Russian Tort trying to hibernate?

[To-To]

My tortoise pen is roughly an 10 by 8 enclosure consisting of rocks, plastic feeding area (for easy cleaning and to prevent accidental substrate meals) a water dish, and 2 boxes (for him to explore and sleep)
Recently he has been inside of his smaller box most of the day, only movement seen is re-adjusting himself
I seen him look outside his box awake so i gave him food, he was much more startled than normal, i put him near his food and went about my business, when i turned his heat lamp off i noticed his food was untouched and he was inside his box, again
is he trying to hibernate?

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Quite possibly, yes .
Where are you located ?
How long have you had him ?

 

[To-To]

I have had him for two years, and im located in kentucky
i got him September 2014, he probably wouldnt hibernate then due to new environment
but he didnt hibernate last year
I dont know why, maybe due to it getting so cold last year i needed to keep his heat lamp on (It reached -20s some nights)

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

If you don't want him to hibernate then ensure you keep the temps up day and night, and that he gets 14 hours of light every day.
offer him tasty morsels to encourage eating.
I find that after a week or two my tort returns to normal.

 

[To-To]

Alright
I keep his heat lamp on 6-9 mon-fri, and weekends 7-12
I usually only feed him if i see him awake (I check on him alot, if he misses a day or two i feed him a little more) ill just leave food in his pen for him to eat casually

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Alright
I keep his heat lamp on 6-9 mon-fri, and weekends 7-12
I usually only feed him if i see him awake (I check on him alot, if he misses a day or two i feed him a little more) ill just leave food in his pen for him to eat casually

Long 'daylight' hours is important to convince him it's still summer.
I put lots of food in at the beginning of the day.
If it's all gone by evening, it wasn't enough.
Casual browsing through the day is natural for tortoises.

 

[To-To]

What do you consider enough for a russian tortoise?
We usually get organic romaine lettuce, take it out let it warm up, and feed him 2-3 peices

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

He needs variety and much more than just lettuce, which is mostly water, to keep him fit and healthy.
Check the care sheet http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/ for more choices and I like :
http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/nutrientanalysis.htm
The ones in bold are best.
Put down a nice selection.
If it's gone in the evening, it wasn't enough so put more down the next day.

 

[To-To]

I always never knew what to feed him, but it needed variety
How much to you recommend me feeding him?
(Im planning on adding pumpkin and figs and dandelions to his diet)

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Dandelions are great, figs and pumpkin are fruit so best avoided or fed very sparingly.
The Tortoise table is a good guide to what is safe and what is not and why.
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/tortoise_home_1.asp
There is no set amount to feed.
Put the food down in the morning.
If it is gone by nighttime it wasn't enough so feed more the next day.
If some is left, it was enough.

 

[Gillian M]

I too think your tort is trying to hibernate.