Quiet tortoise!!

[Kia Sumner]

I have a 7 month old Spur Thighed tortoise and she has a good size hand made wooden home and some days she is walking round and round the space and then for the past fews days she has hardly moved and doesn't eat, if she does eat it's only a few bits...not like she would normally. I'm getting worried, what do you guys think?

 

[wellington]

What are temps day, night, basking, etc. what is humidity, substrate, diet. What are you using to read the temps? What kind of lighting are you using? Picture of enclosure would also help

 

[Kia Sumner]

Minimum has been 20°c and max has been 25°c or 26°c from the basking lamp. I have a uvb also. She has Kale, cucumber, pellets, grapes, carrot, lavateria leaves. I have a thermometer. But this pic I don't have the uvb up

 

[Yvonne G]

Take a look at your light. See how it is projecting onto the far wall? That means your heat is directed to a wall, and not down to the substrate where your tortoise is. I know those clamp light fixtures are handy, but they just aren't any good when it comes to heating a habitat. Figure out a way to hang the light so it projects it's heat down at the tortoise.

The most common cause for a tortoise to stop eating is because he isn't warm enough.

 

[Tyanna]

The diet is not good either.

@Tom always posts this list, which is great:

Other items that are good for tortoises:
Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many... but here are a few to start with:
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

 

[Kia Sumner]

I am planning to sort the light out so it hangs.
And as for her diet, I haven't had her long so I have been wanting to try more food, it's just finding it. I have a fact sheet of what they can and can't eat

 

[Tom]

25 C is good for the ambient temp during the day, but the basking area needs to be around 36-37 for 12 hours a day. You tortoise can't digest its food if it can't get warm enough. This is actually dangerous. The food could rot in the gut. You need to get this sorted out right away. A larger wattage bulb would help immediately, and of course pointing the bulb in the correct direction too.

 

[Kia Sumner]

Okay, I've just got a 100 watt bulb and will be pointing it downwards

 

[Kia Sumner]

As u can see in the picture...The wood wall on the left..she in now walking up and down there and scratching it, done it a few times

 

[Tyanna]

How are you monitoring the temps? A temp gun, digital thermometer?

 

[Kia Sumner]

This bulb is really good that u have. Raises temp really well. U say that they need 36-37 for 12 hours a day. How am I suppose to achieve that when no one is home from 9 am till 6 pm and I don't feel comfortable leaving the light on during the day when no one is home. Cautions of a fire or something.