Sick 5 week old sulcata

[AmandaLoche]

I wanted to start with a Black Russian tortoise as I was informed tgey are great beginner tortoises however, I just took on my first tortoise and it is a sickly 5 week old Sulcata. My friend purchased from a trade show and took him to the veterinary who diagnosed him with a respiratory infection. Started him on an injectable antibiotic. Still waiting to hear which antibiotic. I have made an appointment with my vet but, it's not until next week and I am a bit concerned. He is not very active and has not eaten today. I just got him last night. His eyes opened briefly after I soaked him. Trying to get his humidity in his tank up. Under his basking light the temperature is 100. I have not seen bubbles or much open mouth breathing. He looks puny and has rough edges around his shell. He also keeps scratching at his eyes with his leg.
I have offered him clover, grass, Timothy hay, orchard hay blend, flower food topper and Mazuri tortoise LS pellets rehydrated. I even bought an enhancer spray by JurassiePet.
Can anyone offer advice?

 

[KarenSoCal]

Welcome to the forum! I'm sorry your baby is sick.

Are you using any UVB light on him? If you are, is it a cfl or compact type, screws into a regular socket? If it is one of these, turn it off right away and don't use it again. These lights are frequently the cause of eye problems in babies.

Cover the top of his tank to keep the heat and humidity in. For the time being, you can just put a sheet of aluminum foil over the top. If you will post some pictures of his enclosure, it will help us help you make changes.

Make sure he is warm enough. The basking temp of 100°F is good. But the rest of the tank must stay above 80° at all times, day and night. And the humidity must be above 80% all the time, day and night.

Read this care sheet carefully. Then come back with your questions, and we'll help you make changes. But the first thing to do is get the temps and humidity up to par. And check your UVB light. If you have a cfl or compact bulb and turn it off, don't worry about UVB for a while. Your baby can get along without UVB until you get the new type bulbs.

Is he getting antibiotic shots now? Or did he complete a course of antibiotics before you got him? Antibiotics often cause a tortoise to stop eating, so that could be one possible reason he isn't eating.

The care sheet...

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[AmandaLoche]

Ok, I have much room for improvement. Getting this tortoise was very fast and I was not prepared at all. He is showing improvement. I set him up for critical care by placing him in a small tank inside a larger tank bc the light fixture is a dual one and would burn the smaller tank lid. I added a deeper level of substrate and wet it down a bit. Added the tinfoil to the lid to help with retaining the heat and moisture. I soaked him twice yesterday and today. Using a smaller tub with warm water inside a larger bowl filled with hot water to help keep the water warm for the duration of his soak.
I am going to buy a plastic tub and turn it upside down to replace the log so he has a humidity cave. The temperature is staying close to 100 but his humidity is still to low. I am looking into an enclosed enclosure rather than the open top aquarium. I attached the UV light as you had asked which kind it is. I think my idea of a critical tank being smaller is not a good idea at all.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings....just a quick look. Definitely the wrong type of florescent bulb. Also, look wherr your gauges are and look where your tort lives. It’s like mounting your household thermostat on the roof. Go to Amazon, search AcuRite and get a digital temp & hygrometer sensor. Much more accurate with a remote probe. Those Pet Smart analog sensors can be way off.

Get your temps & humidity & lighting corrected. All of this is in Tom’s Sully care guide.

 

[KarenSoCal]

I attached the UV light as you had asked which kind it is.

If you have not done it yet, remove the cfl type UVB lamp now. Your tort won't miss it for a while, and it will do him no harm to not have UV until you get the new setup. His eyes should be fine in about 3 days.

Here's a link to what you want to get.

Arcadia ProT5 UVB Kit (Includes Hood)

ProT5 is a highly adaptable lighting kit with high quality internal electronics, a high effective but removable reflector, power cable, fittings kit, free link cable and choice of Arcadia Reptile HO-T5 UV-B lamp. ProT5 uses the very finest electrical components to ensure safe running and long...

reptilighting.com

 

[AmandaLoche]

If you have not done it yet, remove the cfl type UVB lamp now. Your tort won't miss it for a while, and it will do him no harm to not have UV until you get the new setup. His eyes should be fine in about 3 days.

