Advice on my russian please

[dylanchalmers]

I am looking for some advice , I have a 4 year old Russian who lives inside in a table with heat lamps and UVA lamp. During the warmer days he goes outside in his enclosure, over Easter the weather was warmer and he went out during the day and returned indoors of an evening . As the weather turned we kept him inside , after a couple of days showing normal behaviour he buried himself in his substrate . We havent seen movement in approx 3 weeks . There have been no changes to his substrate in 4years nor his diet . I dont know what to do , he has never been hibernated, and if this is what he is doing I havent prepared him as I should .
Please advise , should I disturb him ?

 

[zovick]

I would advise locating the tortoise to see if it is still living. You could try putting it in a shallow container in about 1/2 inch of lukewarm water to see if it moves and/or drinks. Be careful that the water is not deep enough to cover the nostrils.

Post the results here so we can evaluate the situation further if the tortoise is alive.

 

[dylanchalmers]

I would advise locating the tortoise to see if it is still living. You could try putting it in a shallow container in about 1/2 inch of lukewarm water to see if it moves and/or drinks. Be careful that the water is not deep enough to cover the nostrils.

Post the results here so we can evaluate the situation further if the tortoise is alive.

Thankyou , I will do it first thing in the morning . I am keen not to cause my son any distress if the worst has happened x

 

[dylanchalmers]

He was very sleepy but woke and is now having a bath

 

[zovick]

Thankyou , I will do it first thing in the morning . I am keen not to cause my son any distress if the worst has happened x

OK. In the meanwhile, you could try spraying the area above where you think the tortoise is with a spray bottle to simulate rain and see if that wakes it up by tomorrow AM. I would use lukewarm water and get the area fairly well saturated with the spray (as if there has been a good rain storm).

 

[dylanchalmers]

OK. In the meanwhile, you could try spraying the area above where you think the tortoise is with a spray bottle to simulate rain and see if that wakes it up by tomorrow AM. I would use lukewarm water and get the area fairly well saturated with the spray (as if there has been a good rain storm).

Thankyou so much for your advice , I couldn't wait till the morning , such a relief to see him having a wiggle xxx

 

[zovick]

He was very sleepy but woke and is now having a bath

Very good. Try keeping the tortoise a bit warmer than you have been to see if it will remain active now rather than going back to sleeping mode. Maybe about 85-90F in the daytime and 65-70 at night would work. Also keep misting the enclosure and the tortoise with a spay bottle with lukewarm water and soak it every 2-3 days.

 

[dylanchalmers]

Very good. Try keeping the tortoise a bit warmer than you have been to see if it will remain active now rather than going back to sleeping mode. Maybe about 85-90F in the daytime and 65-70 at night would work. Also keep misting the enclosure and the tortoise with a spay bottle with lukewarm water and soak it every 2-3 days.

Thankyou , I really appreciate your advice , I have upped the temperature and will follow your suggestions x

 

[Cathie G]

He was very sleepy but woke and is now having a bath

I don't hibernate my Russian either. In the winter he tries to go to sleep and sometimes I let him for a little while. Even a few days now and then. But then I get lonely for him. I do a wake up! wake up! I'm so glad you got your answer today just by bugging the little brat.

 

[Yvonne G]

I have never worried about "disturbing" my tortoises. They have no respite from me. If I want to do something with them, I do it. If my tortoise has buried itself and I haven't seen it in a day or two, I have no qualms about digging it up and giving it a good once-over.