Last month we bought our yearling Heramanns indoors after spending all summer outside. He now buries himself as far from the heat and lamp as possible and will stay buried for days at a time. If I bring him out he will happily eat for 20 minutes and they go hide for days. The house is about 63-65 degrees now but the enclosure is heated and there is also a basking lamp. We chose not to hibernate him this year because he had an early run-in with a dog and has a small puncture wound in the shell. The wound has been healing well for the past 5 months but we thought it would be best to keep him up this winter. Ideas?
Is my Hermanns trying to hibernate?
- Thread starter koop
- Start date
- Status
He might just be worried about his new space. They sometimes go "off their feed" when moved out of familiar surroundings.
If you don't want him to hibernate, keep the lights on for at least 14 hours per day. Take him out of his hiding place throughout the day and place him at the far end from it, making him walk all the way back to hide. Make sure its warm enough and don't let the night time temps get down into the winter range.
If you don't want him to hibernate, keep the lights on for at least 14 hours per day. Take him out of his hiding place throughout the day and place him at the far end from it, making him walk all the way back to hide. Make sure its warm enough and don't let the night time temps get down into the winter range.
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2007
- Messages
- 206
Hi Koop. I think this tortoise needs lots of heat and light to be convinced its really still summer. If you don't want this tortoise to hibernate then I think it would be best to try and get him more active and feeding daily again. Otherwise he could slip into a state between wakefull and hibernation and you don't want that.
You might want to keep the tortoise in a confined area nearer to plenty of heat and light for a week at least. This will almost always have the effect of speeding the tortoise up. If you decide to do this the tortoise must have access to shade and a hiding place, but not in the cold. I would be looking to keep this tortoise in a place that is at least 70F including at night. Otherwise he will take his cue that it is time to wind down.
Remember when we bring a tortoise indoors there is a massive reduction in the amount of light they get. Even with very powerful lighting it's gloomy to their eyes which are geared up for Mediterranean light levels. The tortoise sees less brightness and takes that as an indication of approaching winter.
You might want to keep the tortoise in a confined area nearer to plenty of heat and light for a week at least. This will almost always have the effect of speeding the tortoise up. If you decide to do this the tortoise must have access to shade and a hiding place, but not in the cold. I would be looking to keep this tortoise in a place that is at least 70F including at night. Otherwise he will take his cue that it is time to wind down.
Remember when we bring a tortoise indoors there is a massive reduction in the amount of light they get. Even with very powerful lighting it's gloomy to their eyes which are geared up for Mediterranean light levels. The tortoise sees less brightness and takes that as an indication of approaching winter.
- Status
