Hiding and not eating

[Shelbyshel]

Hi guys hope you can help. I got a 5 year old Hermans in April. She settled down well and has always been a good but fussy eater. However just over a week ago she stopped eating. She hid in her bedding covered area in the cool part. Thought the air temp was too hot so moved table to another room. Still not eating or basking. Today she completely buried herself under the coconut substrate. I have been bathing her every day but as soon as I put her back she hides. She refuses her favourite foods Dandilions and small pieces of peach. Really worried about her. Any advice please.

 

[method89]

what are your temps inside her enclosure?

i would stop feeding her peaches as thats not part of their normal diet.

Pictures will help provide better answers

 

[Shelbyshel]

was at 70 but now about 62

 

[Shelbyshel]

was at 70 but now about 62

She normally burrows in the top right hand corner of her bedding area (no heat) but today she was completely buried under substrate by the log on the far right.

 

[method89]

I'm assuming Fahrenheit.

ambient temps should be 80-85 fahrenheit with a basking of 95-100.

62 is too cold for normal... occasional dips would fine but as an everyday it can cause the symptoms you are seeing now . she may be trying to brumate. give the care sheet below a good read

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Shelbyshel]

I'm assuming Fahrenheit.

ambient temps should be 80-85 fahrenheit with a basking of 95-100.

62 is too cold for normal... occasional dips would fine but as an everyday it can cause the symptoms you are seeing now . she may be trying to brumate. give the care sheet below a good read

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Thanks for that. I will get her table up to temp. it was OK before she started this behaviour. I have tried numerous tortoise foods but she refuses. Any idea how to get her to accept these. She is slightly underweight for hibernation according to Jacobs table. Is this a problem.? I have a UVA UVB bulb which is dimmable but she doesn't seem to like any of the settings.

 

[Tom]

Thanks for that. I will get her table up to temp. it was OK before she started this behaviour. I have tried numerous tortoise foods but she refuses. Any idea how to get her to accept these. She is slightly underweight for hibernation according to Jacobs table. Is this a problem.? I have a UVA UVB bulb which is dimmable but she doesn't seem to like any of the settings.

Those temps were never okay. The tortoise was merely surviving. Tortoises require external warmth to function. It takes a while for cold temps to do them in.

Another problem is that your enclosure is way too small. Tortoises need large enclosures. Locomotion helps them digest their food. Cramp them in a tiny box, and it slows down the intestinal tract, which makes them lose appetite. 4 of those enclosures joined together would be the minimum. 244x122 cm is what you are after as a minimum. And letting the tortoise loose on the floor is dangerous and not an adequate solution. A large outdoor pen can help, but the indoor enclosure needs to be large too.

Finally, what type of UV bulb are you using that is dimmable. I've never heard of any that are dimmable. With out a UV source, long term problems can occur. Does the tortoise have an outdoor enclosure for sunshine in warm weather? Additionally, the enclosure looks very dark. Tortoises live outside in the bright sunshine.
There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb.
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT.
3. Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html

 

[Shelbyshel]

Those temps were never okay. The tortoise was merely surviving. Tortoises require external warmth to function. It takes a while for cold temps to do them in.

Another problem is that your enclosure is way too small. Tortoises need large enclosures. Locomotion helps them digest their food. Cramp them in a tiny box, and it slows down the intestinal tract, which makes them lose appetite. 4 of those enclosures joined together would be the minimum. 244x122 cm is what you are after as a minimum. And letting the tortoise loose on the floor is dangerous and not an adequate solution. A large outdoor pen can help, but the indoor enclosure needs to be large too.

Finally, what type of UV bulb are you using that is dimmable. I've never heard of any that are dimmable. With out a UV source, long term problems can occur. Does the tortoise have an outdoor enclosure for sunshine in warm weather? Additionally, the enclosure looks very dark. Tortoises live outside in the bright sunshine.
There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb.
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT.
3. Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html

Thanks Tom, I meant that the temp in her enclosure was higher and within range before she stopped eating. I have a slate under the basking lamp for her. She does have access to an outdoor run and we also let her wander round the garden (closely supervised) as weather permits. we moved her there because someone said the air temp was too hot so moved her to this cooler room. I have a heat pad in part of her enclosure and part of her bedding area is this OK. it was the setup her previous owner had. Should I get something larger to cover a greater area? think I need to move her back to her original position too. It looks like I need to get a LED light too. This is where she is currently hiding. I have changed the bulb

 

[Tom]

Thanks Tom, I meant that the temp in her enclosure was higher and within range before she stopped eating. I have a slate under the basking lamp for her. She does have access to an outdoor run and we also let her wander round the garden (closely supervised) as weather permits. we moved her there because someone said the air temp was too hot so moved her to this cooler room. I have a heat pad in part of her enclosure and part of her bedding area is this OK. it was the setup her previous owner had. Should I get something larger to cover a greater area? think I need to move her back to her original position too. It looks like I need to get a LED light too. This is where she is currently hiding. I have changed the bulb

Heat mats shouldn't be used under tortoises. They aren't safe. Overhead heating is the way to go, if more ambient heat is needed.

 

[Shelbyshel]

Heat mats shouldn't be used under tortoises. They aren't safe. Overhead heating is the way to go, if more ambient heat is needed.

Hi there I can’t find Radiant heat pan

Heat mats shouldn't be used under tortoises. They aren't safe. Overhead heating is the way to go, if more ambient heat is needed.

Am I doing worse by waking her up or should I leave her for a bit till I get a ceramic heat emitter as called here. Should I continue to bath her. I have moved table to brighter room. What about eating?

 

[Tom]

Hi there I can’t find Radiant heat pan

Am I doing worse by waking her up or should I leave her for a bit till I get a ceramic heat emitter as called here. Should I continue to bath her. I have moved table to brighter room. What about eating?

You can also use a ceramic heating element. Run it on a thermostat to control ambient temp.

If temps are correct, then I would wake the tortoise up, soak it, and put it back in front of the food after the soak while you leave the area and keep things quiet for a bit.

 

[Shelbyshel]

You can also use a ceramic heating element. Run it on a thermostat to control ambient temp.

If temps are correct, then I would wake the tortoise up, soak it, and put it back in front of the food after the soak while you leave the area and keep things quiet for a bit.

Great thanks I will sort that out. I appreciate all the advice