Greek Tortoise More Active At Night?

[Long Island Greek]

Hi my name is Kevin and I have a male greek tortoise named Oogway. I have noticed that Oogway becomes extremely active after I shut off his UVB compact fluorescent bulb. His enclosure is a 54 gallon storage unit 44Lx22Wx18H. I have two seperate infrared red heat bulbs a 150watt and a 100watt I alternate between the two, they are never on simultaneously and the basking and warmer portion of his enclosure is always between 85-110F. For Uvb as mentioned I use a compact coil florescent with a dome lamp. He has a large water dish and plenty of tromping room and during the day if weather permits I supervise him outside for 10-20 minutes to get exercise. He lives primarily in the indoor enclosure due to regional temperature restraints (Long Island New York).

My question is this why does he get so active after his Uvb which is the source of his light gets turned off for his nighttime cycle? His temperature is relatively constant so what could be causing him to be so active? Thank you for all your help its greatly appreciated

 

[GBtortoises]

The heat lamps are on at night? If your tortoise is exposed to that kind of heat day and night the reason that it may be active when the daylight is turned off is that it may percieve the light going out as the sun going down (or behind clouds) and comes out to be active then. What is the temperature during the daytime at the coolest end of the enclosure? What is the temperature at night? Ambient humidity?

The day/night temperature should not be constant. For Middle Eastern Greek subspecies there should be at least a 10-15 degree temperature differential.

CFLs as a source of UV are not recommended for use with tortoises and lizards. A study was done a few years ago that indicated that over exposure to the UV created by CFLs can cause retina damage to some reptiles.

 

[Long Island Greek]

The heat lamps are on at night? If your tortoise is exposed to that kind of heat day and night the reason that it may be active when the daylight is turned off is that it may percieve the light going out as the sun going down (or behind clouds) and comes out to be active then. What is the temperature during the daytime at the coolest end of the enclosure? What is the temperature at night? Ambient humidity?

The day/night temperature should not be constant. For Middle Eastern Greek subspecies there should be at least a 10-15 degree temperature differential.

CFLs as a source of UV are not recommended for use with tortoises and lizards. A study was done a few years ago that indicated that over exposure to the UV created by CFLs can cause retina damage to some reptiles.

During the day I use the 150 watt red infrared bulb which makes the warm end of his enclosure high 90's low 100's then at night I switch to the 100 watt which makes it high 80's low 90's.( I have kept the heat up due to the fact he was sneezing and showing some symptoms of an upper respiratory infection and without the heat from the bulbs my rooms temperature is around 70-75F.) My humidity gauge is not very accurate but it reads between 30-50. Instead of compact coil fluorescent what type of UVB would be best for him? Thank you for all your help

 

[GBtortoises]

The night time temperatures are much, much too warm. It should be in the 60-68 degree range. Sneezing is absolutely not a symptom of URI or RNS. Sneezing in tortoises, as in humans, is caused by an irritant in the nasal passage. This can be caused by excessive dryness, particulates in the air and other similar causes. Symptoms of URI are: open mouth, gaping breathing where the tortoise appears to be struggling to intake or exhale air; very often an excessive clear or in worse cases, yellowish nasal discharge from the nose and sometime around the eyes; often swollen, puffy looking eyes; loss of appetite and initially constant water intake.
Humidity is absolutely important, even with a Middle Eastern species such as yours. While it is perceived that they come from a dry region in the wild, which may be somewhat true, they seek higher humidity areas during extremely dry periods in order to reduce body mass through dehydration. In captivity they can only take advantage of what we provide for them. Keeping them in a constant hot, dry environment causes them to be in a constant struggle to attempt to maintain their body hydration and mass. The minimum ambient humidity should be in the 45% for Middle Eastern Greeks in captivity. 50-60% being much better. Even a bit higher is fine as long as the temperatures don't drop below 55 degrees at night. A reliable digital humidity gauge can be found at any hardware or big box store. I personally use several Springfield brand model 91551 thermometer/hygrometer combination units for years and am very happy with them. They sell for about $10-14 each.
A better choice for a UV source would be a tube type flourescent designed for reptiles. This not only provides a safer form of UV production but also has the advantage of lighting the entire enclosure better during the day. Along with a standard incandescent bulb of 40, 60 watt (higher if need be) to produce a basking temperature directly under the center of the beam of about 95-105 degrees. The combination of the two types of lighting allows for excellent overall heat and light as well as the ability to make alterations to either one in terms of wattage and mounting distance.

 

[Long Island Greek]

The night time temperatures are much, much too warm. It should be in the 60-68 degree range. Sneezing is absolutely not a symptom of URI or RNS. Sneezing in tortoises, as in humans, is caused by an irritant in the nasal passage. This can be caused by excessive dryness, particulates in the air and other similar causes. Symptoms of URI are: open mouth, gaping breathing where the tortoise appears to be struggling to intake or exhale air; very often an excessive clear or in worse cases, yellowish nasal discharge from the nose and sometime around the eyes; often swollen, puffy looking eyes; loss of appetite and initially constant water intake.
Humidity is absolutely important, even with a Middle Eastern species such as yours. While it is perceived that they come from a dry region in the wild, which may be somewhat true, they seek higher humidity areas during extremely dry periods in order to reduce body mass through dehydration. In captivity they can only take advantage of what we provide for them. Keeping them in a constant hot, dry environment causes them to be in a constant struggle to attempt to maintain their body hydration and mass. The minimum ambient humidity should be in the 45% for Middle Eastern Greeks in captivity. 50-60% being much better. Even a bit higher is fine as long as the temperatures don't drop below 55 degrees at night. A reliable digital humidity gauge can be found at any hardware or big box store. I personally use several Springfield brand model 91551 thermometer/hygrometer combination units for years and am very happy with them. They sell for about $10-14 each.
A better choice for a UV source would be a tube type flourescent designed for reptiles. This not only provides a safer form of UV production but also has the advantage of lighting the entire enclosure better during the day. Along with a standard incandescent bulb of 40, 60 watt (higher if need be) to produce a basking temperature directly under the center of the beam of about 95-105 degrees. The combination of the two types of lighting allows for excellent overall heat and light as well as the ability to make alterations to either one in terms of wattage and mounting distance.

Wow thank you so much for sharing so much of your knowledge, I have been very stressed that he did have an URI but his energy and appetite were good and there was never any colored discharge. Do you recommend the tube fluorescent ReptiSun 10.0 bulbs? My girlfriend uses them for her bearded dragon but I wasn't sure if they were suitable for tortoises as well. Thank you also for the tip about where to get a better humidity gauge i have been using the cheap dial ones up until now. Thank you for all the info I just want to provide Oogway with the best indoor enclosure possible.

 

[GBtortoises]

The Reptisun 10.0 are designed more a true dessert species. I've always used just the 5.0 bulbs with Testudo species, even those from the Middle East. I'm not certain what effect the difference has. I haven't ever used 10.0 lamps so I don't know anything about them.

 

[Long Island Greek]

The Reptisun 10.0 are designed more a true dessert species. I've always used just the 5.0 bulbs with Testudo species, even those from the Middle East. I'm not certain what effect the difference has. I haven't ever used 10.0 lamps so I don't know anything about them.

Well thank you so much yeah as soon as finances permit I will purchase and switch his UVB to a 5.0 tube fluorescent. Thank you again, also by any chance do you recognize what subspecies he is?