Thanks for all your advise everyone. Someone mentioned tempertures in the enclosure - Thomas' lights come on at about 8am, i checked the temperture at the bottom end of his enclosure and it was 12c before i put the bulbs on. when the lights are on the same place at the bottom of his enclosure is 20c during the day then i switch his lights off at 8pm. Is this OK?
Does anyone know if tortoises are colourblind or not? My daughters daft question not mine!!!!!!!!!!

gwyneth,
those temps are to low and might explain why he's not developing an appetite.

you need to set up a temperature gradient inside the enclosure:
1) on the hot end, beneath the heat & UVB lamps, you have to aim at 30ºC.
2) on the cool end aim at 20ºC

This gradient allows the animal to thermoregulate.
Torts, like all reptiles, are cold blooded and need a morning warm up to even think about food.
remember that no warmth = no digestion

This post was last modified: 04-08-2008 08:07 AM by TestudoGeek.

Night time temps can drop to 15ºC, sometimes lower.
If indoors, just let them drop to whatever the room temp is at night.

i have just put an additional thermometer in Thomas' enclosure where he hides and that area is 28c and 20c at the bottom end. I havent got any room heating on yet but when the room heating comes on obviously his enclosure should get warmer still. The room heating goes off at ten o'clock pm - would it be more beneficial to Thomas if his lights go off at 10 pm when the room heating goes off.

A 12H routine is enough (8h to 20h is what I have).

it's the basking area (ground level, directly beneath the heat lamp) you need to focus on. It should be up on 30ºC and not lower.

20c on the cool end is just fine. no need to warm up the room.

This post was last modified: 04-08-2008 08:25 AM by TestudoGeek.

I'm not scientifically sure, but my guess is they're not colour blind. My Hermann's seems attracted to bright saturated colours like yellow, orange or red.

This post was last modified: 04-08-2008 08:29 AM by TestudoGeek.

This basking spot is way above 30c. It is a 220watt bulb. Thomas does spend much time under this bulb, he will for about 2-3 minutes at a time but spends alot of time under his shredded paper. So the enclosure isnt too cold then? Its just a case of waiting till hes settled!

how much above 30c? if it's to hot the tort might aestivate.

the bulb is 220v - 240v and the temperture directly below the bulb rose to 50c (this is the highest my thermostate will record).

Sorry but i dont know what aestivate means!

gwyneth, that is way to hot.
bring the high temp down to 30c.

here is the definition for aestivation, as seen here: http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/juvhib.htm

"(...) daytime temperatures in July can exceed 48ºC. These high temperatures, and the almost total lack of plants suitable for grazing, result in aestivation. The tortoises bury themselves underground and sit out the unbearable heat expending as little energy as possible. Although superficially similar to hibernation, aestivation is biologically a very different process and the two should not be confused. They are only similar in the sense that they result in a seasonal period of inactivity. This naturally affects the rate of growth and the total food intake (...)"