Hermann Tortoise acting hiding a lot and eating slightly less.

Rocky219

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My 3-4 year old Hermann Tortoise Rocky has been hiding more than usual for a little more than 2 weeks. I moved a week ago but he was still acting strange before then. The amount he has hides seems to be increasing as the days go by. He also doesn't sleep when he is hiding, he just sits there. The basking temp was too hot at 108f but that was a while ago and since then I have raised the light up and now the basking spot is usually between 97 and 101f. The temp throughout the enclosure in the low 80s. I ordered a lower wattage light for him too see if it is too hot. The night temps are between 71 and 74f.
He has a fresh water bowl and gets bathed 2-3 times a week. He also has a humid hide. The humidity throughout the enclosure never goes below 45%. I have a 10.0 reptisun T5 UVB light.
He has been eating slightly less but is still eating daily. He always has food available. I am starting to feed him safe summer foods but so far I only found one food that I can give him which is mallow. Other than that I give him Escarole, curly endive, baby arugula, and cilantro (Although he doesn't eat much cilantro). I also dust his food with calcium twice a week and I ordered some cuttlebone to put in the enclosure. I do Mazrui 2 times a week. He will be in his outdoor enclosure very soon once his log arrives (In 2 days). Any responses are much appreciated.
 

Yvonne G

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First thing to check is the temperature in the enclosure. They don't eat if they're not warm enough. If that's ok then make sure your UVB light is putting out UVB.
 

Rocky219

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First thing to check is the temperature in the enclosure. They don't eat if they're not warm enough. If that's ok then make sure your UVB light is putting out UVB.
Thank you for responding. I turned the temp up and he did come out and eat. The UVB light is and producing light, is that what you mean? Do they sometimes only produce light and not UVB?
 

Krista S

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Thank you for responding. I turned the temp up and he did come out and eat. The UVB light is and producing light, is that what you mean? Do they sometimes only produce light and not UVB?
UV blubs only produce UV for a period of time and then they start to weaken. They will continue to produce light long after the UV has tapered off. The only way to know for sure if your bulb is still good, is to test with a Solarmeter (6.5 or 6.5r are the only ones recommended for our purposes). If you don’t want to invest in the Solarmeter, then the your UV bulb should be replaced every 6 months to 1 year. The other important thing is to not have the UV light sitting on screen or mesh (from a lid) or anything like that, because it will filter out most of the UV.
 

Rocky219

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Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
UV blubs only produce UV for a period of time and then they start to weaken. They will continue to produce light long after the UV has tapered off. The only way to know for sure if your bulb is still good, is to test with a Solarmeter (6.5 or 6.5r are the only ones recommended for our purposes). If you don’t want to invest in the Solarmeter, then the your UV bulb should be replaced every 6 months to 1 year. The other important thing is to not have the UV light sitting on screen or mesh (from a lid) or anything like that, because it will filter out most of the UV.
Okay thank you. It is not sitting on a mesh screen or anything like that so I think that I will replace the UVB.
 

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