Stressed baby sully? please help

graciemay98

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Hello, long story short i just moved my little guy from his first home (large plastic tote-lived in since october 2018) into his new second home (pictured below-lived in for 3 days now).
Ever since he has been in his new enclosure, he doesn’t move, doesn’t respond much to touch or food anymore, and hides in the larger wood hide all day AND all night.
I thought i was doing him great by finally getting a larger home, but i feel AWFUL because now he acts totally different and i’m afraid he’s stressed & could die from it.
Does moving into new enclosures take a lot of time for a young sulcata to adjust to??? or is this serious signs of stress or health decline??? :(
IMG_4276.jpgIMG_4277.jpg
 

Tom

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I see a few of problems:
  1. Its much too dry. Dry substrate and an open top is a recipe for a dehydrated tortoise and pyramiding.
  2. The double light hold tells me you are using a cfl style UV bulb. Right? These are ineffective as UV sources and some of them burn reptile eyes. When it burns your eyes to be out in the open, you hide.
  3. Using the double hood as a size reference, the enclosure still looks a little small. What are the dimensions? What does your tortoise weigh?
  4. I see some hay or Aspe peeking through the substrate on the side with the coir. This is no good. It will mold if it gets damp. And it should be damp.
  5. It looks like you are feeding the baby hay? Hay is for adults. Not good for babies. Babies need real grass and other high fiber foods. Read this for more on that: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
Here is more info on caring for your baby. Most of what you are doing wrong is explained in these:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
 

Tom

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And I failed to mention that tortoises do not like moving to new "territories". They get comfortable and familiar with their surroundings, and suddenly moving them all at once is very stressful on them. I prefer to let them get used to a new place with short daily excursions there for a while, followed by a return to their familiar surroundings. Over time, the new place becomes more familiar, but in smaller, less shocking doses.
 

graciemay98

Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2018
Messages
54
Location (City and/or State)
OH
I see a few of problems:
  1. Its much too dry. Dry substrate and an open top is a recipe for a dehydrated tortoise and pyramiding.
  2. The double light hold tells me you are using a cfl style UV bulb. Right? These are ineffective as UV sources and some of them burn reptile eyes. When it burns your eyes to be out in the open, you hide.
  3. Using the double hood as a size reference, the enclosure still looks a little small. What are the dimensions? What does your tortoise weigh?
  4. I see some hay or Aspe peeking through the substrate on the side with the coir. This is no good. It will mold if it gets damp. And it should be damp.
  5. It looks like you are feeding the baby hay? Hay is for adults. Not good for babies. Babies need real grass and other high fiber foods. Read this for more on that: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
Here is more info on caring for your baby. Most of what you are doing wrong is explained in these:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

The photo does make the enclosure look small, i promise it’s pretty large, my little guy is smaller than my palm still. I do know they need humidity (his old house was a closed top) -but i’m just not sure what kind of top to make for this new enclosure that is not obnoxious & can still let in light and heat.. :/
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
The photo does make the enclosure look small, i promise it’s pretty large, my little guy is smaller than my palm still. I do know they need humidity (his old house was a closed top) -but i’m just not sure what kind of top to make for this new enclosure that is not obnoxious & can still let in light and heat.. :/
The best solution is to buy or build a closed chamber with the lights inside and doors in the front. Open tops never work. Trying to modify an open top never yielded satisfactory results for me.
 

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