Large Sulcata sick or hibernating? (I didn't think they hibernated)

[TortoiseMomma]

We adopted an 85 pounder in September and love him! He has a large grass enclosure and we hand built and insulated a nice wooden shed for him, with both a reptile floor mat and a oil space heater mounted where he can't touch it, and monitor the temperatures of both to keep that mat in the mid 70s and the ambient temp in the mid-low 80s. Since the outdoor temps have dropped to the mid-low 50s he isn't leaving his nice warm shed, just seems to be sleeping a lot. My big concern is he hasn't come out to eat in about a week. Should we be worried??? When it was warmer he was coming out when the sun hit the yard around 10 am and eating, marching around or hanging out, just going in the shed when evening approached. Open to any and all comments/suggestions.

 

[TechnoCheese]

We adopted an 85 pounder in September and love him! He has a large grass enclosure and we hand built and insulated a nice wooden shed for him, with both a reptile floor mat and a oil space heater mounted where he can't touch it, and monitor the temperatures of both to keep that mat in the mid 70s and the ambient temp in the mid-low 80s. Since the outdoor temps have dropped to the mid-low 50s he isn't leaving his nice warm shed, just seems to be sleeping a lot. My big concern is he hasn't come out to eat in about a week. Should we be worried??? When it was warmer he was coming out when the sun hit the yard around 10 am and eating, marching around or hanging out, just going in the shed when evening approached. Open to any and all comments/suggestions.

I'm not sure about the rest, but you're right, sulcatas don't hibernate

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

It is pretty normal for them to slow down when the seasons change, but its not a good thing. Where they come from, there really isn't a cold winter. They evolved to deal with two seasons: Hot and hotter.

Some suggestions:

• Set ambient to mid 80s in the shed.
• Let the heat mat get up to around 100, so the big guy can get his body temp up above ambient.
• Make sure water is always clean and available with this higher electric heat.
• Add some fluorescent lighten to the inside of the shed to brighten things up. The changing seasonal light hues, and light duration in our temperate climate have as much effect or more on them than the dropping temperatures. Use bulbs in the 5000-6500K color range. It will show this on the packaging. 2500K bulbs are more common and they look too yellowish. Set the new bulbs on a timer to come on around 6am and stay on until 7:30pm.

These things should perk him up and get him hungry and moving again.

Post pics of the shed and your tortoise. Sometimes we see things in the pics that give us more ideas to offer.

 

[Hutsie B]

what about feeding him in his shed?

 

[TortoiseMomma]

Hello and welcome.

It is pretty normal for them to slow down when the seasons change, but its not a good thing. Where they come from, there really isn't a cold winter. They evolved to deal with two seasons: Hot and hotter.

Some suggestions:

• Set ambient to mid 80s in the shed.
• Let the heat mat get up to around 100, so the big guy can get his body temp up above ambient.
• Make sure water is always clean and available with this higher electric heat.
• Add some fluorescent lighten to the inside of the shed to brighten things up. The changing seasonal light hues, and light duration in our temperate climate have as much effect or more on them than the dropping temperatures. Use bulbs in the 5000-6500K color range. It will show this on the packaging. 2500K bulbs are more common and they look too yellowish. Set the new bulbs on a timer to come on around 6am and stay on until 7:30pm.

These things should perk him up and get him hungry and moving again.

Post pics of the shed and your tortoise. Sometimes we see things in the pics that give us more ideas to offer.

Thanks, will post pics tomorrow

 

[TortoiseMomma]

what about feeding him in his shed?

Tried that, no real interest in food, just seems sleepy. We're going to try the modifications Tom suggested and see if that indeed perks him up!

 

[Big Charlie]

The first year Charlie had his night box, he didn't come out for days either. He would ignore food if I put it inside. By the way, it didn't seem to do him any harm. They can go a long time without eating. This year, he still has days where he won't come out. Yesterday he stuck his nose out and stayed like that for hours before turning around and going back to bed. Today he is out. I don't know what the difference is; it is just as cold today as it was yesterday. He is less likely to come out if it is overcast or raining, although he doesn't mind rain if he is already out.