New member Thanks for having me I need help.

pinhead51

New Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2018
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6
Location (City and/or State)
Newport News
Just picked up a baby Sulcata and he is not acting like he did when i first got him home. He is just over 2.75 inches long is housed in a rubber maid 50 gallon stock tank. I have one UVB bulb a 100 watt spot and a 150 watt heat emitter. The lamps are on 12 hours a day the emitter is on 24/7 . The daytime temps range from 102 in the basking spot to 82 in his hide. The night time temp ranges from the 85 to 76. He gets a soaking once a day and has fresh greens every day I feed him dandy lion greens with a bit of kale and some softened tortoise food and I have not seen him eat at all he is not walking around much as he did the first few days. spends all day and night sleeping. only wakes after his soak but goes right back to sleep as soon as he is out of the water. He had one stool last thursday but nothing since. Is this normal my local pet store told me he is fine.He weighs 49 grams right now just looking for some answers . Thanks
 

JoesMum

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Could you post some photos of your enclosure and lighting please so we can take a look and see if there are any changes we recommend.

Generally speaking, pet stores are not reliable in their tortoise advice and have no experience of keeping them. Frequently they dish out outdated care information

I recommend you read the following written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

How to raise a healthy Sulcata
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

For those who have a young sulcata
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings and welcome...

First thing that pops out is your overnight temp of 76... “The night time temp ranges from the 85 to 76.” - just too cold at 76.

Make sure you read up and study the info here - https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

Heating and Lighting:
I use a 65 watt incandescent flood bulb on a 12 hour timer and adjust the height of the fixture to get a hot spot of around 100 directly under the bulb. Then I use a ceramic heating element set to 80 degrees on a reptile thermostat to maintain my ambient temperature in the enclosure. Sometimes the basking lamp raises the day time ambient into the low 90s. "Ambient should be no lower than 80, but drifting up to 90 during the heat of the day is good…" This is fine and the thermostat will keep your CHE off during these times, but ready to click on after the basking lamp clicks off and the ambient temperature starts to drop at night. I use long florescent tubes when I want to brighten up the whole enclosure and I run these on the same timer as the basking bulb. The above are just what works for me and are suggestions for what might work for you. Every enclosure and home is different, and some customization will usually be necessary to get things "just right".


Also...what kind of temp gauges are you using? Could be very inaccurate ...and temps are even colder than you think...

Good luck - bump those temps up, maintain daily warm water soaks, high humidity...
 

DeanS

SULCATA OASIS
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Tom's threads are great and all...but I've had ridiculously great results from keeping babies in a hot and humid CLOSED CHAMBER...with NO lighting whatsoever! After all, they spend most of their early years in the burrow...is there any lighting down there?!?!? NO! Instead, soak them under the sun (at least) half an hour in the morning (preferably between 10 and 11AM) then again around 2PM, Lose all your lighting and the CHE...and replace it with a radiant heat panel! Incandescent bulbs and CHEs can dry them out FAST! Here's a thread I ran detailing the first year of these (not so little) guys first year!

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/8-new-babies-from-tom-aka-the-bond-girls-maybe.118641/
 

pinhead51

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Oct 8, 2018
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Newport News
Here is flashes cage. It is a 50 gallon Rubbermaid tote. I added a second heat emitter today over the cool side and have been taking him outside as much as I can. He is out with me know and I just saw him eat his first bite. Thanks again for all the insight so quickly.

725B5B55-563A-412A-84F6-94908C9AF144.jpeg image.jpg
 

pinhead51

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Newport News
Well after several days with no improvement we headed to the vet. Looks like we have an obstructed bowl or a non functional bowl. Vet gave a couple of shots with vitamins and antibiotics but he was not very optimistic. Flash ended up passing Saturday. No more pet store torts for me this was a bad experience at best, Thanks for all the help
 

Arzu78

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Well after several days with no improvement we headed to the vet. Looks like we have an obstructed bowl or a non functional bowl. Vet gave a couple of shots with vitamins and antibiotics but he was not very optimistic. Flash ended up passing Saturday. No more pet store torts for me this was a bad experience at best, Thanks for all the help

The same happened to me with Jack, so sorry. It is a tough process for us, animal lovers ...
 

pinhead51

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Thanks. For the condolences. I found a breeder and have that arrived today. Man the difference between Flash who came from the local pet store and the new tortoise who is still unnamed. The shell has a higher dome and the lower body rounds off under the tortoise. Flash had a very flat bottom and never stuck his head out except when sleeping. The skin looks so much more soft and the legs are more robust and the scales are much more defined. If I had only known what a truly healthy baby looks like. Flash looked more like a baby box turtle in the way his plastron was formed. Thanks again.
 

TechnoCheese

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Thanks. For the condolences. I found a breeder and have that arrived today. Man the difference between Flash who came from the local pet store and the new tortoise who is still unnamed. The shell has a higher dome and the lower body rounds off under the tortoise. Flash had a very flat bottom and never stuck his head out except when sleeping. The skin looks so much more soft and the legs are more robust and the scales are much more defined. If I had only known what a truly healthy baby looks like. Flash looked more like a baby box turtle in the way his plastron was formed. Thanks again.

Great to hear! Are you using the same enclosure you had, or have you changed it?
 

pinhead51

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Newport News
Great to hear! Are you using the same enclosure you had, or have you changed it?

Yes the same enclosure with some changes. Added a ceramic heat emitter over the end with the hide and 2 temperatures/humidity sensors one for the hide the other for the basking spot. The hide is 83 with the humidity at 99%. The basking spot is 100 with humidity at 60%.
 

TechnoCheese

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A few changes need to be made.
-you need a completely enclosed enclosure, not one with an open top. The open top lets all of the heat and humidity escape.

-the lamps need to be hanging from above, not clamped at an angle. Clamps are a huge fire hazard, and it makes it near impossible to properly measure temps.

-it appears you’re using a compact/coil bulb. Those are known to cause eye damage, and are very ineffective at producing uvb. Get a tube fluorescent, like the reptisun 10.0.

-do you have a water dish?

-I would add a few more hides.

The enclosure needs to have 80+% humidity all over the enclosure, which is only achievable in an enclosed enclosure. Be sure to give these a read if you haven’t already-
How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0 https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php...ealthy-Sulcata-Or-Leopard,-Version-2.0.79895/

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata... https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/For-Those-Who-Have-a-Young-Sulcata....76744/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/
 

Gillian M

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Jordan
Regret to know your first tort died. Please accept my sincere condolences.
 

pinhead51

New Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2018
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
Newport News
A few changes need to be made.
-you need a completely enclosed enclosure, not one with an open top. The open top lets all of the heat and humidity escape.

-the lamps need to be hanging from above, not clamped at an angle. Clamps are a huge fire hazard, and it makes it near impossible to properly measure temps.

-it appears you’re using a compact/coil bulb. Those are known to cause eye damage, and are very ineffective at producing uvb. Get a tube fluorescent, like the reptisun 10.0.

-do you have a water dish?

-I would add a few more hides.

The enclosure needs to have 80+% humidity all over the enclosure, which is only achievable in an enclosed enclosure. Be sure to give these a read if you haven’t already-
How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0 https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/How-To-Raise-A-Healthy-Sulcata-Or-Leopard,-Version-2.0.79895/

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata... https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/For-Those-Who-Have-a-Young-Sulcata....76744/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/
I live on the east cost so the average humidity is quite high year round even in the winter it is at least 50% so getting an extra 30 % so far is nut a problem the evap rate of the bedding is quiet slow but i do have a top I can put over the cage if needed. and My fluorescent bulb is due in tomorrow . Thanks for the tips
 

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