# Tortoise temperature



## Emily feast (Aug 19, 2016)

My tortoise is sleeping all day and not eating much while in her vivarium. She is only ten month old and is a horsefield tortoise. When she is out of her vivarium she loves to eat out of our hands and naps on my chest. I think this has something to do with her temperatures as her warm side is 40 degrees and even her cold side is 35, how do I get them cold side temperature down?


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## itiswhatitis (Aug 19, 2016)

Emily feast said:


> My tortoise is sleeping all day and not eating much while in her vivarium. She is only ten month old and is a horsefield tortoise. When she is out of her vivarium she loves to eat out of our hands and naps on my chest. I think this has something to do with her temperatures as her warm side is 40 degrees and even her cold side is 35, how do I get them cold side temperature down?


I assume you're speaking Celsius so Fahrenheit cold side is 95 warm side 104. We need a pic of your enclosure. Full pic. Kind and watts of buld using currently. 

Also what are using at night as far as for heat and what are temps?


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## BrianWI (Aug 19, 2016)

Describing your set up would help as well.


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## Tom (Aug 19, 2016)

Emily feast said:


> My tortoise is sleeping all day and not eating much while in her vivarium. She is only ten month old and is a horsefield tortoise. When she is out of her vivarium she loves to eat out of our hands and naps on my chest. I think this has something to do with her temperatures as her warm side is 40 degrees and even her cold side is 35, how do I get them cold side temperature down?



Sounds like you need to raise your bulb, or lower the wattage.

These might offer some tips:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/


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## Gillian M (Aug 19, 2016)

A very warm welcome to the forum!

Pics of your tort and her enclosure would enable us to help you more easily.


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## Emily feast (Aug 19, 2016)

itiswhatitis said:


> I assume you're speaking Celsius so Fahrenheit cold side is 95 warm side 104. We need a pic of your enclosure. Full pic. Kind and watts of buld using currently.
> 
> Also what are using at night as far as for heat and what are temps?


 She has a vivarium with a plant in, a hut on her warm side where she normally sleeps, water and food bowl. Also she has a heat mat left on 24 hours a day, a basking light and uv light for twelve hours


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## Emily feast (Aug 19, 2016)




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## Emily feast (Aug 19, 2016)

Emily feast said:


> View attachment 184192


This is narla she is a horsefield tortoise at ten month old. She only weights one ounce aswell.


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## Tom (Aug 19, 2016)

Emily feast said:


> She has a vivarium with a plant in, a hut on her warm side where she normally sleeps, water and food bowl. Also she has a heat mat left on 24 hours a day, a basking light and uv light for twelve hours



Sounds like you don't need a heat mat, and I recommend against them anyway. Many reptiles have been burned my them, and they are especially not good for tortoises like your species that frequently dig down into the substrate.

Horsfield tortoise need a drop in night temp, and your heat mat might be preventing that. Over night low should drop to between 18-21 C. Basking area during the day should be around 36-37, and the cool side during the day can just be closer to room temp.

What type of UV bulb are you using?


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## Gillian M (Aug 19, 2016)

Emily feast said:


> View attachment 184192


Adorable!


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## Emily feast (Aug 19, 2016)

I am using a reptisun 10 uvb 13 watt desert uv lamp for her. Can anyone recommend how I get a side in her viv cooler as her cold side is still way too warm it's in the 30 degrees


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## Tom (Aug 19, 2016)

Emily feast said:


> I am using a reptisun 10 uvb 13 watt desert uv lamp for her. Can anyone recommend how I get a side in her viv cooler as her cold side is still way too warm it's in the 30 degrees



Those bulbs are known to burn tortoise eyes sometimes. Try turning off that bulb and unplugging the heat mat, and see if things change. If the bulb is hurting her eyes that might explain why she's active and normal when out of the vivarium, but just hides all the time when exposed to the light of that bulb.

Use a long tube type bulb for UV instead.

Can you increase ventilation on the "cool" side by cracking open the door or opening a vent?


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## Tidgy's Dad (Aug 19, 2016)

Hi, Emil.
Pretty little tortoise.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
may be useful information also.


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## Emily feast (Aug 20, 2016)

Tom said:


> Those bulbs are known to burn tortoise eyes sometimes. Try turning off that bulb and unplugging the heat mat, and see if things change. If the bulb is hurting her eyes that might explain why she's active and normal when out of the vivarium, but just hides all the time when exposed to the light of that bulb.
> 
> Use a long tube type bulb for UV instead.
> 
> Can you increase ventilation on the "cool" side by cracking open the door or opening a vent?


Thanks can you recommend a safe and good uv light? That also goes well with a basking light


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## Tom (Aug 20, 2016)

Emily feast said:


> Thanks can you recommend a safe and good uv light? That also goes well with a basking light


There are a wide array of florescent tubes on the market today. Some are weak and produce very little UV, while other are very strong and produce too much UV for some applications.

The long tube versions of the 10.0 "desert" type that you have will work if they are less than 12" from the tortoise. If your viv is taller than that then look into an Arcadia bulb. Maybe a 10% Arcadia HO tube? I use a regular florescent bulb for making it bright in the enclosure all day, and then I have an Arcadia 12% HO tube with a reflector that comes on for about 4 hours mid day. This some what simulate the high spike in UV that happens outdoors each day. Outdoors the UV levels rise and fall on a steep bell curve. UV levels are weak in the mornings and afternoons, but very strong mid day. The 12% HO tubes produce too much UV to be used all day long in my experience. The nice thing about any of the HO tubes is they can be mounted farther away and still be effective.

I'm sorry there is not an easy, one-size-fits-all answer to this question. There are different options for different situations. You'll have to assess which option will work best for your particular situation. Having a good UV meter helps with bulb choice and placement too. In a climate like yours where the tortoise must be indoors most of each year, a UV meter is an indispensable tool to have. Like this:
https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html
This tool will tell you if your bulb is mounted at the correct height, if your bulb is producing enough UV for your tortoise, and it will tell you when its time to replace the bulb. Without it, you are just guessing and hoping for the best.


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## Tom (Aug 20, 2016)

Emily feast said:


> View attachment 184192



In this pic your little guy shows some significant pyramiding for a russian. This tells me he is being kept to dry. Pyramiding is _caused_ by growth in conditions that are too dry. In post number four on this thread I linked a care sheet that will explain how to stop this process.

Hope we can help.


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