Looking for advice (sleeps a lot)

Lewis516

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Hi i was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. The last 3 days my hermann tortoise has got up eaten his food then slept under his heat light all day, he moves around changing positions. The temperature under his heat light is 35°c and the rest of the house is 20°c, i bathe him every other day. Even when I've woke him up he moved around for a bit then went back to sleep, the only time he really runs around is when i get home from work in the evening but its only for 30 mins or so. Thanks.
 

Grace-Sophia

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If it’s cold where you live it is very likely he is brumateing, it is a form of hibernation where the tortoise sleeps mostly all day and night but wakes up to eat drink and even change positions. They tend to do this during winter months.
 

Grace-Sophia

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I also just converted c into f because here in Texas we normally use farinheit for temps, 20 c which is 68 f is way too cold for the ambient temperature for a Hermann’s, it should be around 80 degrees F, that is problay why he spends all day under the light and sleeps because he is not warm enough, he is trying to maintain his body temp but he can’t. As a reasault his metabolism is so slow. You need to get that baby warmed up ASAP!!
 

Lewis516

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I currently have him in an indoor enclosure till i have a sutible outdoor one for him, can he still feel the weather change even if he's inside?
 

Lewis516

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Ive had him 8 months and hes never shown this behaviour before hes had sluggish days and very active days hes normally very active but since Wednesday hes been lazy.
 

Grace-Sophia

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I strongly belive he is sluggish because his enclosure is not warm enough, if you have him indoors and he was at the right temp most likely he wouldn’t be showing this behavior, they have ceramic heat bulbs that do not admit any light, you can have these on at night as well, but his enclosure is far from being warm enough.
 

Lewis516

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Yea ive seen thoes i have a heat mat and i insulate his hide at night keeping temps at 25°c at night
 

Grace-Sophia

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Fantastic! Info the heat at is on the bottom of the enclosure I recommend outing it on the side so he doesn’t get burned.
 

Yvonne G

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If it’s cold where you live it is very likely he is brumateing, it is a form of hibernation where the tortoise sleeps mostly all day and night but wakes up to eat drink and even change positions. They tend to do this during winter months.
Just a note of correction - a brumating tortoise doesn't eat or drink. If yours does he's not brumating and he's too cold for a healthy life.
 

Grace-Sophia

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Thank you Mrs. Yvonne, I do agree he is not brumating, he is just too cold.
 

Lewis516

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Id do it now but its 11 pm and everyone i live with is asleep, his hide is 26°c at the moment
 

KarenSoCal

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@Lewis516 and @Grace-Sophia

I would suggest you both read this thread. HermanniChris is an expert on Hermann's tortoises. The whole thread pertains to temps.

 

Lyn W

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This will also give you great advice on care for Hermanns.

If you post some pics of his enclosure and the lamps you use you'll get good advice on anything that may be affecting his behaviour - it's usually something we've done or not done. You may have been given old outdated care information so won't be aware of your mistakes, but experienced eyes can spot them straight away. We've all had to make changes and the sooner we've made them the better for the tort.
 
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