Sleepy?

[Outatime]

Hi All

Back for some advice please, the last week my 7 year old Sulcata has been sleeping quite a lot, we got him in March I think it was and he has been very active most days but we had a cold snap a week ago and for the first few days he went in his heated house but the last several days he has nestled down in a spot in our flower bed and hasn't really moved much, I placed him on the lawn a few days ago and he had a walk around but then went back to the flower bed, its been around the mid to high 60's in central Florida at night and he still seems content to sleep in the flower bed over his heated house. House temps are fine not hot or enough to hurt him or bother him and he has room to move away if need be.

Is this normal for colder periods?

Thanks

Stuart

 

[ascott]

Alot of tortoise species will slow when the weather begins to cool and days shorten.....with this species, you may want to walk him to his house and put him to bed each night...then close his house door until you open it in the mornings....

 

[Dizisdalife]

My sulcata's activity certainly changes as winter approaches. He spends more time basking and less time walking the perimeter of his enclosure. About an hour before sunset he goes into his night box and "digs" in for the night. So with the shorter days he is spending more time sleeping in his box than he does in the summer months. Even when the night time temperature is "safe" I never let him sleep outside because I worry about night time predators. Raccoons, possum, and rats all frequent my yard. Not to mention a coyote wandering in once in a while. Luckily, there are only a few times during the year (hot, hot, summer days) when he decides to settle in for the night under a bush instead of going into his house. Sulcata seem to have no idea that the temps can drop over night and they can get sick from it. I think mine goes into his box each night because he seeks the security of the box more than heat. Although we had a rainy day last week (a major Southern California event) when the temp got to only about 62°. After coming out to eat he returned almost immediately to the box. As if he realized it was too cold and the box contained heat that he needed.