help please

[pam king]

Originally Posted by Ozric Jonathan

Hi Pam.

I suspect right now your problem is not connected to diet or the viv.

I have not kept Horsfields and others will know better but your tortoise putting itself into hibernation could be risky. If you decide to go with that, then it means stopping the heat and light totally and keeping the tortoise at a really low temp (below 46F). This can't be done inside a house as it is not cold enough.

The other option as Sandy says is lots of heat and light to keep the tortoise awake and active and might mean forcing him to stay up the warm end.

Please stay on and others will help you out better than me because I'm not a Horsfield keeper. But carrying on the way things are now is not a good idea at all. If the tortoise is not sick and this is to do with the time of year you need to take action and go one way or the other.

What lights do you recommend as don't want to risk him in hibernation

[Suze65]

Originally Posted by pam king

Thanks I've upped his baths but he always sleeps in middle of his 6foot va Adium so not in hot or cold end it's set at 80 and the thermometer in the middle says 80 he has a uv bulbs across the back and two heat bulbs one end

In his viv, does he have a cooler end and a warmer end, because a temp gradient for med tortoises is important, and sometimes in vivs, if they are not well ventilated, it can be one hot temp , so the tort cannot regulate his body temp, by moving to a cooler place. He needs about 32c under the basking spot, and 20/22c at the cooler end ( room temp) also in the winter night time temps need to be kept at 17/18c, if it drops too low he will want to hibernate, but you don't want to keep it too high at night either. You need to give him 12/14 hours of day ligh ( lights) to convince him that it's summer. Having said all that, like other people have said you do need to be sure there is no underlying illness causing this problem, so it would be a good idea to find a specialist tortoise vet.

[Jan W]

For the first few years my torts did not hibernate (my fault - thought right thing to do!

By the time they were 4 or 5 they still became very sleepy and more inactive despite light and heat. It seemed to be a natural reaction. They took themselves into the cool and darker area for a couple of days and then came out. I wished I had not delayed, but I had some advice about not letting them hibernate until at least 6 as they were at risk of dying.

Preparing them for hibernating does need good planning.

There are many experts on here, so do keep asking questions. I have learnt so much and developed my confidence.

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Jan W

For the first few years my torts did not hibernate (my fault - thought right thing to do!

By the time they were 4 or 5 they still became very sleepy and more inactive despite light and heat. It seemed to be a natural reaction. They took themselves into the cool and darker area for a couple of days and then came out. I wished I had not delayed, but I had some advice about not letting them hibernate until at least 6 as they were at risk of dying.

Preparing them for hibernating does need good planning.

There are many experts on here, so do keep asking questions. I have learnt so much and developed my confidence.

What did the person who told you they dont hibernate until 6, think the tortoises do in the wild?
Nobody takes them in until they are 6 :0)
I have been hibernating hatchlings for over 35yrs from their first year, with no problems. Other than some stress for me, the tortoises did what they are born to do:0)

[Jan W]

Originally Posted by sandy

What did the person who told you they dont hibernate until 6, think the tortoises do in the wild?
Nobody takes them in until they are 6 :0)
I have been hibernating hatchlings for over 35yrs from their first year, with no problems. Other than some stress for me, the tortoises did what they are born to do:0)

This is what happens when you listen to 'old wives tales' I think! It was someone who had a tortoise and their mum had previously had 2.

I know better now....

[Ozric Jonathan]

Hi Pam. Suze has given some pointers about the temperatures which are likely to keep your tortoise up and awake.

You don't want your tortoise to hibernate or at least not this year and I can understand that as you didn't plan any of this.

If it's a winter slow-down and not something more worrying, then it's heat and light that you need to provide. You may need to do something to stop your tortoise getting away from the heat but at the same time you shouldn't stop him having some choice. Keep a hotspot of minimum 34C and a cool end that doesn't go below 20C during the day and 18C at night.

I like the Arcadia products and they make a uv lamp which is ideal to use inside a viv. I think you would want the 54 watt flood. https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/arc...-uv-flood-55w/

The other option is to let the tortoise slow down more, withdraw heat and light gradually and hibernate the tortoise at about 8C. I'm not going to pretend this is very easy and free of risk because it's not.

I agree with Suze that it may be a good idea to go to a vet who knows about tortoises. It could be that what you're seeing has got nothing to do with winter. If you've done the same thing for 5 years and not seen this slowing down before then maybe something else is causing it.

[CherryBrandy]

don't lose sight of the fact also tortoise grows so surface of tortoise attracts more heat and is higher up so heated up more and loses less on surface area. The regulatory aspect tortoise can change to reflect their size. My experience with Horsfields is that they don't tend to like basking under very hot lamps. Even my hatchlings naughty and naughtier don't come out much - Horsfields like to burrow and so by definition under the lamp is too exposed. That's not to say he is or isn't well. And something with Horsfields I find is they need stimulation. Is he ok out of his pen? in terms of activity ? I would weigh him Pam and check this for a while also. CB