Nightime Temps for Little Guy

[SmileyKylie623]

Hey all!
As usual I am being an over worried tortie mommy. I have a temp gun and at night the temps have been ranging anywhere from 66-74. (Different parts of the enclosure are at different temps). Is this ok for my little 4 month old Vygo?
Also, he tends to always burrow down in the same spot every night and never seems to go near either of his hides. Should I move one of the hides over this favorite hiding spot or just let him do his thing?

Thanks!

 

[bigred]

Hey all!
As usual I am being an over worried tortie mommy. I have a temp gun and at night the temps have been ranging anywhere from 66-74. (Different parts of the enclosure are at different temps). Is this ok for my little 4 month old Vygo?
Also, he tends to always burrow down in the same spot every night and never seems to go near either of his hides. Should I move one of the hides over this favorite hiding spot or just let him do his thing?

Thanks!

If it were me I would probably keep a young tort warmer than that. I have never owned russian torts before so maybe someone with more experience will come along soon. I try to keep young tortoises warm to avoid any problems

 

[Spn785]

Actually, I would say a little cooler, Russian Tortoises need it in the low 60s to high 50s (58-64) at night. I wouldn't bother moving one of the hides, because then he will probably just move his burrowing spot.

 

[GotTort]

I live in Phoenix and inside temps at night don't get below 70 or high 60's. do I need to find a way to make indoor enclosure cooler?

 

[Spn785]

I would say yes. If there isn't a big enough cool down, the tortoise won't have the period of inactivity they need. You can have a healthy tortoise without the cool down, but it is still better to have it. I live in Missouri and have a window air conditioning unit set up for my tortoise.

 

[lynnedit]

Yes, you certainly don't need night heating!
60's would be OK, and it might be that temps were your tort has chosen to burrow are actually lower down in the soil.
Does your tort come out to bask in the morning? is he active? eating?

 

[GotTort]

I don't have a tort yet (despite my username). Still obsessively planning things out.

 

[lynnedit]

Well, good for you then! That's the way to do it.

 

[SmileyKylie623]

Yes, you certainly don't need night heating!
60's would be OK, and it might be that temps were your tort has chosen to burrow are actually lower down in the soil.
Does your tort come out to bask in the morning? is he active? eating?

He comes out about 8am every morning and basks. He is very active, always looking for a way out! And he eats very well.
He burrows at about 7pm every night after I feed him a small dinner (He gets most of his food in the morning which I throw in in the morning before I go to work or school and then I hand feed him a little when I get home). So unfortunately I miss most of the parts of the day where he is active but when I am home on weekends he is crazy running around most of the day. Is this 11 hour period too much down time? Should I be worried?
Other than that he seems like he is doing very well!

 

[lynnedit]

He sounds VERY healthy. They tend to burrow for quite awhile overnight, that's normal.

 

[SmileyKylie623]

He sounds VERY healthy. They tend to burrow for quite awhile overnight, that's normal.

Yay! Thank you!