Here's a link to what you want to get.

Arcadia ProT5 UVB Kit (Includes Hood)

ProT5 is a highly adaptable lighting kit with high quality internal electronics, a high effective but removable reflector, power cable, fittings kit, free link cable and choice of Arcadia Reptile HO-T5 UV-B lamp. ProT5 uses the very finest electrical components to ensure safe running and long...

reptilighting.com

Thank you. Just ordered.

 

[AmandaLoche]

Thank you. Just ordered.

They did open 3 days after removing the light! Thank you!

 

[KarenSoCal]

When you get the new UV light and hood, you don't need to run it all day.

Put it on a timer and have it lit for 3 hours daily. In midday, when your baby is up and about. Like 11:00-2:00, or 12:00-3:00.

Are you in Woodstock, NY? You'll need to use the light all winter. When summer comes, if you can take him outside for an hour 3x/week with access to sun, you won't need indoor UVB at all.

 

[AmandaLoche]

So my little guy is doing so much better. I am concerned with how little he has gained as far as weight. He was between 42-44 grams and now he is between 44-47 grams. Seems like he should have gained more since October 6th? Also, he won't eat any of the hays I offer. He only eats dark leafy greens, parsley, cilantro, baby spinach, arugula and custard greens. I have tried to chop up the hay and mix it in with his greens but, he picks around it. The issue I am having is tiny fruit flies in his bedding bc, of the greens. I feed him 3 times a day and remove the old greens. What can anyone offer as advice?

 

[EllieMay]

So my little guy is doing so much better. I am concerned with how little he has gained as far as weight. He was between 42-44 grams and now he is between 44-47 grams. Seems like he should have gained more since October 6th? Also, he won't eat any of the hays I offer. He only eats dark leafy greens, parsley, cilantro, baby spinach, arugula and custard greens. I have tried to chop up the hay and mix it in with his greens but, he picks around it. The issue I am having is tiny fruit flies in his bedding bc, of the greens. I feed him 3 times a day and remove the old greens. What can anyone offer as advice?

Baby’s won’t eat hay.. hay isn’t really an option until they are pretty mature.. get you some winter rye grass seed and grow in a big pot.. you can snip a handful of blades as you need it and he will love it. Nice green and tender for him.. also, get you some Mazuri tortoise chow and soften with some water.. you can use a couple teaspoon fulls under his greens as a booster.. Good luck!

 

[KarenSoCal]

So my little guy is doing so much better. I am concerned with how little he has gained as far as weight. He was between 42-44 grams and now he is between 44-47 grams. Seems like he should have gained more since October 6th? Also, he won't eat any of the hays I offer. He only eats dark leafy greens, parsley, cilantro, baby spinach, arugula and custard greens. I have tried to chop up the hay and mix it in with his greens but, he picks around it. The issue I am having is tiny fruit flies in his bedding bc, of the greens. I feed him 3 times a day and remove the old greens. What can anyone offer as advice?

EllieMay covered the hay issue, so I'll just comment on your other 2 concerns.

It would have been nice if he had gained more, but I don't think you need to worry about it at this point. He had a rough start, but it sounds like he's eating pretty well now, and you're giving him a healthy diet. Do as EllieMay has suggested. As long as he keeps eating and is active, I think his weight will catch up.

Are you sure the bugs are fruitflys? There are some other bugs that usually find our enclosures called springtails. They're good to have, because they act as cleanup crew, eating any poop or food bits they find. They are very tiny.

There are other cleanup bugs. Roly polies (aka pillbugs) are good. Then there are gnats and phorid flys. They're not useful, but do no harm.

If you still think yours are fruitflys, you can try hanging fly tape in the enclosure. You can also completely replace your substrate, and bake the new substrate before using it.

Personally, since these bugs are actually good for your enclosure, I would just leave them alone and let them do their thing.

 

[Blackdog1714]

Add carrot puree (found with the baby food) to your daily soaks to help add nutrients