I think my tort is sleeping wayyyy too much.

[robyn.gaw]

Hi. I got a hermann tortoise about a week ago and he is very young (a hatchling and only a few months i think). i turn his lights on at 7:30am as i leave for school at 7:40am and no one else is in the house. I have been told i could put them on a timer but i was also told that if they are turned on first thing in the morning it will blow the bulb so im not doing that. I then turn them off at 7:30pm. I have a camera set up to make sure he is ok during the day and i have noticed that he doesn’t get up until about 4pm. This was not the case when i first got him and in the first few days without fail he was waking up at 10:15 ish. However, for some reason he has been waking up really late and he usually goes to bed at 6:30pm. I know this can be down to lighting and temperatures and the temperature in the enclosure is roughly 25°C in the cool side and 30°-35° in the basking side. If this is down to temperatures please tell me how to fix it. i have a basking lamp and a normal light - both given to me by the reptile shop. I don’t want to hear that “most people that sell reptiles don’t know what they’re doing” as the place i bought him from was very professional and the animals were well cared for as the owner knew his stuff. I also put out food which is usually just leave greens before i leave for school in the morning and he always has fresh water. I’m not sure if he is actually waking up at that time but there is no sign of him on the camera outside his bridge that he sleeps under until about 4pm when i get home at about 4:15pm, so always it could be at the fault of the camera that maybe doesn’t pick him up but i doubt that. Please give me advice and if it is something to do with the lighting pls tell me how to fix it and what to get. Thank you

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello! Babies do tend to sleep more than adults, however if we could get a little more information that would be very helpful! Your temperatures don’t sound too bad. But I would still definitely get your bulbs on timers, that thing about them blowing has nothing to do with a timer, it keeps your tortoise in routine which they like, different timings, even slight, can be stressful for them.

What kind of basking bulb do you have? Packaging photos would be good.
What’s the other light you’re using?
Do you use any indoor uv? If so, what kind?
What are your humidity levels? Are they in a closed chamber?
What are you using for substrate?
How’s their diet been with you?

If we could get a photo of your full set up that would be great! Along with one of your tortoise🙂

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Just checked your other thread. Did you make the amendments mentioned there?🙂

 

[robyn.gaw]

Hello! Babies do tend to sleep more than adults, however if we could get a little more information that would be very helpful! Your temperatures don’t sound too bad. But I would still definitely get your bulbs on timers, that thing about them blowing has nothing to do with a timer, it keeps your tortoise in routine which they like, different timings, even slight, can be stressful for them.

What kind of basking bulb do you have? Packaging photos would be good.
What’s the other light you’re using?
Do you use any indoor uv? If so, what kind?
What are your humidity levels? Are they in a closed chamber?
What are you using for substrate?
How’s their diet been with you?

If we could get a photo of your full set up that would be great! Along with one of your tortoise🙂

This is his enclosure. i have been told pellets aren’t good so i will be changing those out but the humidity levels are all good. That’s the baking bulb i use and I also use another just normal light i think also shown in the pictures ( i lowered the brightness so you could see it it’s not usually that dark). he wasn’t eating a lot but i put out curly kale and watercress and rocket but he isn’t eating a whole bunch. i bath him once a day for 20 mins. Also i would like to add that when i got home today he was awake (it looked like he had been awake for about 30 mins) and then when i came back up to see him after a few more mins he was asleep again, burrowed under the pellets. P.S that is not how much i have been putting out for him i just gave him that on the first day as im not sure how much he would eat and i later discovered that he wasn’t eating anything until much later in the second day. i still dont think he is eating very much but i make sure enough is put out. Also (im sorry this is a lot of questions) i was wondering maybe he is bored in his enclosure and i have heard of letting them roam around your room which i am doing right now. i would love to know if this is ok and if so when should i put him back to make sure he isn’t too cold as his enclosure isn’t on the ground so he cant go back in himself. thank you so much

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Humidity for a baby as young as yours needs to be 80+ 24/7 to aid in smooth growth, the humidity you have currently will be ok once they are an adult. Once you get substrate switched to coco coir or orchid bark, that should improve as you’ve got them in a closed set up. To maintain it moving forward once you’ve got better substrate, pour some lukewarm water into it so the bottom layer is nice and damp, humidity will last much longer that way.

Your basking bulb looks fine, but if that’s a coil uv bulb, it needs removing.
For indoor uv you want a t5 tube fluorescent bulb. The Arcadia prot5 12% is the one you want to go for. Mounted 18-20 inches from the top of the tortoises shell. That can be on a separate 4hour timer from the 12hour timer your basking and ambient lighting is on.

Don’t worry, no such thing as too many questions! It’s not a good idea to let them indoor free roam no. There’s just numerous reasons it isn’t a good idea unfortunately, harmful floor cleaners, foreign objects being swallowed, getting stuck under things they shouldn’t like shelving or sofas, low temperatures, no uv, getting hit by doors, one member has mentioned they knew someone who’s tort got their head crushed in a door jam😣, flipping hazards, smooth services, the list goes on and is endless.

Hazards aside, our homes don’t mimic the natural outdoors they are from, being outside of an environment that feels natural to them can be very stressful. They feel most comfortable and safe in a space thats meeting all their environmental needs, so an appropriate sized enclosure is always the ultimate goal once they are an adult🙂

For the colder months, you’re likely going to need a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) it’s a non light emitting bulb, you set it on a thermostat for a night temperature, place the probe in the corner furthest from the bulb, and let it run 24/7, the thermostat will turn it on/off as and when needed to make sure your enclosure isn’t getting too cold at night. It also helps make up ambient heat when the basking bulb isn’t enough.

I go over all this in this thread below with some photo examples, give it a read and let me know if you have any further questions on it😊

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

tortoiseforum.org