sleeping a lot

[Anita97]

hey I've got a russian tortoise and lately he has been going bed very early before he used to stay up from 8am to 8pm and now he goes to sleep before 4pm is it cause its winter, i dont hibernate him cause last time he became very ill so i prefer to keep him up but is this behaviour normal or should i be worried?

 

[Lyn W]

hey I've got a russian tortoise and lately he has been going bed very early before he used to stay up from 8am to 8pm and now he goes to sleep before 4pm is it cause its winter, i dont hibernate him cause last time he became very ill so i prefer to keep him up but is this behaviour normal or should i be worried?

Hi Anita,
Yes I think its seasonal.
My leopard has been going to bed before 4 lately in spite of his temps staying the same and his mvb on the same amount of time. He lives indoors and has a fantastic appetite. I get him back up to soak him when I get home and he eats a little more and wanders for a while longer but if left he would be in his hide for about 16 hours at the mo.

 

[Anita97]

yeah i guess it must be because the temperature under his basking lamp have not changed but he also has the same appetite as always so i guess its okay but i researched it a bit more and people solved that problem with adding additional lights so i may try that as well

 

[Lyn W]

yeah i guess it must be because the temperature under his basking lamp have not changed but he also has the same appetite as always so i guess its okay but i researched it a bit more and people solved that problem with adding additional lights so i may try that as well

I have a bright room light on in torts room , but doesn't seem to make any difference.
Just briefly talking about this with another member on a different thread and she said it's almost as if they are like barometers and can sense pressure changes etc,. They are very mysterious creatures.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Do your indoor enclosures get any 'natural sunlight' reaching them through a window? For me, the biggest difference, winter to summer, is the extra light that usually comes in that I take for granted in the summer that disappears in the winter. My lights are on the same timers, thermostat set to the same value, but the enclosure is appreciably darker (especially in the morning and early evening) because the room is darker. An extra set of lights for the winter months seems like a good idea to me.

 

[martaemha]

Hi Anita,
I don't think you should worry too much as in the wild Russians sleep up to 9 months per year (up to 6 months of hibernation during harsh winter and up to 3 months summer estivation when all the greens in the steppe are dried out). You wrote that last time you hibernated him so his organism just needs sleep at this time of year. For how long during the day do you keep his basking lights on? For me keeping them up to 12 hours in the case of my Russian that doesn't hibernate worked really well and she became more active. Just watch your tort and if you don't notice any other abnormal signs such as refusal of food and extreme lethargy, everything should be fine.

 

[Anita97]

I have a bright room light on in torts room , but doesn't seem to make any difference.
Just briefly talking about this with another member on a different thread and she said it's almost as if they are like barometers and can sense pressure changes etc,. They are very mysterious creatures.

yeah I guess it wont make a difference then and yes they are