Buried

[shanon1]

Hello, need some advice!! My baby tortoise has recently been completely digging herself under her substrate at night is this normal im worried ? Please get back in touch soon!

 

[shanon1]

Its only been the last couple of days too im worried incase shes ill just hope someone has an explaination

 

[shanon1]

???

 

[Abdulla6169]

Some torts like burrowing/digging, can you post enclosure pics? Please read this:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Hermann's-Tortoise-Care-Sheet.63799/#post-604283
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index....d,-Greeks,-Russians,-Sulcata.5823/#post-47217
Are there any other things you noticed?

 

[Maro2Bear]

It might be cold, and it is trying to dig deeper into the "ground" in an effort to stay warm. So, what are the various temps in your enclosure, especially at night?

 

[shanon1]

Well i thought it was cold at night the first night she was here over night so i bought a dark lamp where it heats upto 19 but switches off if it gets above that

 

[wellington]

What kind of tort, size, temps and humidity in the enclosure, both day and night. Give us more info so we can determine if it's normal, which lots of species like to burrow into the substrate, or if it could be for another reason.

 

[Maro2Bear]

So, not sure what kind of baby you have, but from my calculations, thats about 66 degrees F. I think that's too cold for a baby, but please tell us more. Kind of tort, your enclosure, humidity, etc. a pix or two of your arrangement, substrate type, lighting, temps, etc helps everyone chime in with "help."

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

66' is cold.
80-100' is usually the norm for basking spots!

 

[shanon1]

She is a 2 year old hermann tortoise who is around 3 and a half inches, during the day basking temp is around 32 degrees and at night around 19

 

[shanon1]

Its hard to get pics at the moment due to her lights being off at this time :/

 

[Abdulla6169]

Its hard to get pics at the moment due to her lights being off at this time :/

You can turn them on for a few minutes, can you at least describe what you have in there

 

[shanon1]

I have the substrate called herbifloor thatd compressed grass pellets i have her basking light for during the day and her dark light for at night i also have her uv light for during the day i have her two little houses so she can get away from the light when she wants to i have her food bowl and water bowl which has fresh food and water everyday

 

[ascott]

Have you checked all of your husbandry....temps, lighting and such?

 

[shanon1]

Yeah all at the temp and stuff that they should be its only when shes going to sleep that she does and she wakes up fine in the morning when her lights get turned on and shes eatting and drinking fine, but i have her check up at the vets soon so ill ask there too

 

[lismar79]

Herbifloof is not a good substrate for your tort. It is hard to walk on for your tort and might end up causing leg and claw problems. Try topsoil, coir, or fir bark. Even cypress mulch with no dyes or additives would be much better for your lil one.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Shannon:

I think you need to read or re-read the Hermanni tortoise care sheet. Your baby is being kept too cool and there are a few things not quite right with how you're caring for him. You can find the care sheet at the top of the hermanni section here on the Forum.

 

[HermanniChris]

Here's a solution. Ditch the substrate ASAP. You to switch to something more suitable that retains humidity which is CRUCIAL for young T. hermanni ssp. As for temps, during the active season, the nighttime temperature should not drop that low. Is 19 too cold for a baby? Absolutely not but that's generally speaking. These tortoises can drop low, REALLY low. But only during a designated time of the year which means their inactive or brumation period. Since you are most likely not mimicking a more natural cycle, it's important to up the temperature at night to 22-23C. I do not support the use of nighttime heating additions but in your case, if the temp is falling like that, then you need to do something. But DO NOT use any kind of heat pad or heat rock. Your basking spot needs to be at one end only and should be in the 35C range. The other end must be cool with no heat source in order for the tortoise to escape the warmth.

She may also be digging in search of a more humid area, this is one of the reasons you need to get rid of that substrate.

Hope this helps.

 

[HermanniChris]

Also, if she digs down at night but then pops back up in the morning, this is 100% natural behavior. These tortoises are wild animals no matter how many times we produce them in captivity. This means they have strong instinct. They are programmed to hide because they are insanely vulnerable while young. So, they dig and they burrow. Food for thought.

 

[shanon1]

Thank you hermannichris this helps alot i will change the substrate to a different one is there anything you can recommend ?
Thanks again