Bcrawford
New Member
Hi everyone,
I’m the proud owner of a new Horsefield Tortoise named Dash. He is only 5 months old and I only got him this October. I’ve read conflicting advice about when to have lamps and and whether or not to hibernate.
He lives indoors as we have no suitable outdoor environment and we only just got him during what normally would be hibernation for him. I’ve also read that you shouldn’t hibernate in the first year of ownership. Questions;
1. Do tortoises kept indoors need hibernating?
2. Should I not hibernate this year because it’s my first year?
Secondly heat lamps. I’ve got a dual heat and UV lamp. We keep it on whenever we’re in the house (including night time) and turn it off during the day when noones in. The room he’s in is fairly dark all the time. Question:
1. Am I better turning the lamps off at night and leaving them on during the day so that the environment is more similar to natural? Or is the way we’ve done it okay?
Finally, he’s a bit slow at the moment, I’ve read of aestivation which might be explained by the lamps being on a fairly long time. He sleeps most of the time, we get him out to bath him in the evenings at about 6pm then feed him but he often goes back into his little cave and sleeps, then he comes back out a little later on 10/11pm then back to sleep, as far as we know, until 6pm the next day.
Any help, tips, advice welcome! Thanks in advance
I’m the proud owner of a new Horsefield Tortoise named Dash. He is only 5 months old and I only got him this October. I’ve read conflicting advice about when to have lamps and and whether or not to hibernate.
He lives indoors as we have no suitable outdoor environment and we only just got him during what normally would be hibernation for him. I’ve also read that you shouldn’t hibernate in the first year of ownership. Questions;
1. Do tortoises kept indoors need hibernating?
2. Should I not hibernate this year because it’s my first year?
Secondly heat lamps. I’ve got a dual heat and UV lamp. We keep it on whenever we’re in the house (including night time) and turn it off during the day when noones in. The room he’s in is fairly dark all the time. Question:
1. Am I better turning the lamps off at night and leaving them on during the day so that the environment is more similar to natural? Or is the way we’ve done it okay?
Finally, he’s a bit slow at the moment, I’ve read of aestivation which might be explained by the lamps being on a fairly long time. He sleeps most of the time, we get him out to bath him in the evenings at about 6pm then feed him but he often goes back into his little cave and sleeps, then he comes back out a little later on 10/11pm then back to sleep, as far as we know, until 6pm the next day.
Any help, tips, advice welcome! Thanks in advance