I think my tortoise wants to hibernate, but I don't think it's right for him this year, what do I do?

[olavee]

I have this little guy almost for a year, he was born in September 2019 I think. In summer he had some parasites (he got treated at vet's office ofc) and I don't think I should hibernate him this year, I don't think I gathered enough info about this and I don't think vet would approve it, since it's first year and he was sick, not so long ago.

I started seeing him not eating. Almost nothing was touched by him, he nibbled on some of it when I put him in his eating bowl, but he just went to sleep. He sleeps all day, ussually he starts walking around in his enclousure about 1 hour after I turned on lights, but he doesn't seem to wake up until 5 hours after I turned on lights. He is in the same enclosure, with same substrate and all for a month and so on. I didn't change anything with heat etc, but he seems to want to sleep and sleep. Warm side in his enclousure is around 34-35 degrees C and cool side 24-25 degrees C. He eats same plants for months, plants I'm growing for him (aloe, geranium, african violet, spider plant mostly). He is less responsive, doesn't want to do anything but sleeping, he hides a lot etc. I think only one thing changed, that I'm home less, but when I am he acts differnt than before.

A week ago he was active and walking around his enclosure, exploring, eating, but he doesn't even want to do it anymore.

What should I do?

 

[JoesMum]

You don’t give it us a species or a weight so we have nothing to give an opinion on.

If you want to keep your tort awake for the winter you have to have summer indoors. The lights must be on full and bright for 12-14 hours. Use a timer.

It should be 35-37C directly under the basking lamp (which must hang vertically not be at an angle). You may need additional LED lighting in the winter to compensate for darker days and make it brighter without affecting temperature.

At night, temperatures must not drop too low. What this low temperature is depends on the species and the age/size of your tortoise.

To keep temperatures up when the lights are off use a Ceramic Heat Emitter with a thermostat. This can be left running 24/7 as it will only cut in when necessary.

Photos of your enclosure and lighting will help us to help you further.

 

[olavee]

He is a russian tortoise, weighs 37g he had this lighting and tempertures for a couple of months (it's really cold from September and nothing changed) I think it could be temp, I will lower the lamp. If you have any sugestions I will gladly take them.

 

[JoesMum]

At 37g your tortoise is far too small to hibernate safely. He needs to be 400g plus.

He’s only a baby so must have steady warmth (not below 27C) day and night and high humidity.

To achieve this you must have a lid of some sort on the enclosure (cut round the lamp if necessary).

The substrate must be damp. Take the decor out and tip water in from a jug. Mix it thoroughly with your hands until all of it is evenly damp, not wet, right to the bottom and into the corners.

Give this thread a read about how to raise a baby Russian like yours. It’s written by one of our species experts who is working hard to correct the outdated information that’s in circulation on the internet and from pet shops and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Baby Russian Tortoise care sheet (also for other herbivorous tortoise species)

Baby Russian tortoises have very similar needs to adult Russian tortoises. A requirement of higher humidity and hydration is the main difference. With good humidity, UVB, and healthy food, your tortoise will grow healthily and smoothly. If kept too dry, they will have irregular, pyramided shell...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Sarah2020]

37g must be wrong. Check your scales with a bag of sugar or a known weight. Definatly no hibernation this year. Please read care sheets and review heat, light , humidity, substrate, water and fresh wet food with green leaves. I have a Russian 1 month younger aug 2019 and current weight is 160g and growing.... so there is something wrong.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

39 grams at over a year old? That can't be right, or something is definitely wrong.