New to this!

[Bladesam]

Hi everyone,

I am Sam and I am from Sheffield in England. I got a Russian Tortoise name Sheldon in June last year! I love the little guy to bits, a picture is attached.

I am looking for advice as Sheldon has recently become very lethargic and am worried that this is due to the temperature. I have a UV basking light (Which I have had since I got him) and a heat lamp (which is about 6 months old). I am going to replace the UV bulb as soon as I possibly can as this may help. We have put his table right next to a radiator which we have on a low temperature in the mornings and the evenings, and the temperature is about 35 degrees in the warm side of the table.

Does anyone have any suggestions.

Many Thanks

Sam

 

[Bladesam]

Newbie to the Forum

Hi,

My name is Sam and I live in Sheffield, England (UK). I have a lovely little Russian Tortoise named Sheldon, whom I got in June last year from a registered breeder. Sheldon turns 1 in the next week.

I look forward to learning from everyone here, and will probably be posting soon about help that I need!!

Many Thanks

Sam & Sheldon!

 

[Yvonne G]

(Moderator note: Normally we just delete duplicate posts, however, Sam had more pictures and a bit more info in the duplicate, so I've left it)



Hi Sam:

Welcome to the Forum!

Sheldon is probably sensing the shorter days and cooler weather, and it triggers the brumate (hibernate) response in him. Make sure your light stays on for 14 hours per day, and don't allow the temp to get below 65F at night. The pen should have a cool end with the temps in the low 70'sF and a basking spot at 90-95°F. Night time temperature drops are needed. Mine do well with temps that drop down into the 60's at night. If they are kept too cool they can't digest their food. Too warm and they stop eating and aestivate (sort of like suspended animation).

 

[Bladesam]

Hi Yvonne,

Thank you for your advice, I've been leaving Sheldon's light on all day and all night, should i not be doing this? The house can get very cold and I don't want him to freeze at night! When I bathe him I try to get him to have a little walk but he has recently just been walking straight to a dark corner, where he falls asleep! Like I say I don't know whether to worry about him or not!

Cheers

Sam

 

[Yvonne G]

Buy a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) for use during the night time hours. It provides heat without light. Tortoises need a day/night cycle. You can buy a 100 watt CHE for around $25 (don't know the pound conversion, sorry).

Once a tortoise has decided he wants to hibernate, there's not a whole lot you can do to dissuade him. You may have to set him in a box of shredded paper in an out of the way spot for a couple of weeks and then wake him up slowly, tricking him into thinking he's had a good long sleep.

 

[Tom]

If you want them to stay up in winter, you've got to keep it warm and bright for them.

It would help if we knew your four temperatures. Warm side, cool side, basking spot and night.

They need it dark at night. If your home is too cold you can provide night heat with a ceramic heating element and a thermostat.

What type of UV bulb are you using? None of them give off much UV after 6 months and most of them quit by 3 months, even though the bulb still lights up just fine.

It might also help to keep him off the cold floor. Thats a dangerous place for a tortoise.

 

[Bladesam]

Hi Yvonne & Tom,

Yeah he is waking up though, he wakes up runs around his box for a bit then goes back to sleep, am not sure what he does while I am out at work! I have the heat lamp which only emits a red light, not a bright light. I will certainly change the UV bulb for him, it is a 100 watt bulb, and I thought it might not be emitting much heat. I will try to get the temperatures for you, and I will look into getting a ceramic heat emitter as soon as possible as well. Again I will take on board the advice about leaving him on the cold kitchen floor, would it help if I put him on the carpet with the fire on? He does always seem to settle himself under the radiator!

Thank you for your help, I hope he is alright!

Cheers

Sam

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Sam welcome to the TFO from AZ ,USA . It looks like your getting plenty of help . Good luck

 

[Yvonne G]

Hey, Sam:

A 100 watt UV light that doesn't emit much heat? Sounds like you've got the wrong kind of UV light there. The 100 watt bulbs should emit enough heat to get the spot directly under it up to about 100F degrees. Is it a coil bulb? If so, that might be the reason your tortoise stays hiding. The coil bulbs are hard on tortoises' eyes and should not be used for tortoises.

 

[Bladesam]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you all for your advice, I went straight out after work and purchased a Ceramic Heat Emitter, a thermostat and a new UV bulb (the old one was over 8 months old, so that was probably why it wasn't emitting any heat!) and I switched the uv lamp off last night. As a result Sheldon spent the night close to the ceramic heat emitter and was looking a lot more awake this morning and full of beans so I hope that he is happier now!

Thank you

Sam

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Sam, it's wonderful to get a new member here who is receptive to changing their habitat for the best for the tortoise, and then to get the improvement results update. Glad you're here with us, and well done you!!

 

[MaddieGA]

Love my Russian Tortoise too!

 

[kezilulu]

Hi Sam I'm from Manchester (UK) and I have a Russian named Sheldon too lol
I was having trouble with him being a little lethargic a couple of weeks ago, I changed his basking bulb and boom a totally different more active tortoise, it's amazing how much difference a tiny change (well tiny to us) can make a massive difference!
Hope all your adjustments help! The guys on here are so helpful and can really calm you down in a (in your mind) crisis! (I'm speaking from experience!) so keep asking questions and reading posts, that's what I do!
xXx

---

P.S here's my Sheldon!
xXx