Is 50% sleeping normal?

[ElizaB]

I’ve had my Hermann since fall 2022. He’s 2 1/2 years.
His enclosure is 4ft by 6ft. Tha basking temp is generally 82-85 F and other parts of his enclosure a little cooler. He has a diffuser filled with water that serves as a mister and a water dish/dinner plate he can crawl through; I spritz his place two a a day with a spray bottle and occasionally add a little water to keep the substrate adequately humid. It’s a very dry climate here.
I’m in northern Canada but the days are getting longer, he’s located by a large window and also has uv lights set on a timer and everything recommended to me by Todd from this forum.
On a typical day he gets up at noon, eats, walks around, naps, poops, eats, and calls it quits by 6 pm. He burrows down under into the substrate.
Once every two months or so he has a lazy day where he stays in bed till supper, has a snack and goes back to bed.
Is this all normal or should I be concerned?

He doesn’t seem to have any parasites and has a (hopefully) normal appetite, isn’t sluggish for a tortoise and shows a healthy curiosity when I put my hand in his enclosure. Is his temp too low?

 

[Krista S]

Hi there.

It sounds like temps are too low. The basking spot should be closer to 95. Ambient temp on the warm side is ok at 80. I’m in Sask, so I know the struggle and took me a couple of winters to get things figured out so my little Eastern Hermann’s didn’t sleep all winter too. Ultimately, my temps were just a little too cool but for my little guy, the big difference maker was adding additional lighting. Maybe show a couple pics of your enclosure and how it’s set up with lighting, etc. What are you using to monitor temperature on the warm and cool zones and are you measuring it at tortoise level? What is the average temps in the cooler areas. Do you have slate under your basking light? That will help get that basking temp up to where you need it.

 

[Tom]

I’ve had my Hermann since fall 2022. He’s 2 1/2 years.
His enclosure is 4ft by 6ft. Tha basking temp is generally 82-85 F and other parts of his enclosure a little cooler. He has a diffuser filled with water that serves as a mister and a water dish/dinner plate he can crawl through; I spritz his place two a a day with a spray bottle and occasionally add a little water to keep the substrate adequately humid. It’s a very dry climate here.
I’m in northern Canada but the days are getting longer, he’s located by a large window and also has uv lights set on a timer and everything recommended to me by Todd from this forum.
On a typical day he gets up at noon, eats, walks around, naps, poops, eats, and calls it quits by 6 pm. He burrows down under into the substrate.
Once every two months or so he has a lazy day where he stays in bed till supper, has a snack and goes back to bed.
Is this all normal or should I be concerned?

He doesn’t seem to have any parasites and has a (hopefully) normal appetite, isn’t sluggish for a tortoise and shows a healthy curiosity when I put my hand in his enclosure. Is his temp too low?

Good advice from Krista. She will help get you sorted out.