Change in behaviour

[Tatty91]

Hi everyone, my tortoise is an 11 month old spur thigh ibera and I've had her for about a month. She is in a 3 and a half x 2ft wooden table at the moment, with the Arcadia DV combined bulb. My question is that for the first 2 weeks of having her she was reasonably active, getting herself up gradually when the light went on and eating all the weeds I put down. In the last couple of weeks however, she has stopped getting up herself and we have to get her up for a bath each day. Shes usually under a hide but occasionally half buried in a corner. She's also eating barely the amount she was but I have seen a couple of poos. I can't think why this change has happened as temperatures are the same as before (32-33 under lamp, 22-23 at the cool end) and I'm getting quite worried.

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Tatty91

Hi everyone, my tortoise is an 11 month old spur thigh ibera and I've had her for about a month. She is in a 3 and a half x 2ft wooden table at the moment, with the Arcadia DV combined bulb. My question is that for the first 2 weeks of having her she was reasonably active, getting herself up gradually when the light went on and eating all the weeds I put down. In the last couple of weeks however, she has stopped getting up herself and we have to get her up for a bath each day. Shes usually under a hide but occasionally half buried in a corner. She's also eating barely the amount she was but I have seen a couple of poos. I can't think why this change has happened as temperatures are the same as before (32-33 under lamp, 22-23 at the cool end) and I'm getting quite worried.

Just wondering if the outside temps are having an effect on the temps in the enclosure. The outside temps have dropped quite a lot. Tortoises generally bury down if its too hot or too cold.
If not then you need to get your tortoise to a tortoise vet, sooner rather than later:0)

[Tatty91]

Could the outside temps be a problem when my thermometer is reading the temps I put above? Thanks for your reply by the way

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Tatty91

Could the outside temps be a problem when my thermometer is reading the temps I put above? Thanks for your reply by the way

I know my tortoises take longer to get up if the outside temps are low. They get colder at night, so takes them longer to get up and under the lamp.
I would get your tortoise up and put him/her under the lamp.
Or make the enclosure a little smaller (by putting in a temporary barrier) so your tortoise is a little nearer the heat.
Just another thought, what are the light levels like in the room your tortoise is in?
As bright light gets tortoises up, and the heat warms them through.
A picture of your set up might help us to help you:0)

[Tatty91]

I had an issue of the basking temperature getting too hot (up to 36 sometimes) so admittedly I've been opening the window and keeping curtains closed to lower it down to 32ish. Should I stop doing this? Also, my night temps are 20ish as my house is quite naturally warm. Now you mention it though, temperatures were around high teens/early 20s when I got her and now they are 12ish outside I believe.

I will try and get a picture up tomorrow

[Ozric Jonathan]

From what you say Tatty, I would have expected your tort to be quite active. If your tortoise is indoors and your house is really warm at night, I don't think we should see a lot of slow-down resulting from cold weather outside.

One possible reason is a worm infestation which is usually quite easy to treat. Most tortoises will have a certain amount of worms, but when the levels go up it can cause lethargy and affect appetite. Do you know if the tortoise has been treated for worms before?

[geordie mark]

Seems odd. My Hermanns is acting fine, he's up before me this week but on my other shifts he gets up within 10 mins of the lights coming on. Then. He's out for a good few hours before retreating to his cool end. He digs under at both ends during the day and on a night the cool end gets between 17-20. I would say get her looked at. It's a small price to pay for piece of mind really.

[Tatty91]

Jonathan I am 99% certain she hasn't but have emailed the breeder I got her from. I am going to try getting her up earlier today, bathing straight away and putting under the lamp and see if this helps. If not I will call the vet tomorrow. Thanks for the responses.

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Tatty91

I had an issue of the basking temperature getting too hot (up to 36 sometimes) so admittedly I've been opening the window and keeping curtains closed to lower it down to 32ish. Should I stop doing this? Also, my night temps are 20ish as my house is quite naturally warm. Now you mention it though, temperatures were around high teens/early 20s when I got her and now they are 12ish outside I believe.

I will try and get a picture up tomorrow

It sounds as though the temps are far too high. Around 32c maximum for tortoises in a house is about right. And they need a drop below 20c at night. Its natural for them to be in temps as low as 10c in a house.
My adult iberas once they have warmed up and the sun is shinning they will be out in temps of around 12-16c easily. My smaller ibera will go out once the sun is shinning on their enclosure. I do bring them in at night until the threat of frost has gone. The adults choose to go out as I unblock the greenhouse so they can choose.
If you think wild temps, they never have the same temps all day. Its obviously colder in the mornings and cools down again around 4pm at this time of the year.

[Tatty91]

Originally Posted by sandy

It sounds as though the temps are far too high. Around 32c maximum for tortoises in a house is about right. And they need a drop below 20c at night. Its natural for them to be in temps as low as 10c in a house.
My adult iberas once they have warmed up and the sun is shinning they will be out in temps of around 12-16c easily. My smaller ibera will go out once the sun is shinning on their enclosure. I do bring them in at night until the threat of frost has gone. The adults choose to go out as I unblock the greenhouse so they can choose.
If you think wild temps, they never have the same temps all day. Its obviously colder in the mornings and cools down again around 4pm at this time of the year.

They are 32 if I have the window open a tad, is that not ok? This is my first tortoise so I am trialling and erroring a bit and all advice is very welcome! I am also looking at raising the lamp/lowering the table. How do I upload a photo on these forums?! I can't physically get my house below 20 really at night, even with the heating off it's that temp.