi thank you for your reply and I read the thread and my habitat seems to be fine. Meet's all the req. there. Basically my babies just sleep too much in the habitat.

 

[mainey34]

Hello and welcome

 

[wellington]

Babies do sleep a lot. What is the run down of what they do. Start when they wake up, what time and do they eat then? Continue through the day. My leopard, when I got him last year slept a lot also. He would wake around 7am. Eat, then bask a little then go back to his hide. Around 1-2 he would come out again, wonder around a little, eat then back to his hide. 6pm I would soak him and put him back in his enclosure, give him some fresh food, he would eat, maybe walk around a little then back to bed for the night. Does that routine sound anything like yours?
Make sure they have water available 24/7 and a basking spot of 95-100. Also humidity of 80%.

 

[TortieLuver]

Do you have any pictures of your setup?

 

[Yvonne G]

160W is probably way too much for a baby tortoise.

 

[Ricksul]

Hmm, that's sound exactly the same like mine.. except I was thinking they are ill and soak them 3 times today and take them outdoor like a hour. They kind of like outdoor, never stop moving for like a hour.
thanks a lot

---

Here comes the photo. The lamp is above the habitat. I keep half the cover on to keep humidity at night.

 

[wellington]

Like emysemys said. The 160 might be too much for hatchlings. Also, make sure it's not too far away from them, or they won't be getting any UVB. I would get a smaller watt bulb. Then you should be able to put it closer. See if they open their eyes without having to soak. Save the 160 for when they get bigger. If they act okay otherwise, then the sleeping a lot is pretty normal for little ones. Try the smaller bulb for the eye situation.

 

[sibi]

Exactly my feelings...the bulb is too hot. Babies will sleep a lot, but not that much unless something is wrong. Your setup looks good but I would remove the small rocks you have in there. If you get a rock-eater like mine, you may have a problem on you hands down the road with the baby getting compacted. Instead, put larger, flatter rocks in the enclosure.

 

[Laura]

the hay will mold, so I'd remove that.
What are you feeding?
too bright,, tiny tortoise eyes cant take that...

 

[kanalomele]

Welcome to tfo

 

[jtrux]

Humidity is really important for them right now so firstly I would get a taller enclosure and then cut a hole in the lid and place some hardware cloth over it and set your light(s) on that. I have a deep rubbermaid enclosure set up just like that and a single 100w zoomed powersun mercury vapor bulb is all I need for heat during the day, at night I use a single ceramic heat emitter.

Keep the hot side at 110 and the cool side at 80, at night try to maintain it between 80 and 90. Humidity should be on the high side, most agree that anything over 50% is good but with a relatively sealed enclosure like what ive described, 70% and up is pretty easy to achieve and is desireable.

I agree that you should remove the hay, fertilizer free soil or coconut fiber (zoomed eco earth, comes in compressed bricks) are both good and economical choices which easily allow for higher humidity.

Id offer hides in both hot and cold sides as well.

Dont let everyones advice and info overwhelm or offend you, we are all trying to help so that you dont end up making mistakes that many have already made. I have spent many hours researching both here and other sources and I recommend you do the same.