Sulcata sleeping more

[Amelia11]

I have a baby sulcata tortoise that is about 4 months old that is named Ozzy. I have had him for about a month now. But the past few days he has been sleeping during the day a lot more and not eating. He used to walk around his enclosure, climb, eat, and was pretty active but would take naps still. Now he just sleeps. It’s also getting colder where I live but I don’t see how that would affect him because his heat lamp and UVB are still on.
I take him outside everyday for some sunlight and grazing and bath him everyday for 10-15 minutes as well.
I feed him manly lettuce, and clovers with calcium dust on his food.
I also have his heat lamp and UVB light on during the day. And at night the coldest it gets is 68 degrees.
If anyone has any ideas to why he’s acting like this now it would be appreciated!

 

[mojo_1]

I have a baby sulcata tortoise that is about 4 months old that is named Ozzy. I have had him for about a month now. But the past few days he has been sleeping during the day a lot more and not eating. He used to walk around his enclosure, climb, eat, and was pretty active but would take naps still. Now he just sleeps. It’s also getting colder where I live but I don’t see how that would affect him because his heat lamp and UVB are still on.
I take him outside everyday for some sunlight and grazing and bath him everyday for 10-15 minutes as well.
I feed him manly lettuce, and clovers with calcium dust on his food.
I also have his heat lamp and UVB light on during the day. And at night the coldest it gets is 68 degrees.
If anyone has any ideas to why he’s acting like this now it would be appreciated!

I don't know much about Sulcata tortoises but I do know as a hatchling he should be in a closed chamber enclosure and the temperature should never drop below 80° and 80% humidity. Basking area temperature i believe should be 95 to 100°
as for the diet they should have more variety. Then just lettuce and clovers.


Give this a read.

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

 

[wellington]

You need to get the temp up ASAP never below 80 day and night. Everything mojo_1 has said.
The diet is also very poor. Lettuce has almost no nutrition and is mostly water.
He should not be outside unless it is warm out, not 70's. Keep him inside in 80 temps until it's warm enough to take him out and when he is older.
Get changes made ASAP or he won't recover!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

As mentioned above temperatures need addressing as first and foremost!

Hopefully as well as Toms, you’ll find this one I made helpful, it covers equipment, levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity, substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better!

Leopard/sulcata starter

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information below on how I’d personally tackle an indoor starter set up for a leopard/sulcata until they’re bigger. Hopefully it helps give people some ideas!” I know it looks like a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes some other closed chamber options, but bear in mind the sizing for a growing sulcata

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one is also really good to familiarise yourself with, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

I hope they help! I’d get yourself a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) ran on a thermostat asap

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

The first course of action is to raise the temperatures, as others have said they are too cold.

 

[Amelia11]

As mentioned above temperatures need addressing as first and foremost!

Hopefully as well as Toms, you’ll find this one I made helpful, it covers equipment, levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity, substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better!

Leopard/sulcata starter

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information below on how I’d personally tackle an indoor starter set up for a leopard/sulcata until they’re bigger. Hopefully it helps give people some ideas!” I know it looks like a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes some other closed chamber options, but bear in mind the sizing for a growing sulcata

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one is also really good to familiarise yourself with, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

I hope they help! I’d get yourself a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) ran on a thermostat asap

Thank you all for the advice and help!! I got a ceramic heater for at night and a thermometer gun that I have been using.
Ozzy has been more active and eating a bit more but he still is sleeping more than he used to and only really wakes up if I wake him up during the day. I’m thinking of taking him to a Vet now because I have tried many things and changed a lot of things but he’s still not acting the way he used to.
Do you recommend anything else I should try or what I should be looking for at the vet?
I have been feeding him more different things, he’s in an enclosed home now, and has a ceramic heater at night

 

[chigs184]

I started my Leopard out incorrectly, with an open top, as soon as he was enclosed and I could get the humidity level consistantly around 80%, he got a lot more active. Are you maintaining the humidity?

 

[chigs184]

I'm very much a beginner here, but I took mine to the vet yesterday and he has a parasitic worm. They said it could cause lack of appetite and lethargy, might be worth a visit to the vet?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you all for the advice and help!! I got a ceramic heater for at night and a thermometer gun that I have been using.
Ozzy has been more active and eating a bit more but he still is sleeping more than he used to and only really wakes up if I wake him up during the day. I’m thinking of taking him to a Vet now because I have tried many things and changed a lot of things but he’s still not acting the way he used to.
Do you recommend anything else I should try or what I should be looking for at the vet?
I have been feeding him more different things, he’s in an enclosed home now, and has a ceramic heater at night

It can take a bit for them to adjust to the changes and it’s encouraging he’s becoming a bit more active, I wouldnt necessarily go to the vet just yet, but if you do, just be wary it can be difficult to find one who knows how to appropriately treat them, many just want to give you a vitamin injection and send you on your way, those injections can sometimes do more harm than good, especially in a tiny baby, any injections should have testing done first with appropriate calculations. They’re often following the same outdated care advice too, so again just be wary. Perhaps it could be worth taking a poo sample in first, you don’t have to take tortoise in for that, simply get a sample in a sterile container and take it in, they should hopefully get results back to you within a week or so
How’s your humidity doing now it’s closed?