Cold weather for Greek tort and other Questions

chemprentice

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253
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California (OC)
These past fews days, I've noticed that our baby greek tortoise, Spike, has been waking up later than usual. He normally wakes up around 9:00-9:30am, but he's been sleeping more until 10am or so. I wonder if the colder weather here in SoCal (around 63F at night and 57F in the mornings) or the daylight savings change has been affecting his sleep schedule.

Something this morning that mildly concerned me was that after we woke him up (begrudgingly for him) and placed him under the heat lamp to warm up, he started sleeping again with his limbs splayed out and head out. This worried me at first until I looked it up and found that many tortoises do sleep in this position when they're comfortable! I'm guessing this is normal, but I just wanted some affirmation.

Another thing I've noticed tonight is that he didn't really burrow, per se, but attempted to burrow and ended up falling asleep not underneath the substrate at all. I'm wondering if maybe it was because he was too tired to sleep under the coco coir, or if the ambient conditions were comfortable enough that he just fell asleep where he was (ambient conditions in the room are 79F and 62% RH). He was also awake 1 hour later than he normally is. Usually he wakes up at 9:30am and begins to burrow for sleep at 2:30pm.
IMG_2258.JPG IMG_2262.JPG
 

JoesMum

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Kent, South East England
These past fews days, I've noticed that our baby greek tortoise, Spike, has been waking up later than usual. He normally wakes up around 9:00-9:30am, but he's been sleeping more until 10am or so. I wonder if the colder weather here in SoCal (around 63F at night and 57F in the mornings) or the daylight savings change has been affecting his sleep schedule.
Daylight savings means your tort should be waking at what looks like an hour earlier than before, so it’s not that.

Your Greek is getting too cold at night. It’s getting to the sort of temperatures where your Greek will be starting to think of hibernation. Hibernation occurs with temperatures steadily below 50F day and night. Without the heat lamp this tort would be much closer. Your tort needs extra heat at night. It must not drop below 65F for an adult.

Having checked your other threads, you have a baby Greek and that needs a minimum of 80F day and night - it is getting far too cold! You are risking your baby getting sick.

Get a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) in that enclosure and use it with a thermostat set to 80F. This will only work in a covered enclosure. An open table isn’t suitable for a baby.

Something this morning that mildly concerned me was that after we woke him up (begrudgingly for him) and placed him under the heat lamp to warm up, he started sleeping again with his limbs splayed out and head out. This worried me at first until I looked it up and found that many tortoises do sleep in this position when they're comfortable! I'm guessing this is normal, but I just wanted some affirmation.
Sprawled is normal
Another thing I've noticed tonight is that he didn't really burrow, per se, but attempted to burrow and ended up falling asleep not underneath the substrate at all. I'm wondering if maybe it was because he was too tired to sleep under the coco coir, or if the ambient conditions were comfortable enough that he just fell asleep where he was (ambient conditions in the room are 79F and 62% RH). He was also awake 1 hour later than he normally is. Usually he wakes up at 9:30am and begins to burrow for sleep at 2:30pm.
View attachment 222277 View attachment 222278

This isn’t really tiredness this is the lack of energy to do anything. Your tortoise must be warm enough to be active and digest food. It isn’t. You must get this enclosure warmer.

Have we seen photos of your enclosure and lighting to check it over?

I recommend you read the TFO care guides and compare them with your setup.

They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Baby Testudo Care - written about Russians but applies to Greeks
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
 

chemprentice

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2017
Messages
253
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California (OC)
Daylight savings means your tort should be waking at what looks like an hour earlier than before, so it’s not that.

Your Greek is getting too cold at night. It’s getting to the sort of temperatures where your Greek will be starting to think of hibernation. Hibernation occurs with temperatures steadily below 50F day and night. Without the heat lamp this tort would be much closer. Your tort needs extra heat at night. It must not drop below 65F for an adult.

Having checked your other threads, you have a baby Greek and that needs a minimum of 80F day and night - it is getting far too cold! You are risking your baby getting sick.

Get a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) in that enclosure and use it with a thermostat set to 80F. This will only work in a covered enclosure. An open table isn’t suitable for a baby.

I thought that Greeks need cooler nights to sleep well and that approaching low 70s was fine for them. Daytime temps are normally: mid 70s for cool area, mid 80s for warm area, and 95-100 for the basking spot.

Sprawled is normal


This isn’t really tiredness this is the lack of energy to do anything. Your tortoise must be warm enough to be active and digest food. It isn’t. You must get this enclosure warmer.

Have we seen photos of your enclosure and lighting to check it over?

Attached are photos of the enclosure. I am working on trying to find an appropriate top for the enclosure. We normally take him out for natural sunlight 1 hr each day, which explains the lack of UVB setup.

I recommend you read the TFO care guides and compare them with your setup.

They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Baby Testudo Care - written about Russians but applies to Greeks
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
 

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Kaliman1962

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Joined
Jun 26, 2016
Messages
193
you need to close that up, I have a Greek tort too. at night i have 2 ceramic CHE's going, during the day its in the 90's. you can't hold any heat or humidity in an open table like that
 

chemprentice

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2017
Messages
253
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California (OC)
you need to close that up, I have a Greek tort too. at night i have 2 ceramic CHE's going, during the day its in the 90's. you can't hold any heat or humidity in an open table like that

Based on the hygrometer I have, the heat and humidity for the enclosure, even on cold nights, registers at 80F and 70% humidity (living in Southern California helps). I'm assuming that the coco coir is also more moist when he burrows into it for the night.
 

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