When is it time to worry? (sleeping)

[akp022]

Aggie has been sleeping for an average of 18-20 hours a day...his temps are fine and humidity is okay (@ about 45-50% which is a bit high for a Greek)...he is active (some days) during the hours he is awake and he's eating well, aside from the sleep the only thing that concerns me is the amount of liquid he expels while eating...any thoughts about what might be wrong?

Update: today I fed him at 3:30 then I had to leave for work again (until 6); when I came home he had already gone back to where he sleeps but some of his stuff in his home was moved all around like he was freaking out and wanted out but then just gave up and went to sleep maybe. I got him out so he would bask a little bit, he stayed out until around 8 then went back to sleep again. I'm not sure if it's his home but its still not warm enough to put him outside and I'm not sure when it is appropriate to start worrying about his behavior (I'm a worrier but I also do not want to pay a large vet bill if I'm jumping to conclusions). I am also not sure if he really is much older than I originally thought and maybe he's becoming less active in his old age? I can't think of anything else it might be because it's getting warmer so he shouldn't be slowing down and he doesn't show any other signs of being sick...

I posted this in the health section but I'm not getting any replies so just wondering if you guys might have any thoughts?

 

[WillTort2]

RE: When is it time to worry?

I'm thinking your lighting schedule should be more like the sunrise to sunset schedule. I expect the torts adjust better when we follow their natural cycles as closely as possible.

I'm not sure about the humidity; but 50 % doesn't seem too high.

How large is the enclosure?

 

[akp022]

RE: When is it time to worry?

I'm thinking your lighting schedule should be more like the sunrise to sunset schedule. I expect the torts adjust better when we follow their natural cycles as closely as possible.

I'm not sure about the humidity; but 50 % doesn't seem too high.

How large is the enclosure?

His enclosure is now 4ftx3.5ft; it is a fairly new enclosure (we built it at the end of March) but that should have been enough time for him to get used to it by now. I've had him since November and he made his own schedule by sleeping during the day and being awake all night long and it's been that way up until the last two weeks. So you think I should turn on his UVB/heat lamp when I leave for work around 7 and turn it off when I/he goes to sleep at night? Will this help to regulate him or will it just be wasting electricity because he won't be awake for it anyway? If you think it might help I'm willing to give it a shot, I just want him to be his happy, energetic self again

 

[GBtortoises]

RE: When is it time to worry?

I agree with WillTortoise that your tortoise needs to be on a lighting schedule more in tune with that of the outdoors. Especially one of summer which is an average of 15 hours daily. By turning the lights off to not "waste electricity" you're telling the tortoise that it's not summer but late fall which is when they become inactive. As well as light duration and intensity, temperatures are important to a tortoise's activity level.You don't mention what temperatures that your tortoise is exposed to during the daytime, night time and under it's basking light. Also, humidity ranges for the majority of Greek subspecies at 45-50% is not too high. In fact, that's within the range that they should be with 45% being the minimum. 50-55% being better, even slightly higher occasionally and especially at night.

 

[SulcataSquirt]

RE: When is it time to worry?

If your worried about wasting electricity, your in the wrong hobby! you have to have a set summer/winter lighting schedule for your tort other wise he will not be active like he should be. also, make sure your temps are correct.

 

[akp022]

Ok it occurs to me from the replies that I chose my wording wrong...with regards to the electricity, he stays back in his dark hide even when the UVB is on so I didn't know if this was going to make a difference to turn it on early (I'm not a bad owner I want what's best for him I was just wondering). Everything that I've read says that humidity for a Greek is supposed to be at 25-35% so I didn't know it was supposed to be higher. Also his cooler temps are between 70-80, basking is between 95-105, and the rest of the tank is between 75-85 depending on the day and how close the spot is to the heat lamp, I generally turn the UVB/heat on and turn the heat off when he is awake and vice versa when he is asleep

 

[GBtortoises]

25-35% humidity is very low, too low even for Middle Eastern Greek tortoises. While it may be nearly that low out in the open in their habitat, that is exactly why they seek more humid areas to remain hydrated and stay cool. In captivity they don't have the range of options that they would in the wild so we have to provide a "happy medium" for them. Middle Eastern Greeks primary activity temperature range is usually about the low 70's to low 80's. As the temperatures increase above that they will often become a bit less active. Their night time temperatures should be around 62-70 degrees max. In most cases there is no need for additional night time heat unless you are keeping the tortoise in a room that falls below 60 degrees at night. Too much heat consistently can be as much a problem for most species as being too cold consistently.

 

[akp022]

25-35% humidity is very low, too low even for Middle Eastern Greek tortoises. While it may be nearly that low out in the open in their habitat, that is exactly why they seek more humid areas to remain hydrated and stay cool. In captivity they don't have the range of options that they would in the wild so we have to provide a "happy medium" for them. Middle Eastern Greeks primary activity temperature range is usually about the low 70's to low 80's. As the temperatures increase above that they will often become a bit less active. Their night time temperatures should be around 62-70 degrees max. In most cases there is no need for additional night time heat unless you are keeping the tortoise in a room that falls below 60 degrees at night. Too much heat consistently can be as much a problem for most species as being too cold consistently.

Thank you, this is very helpful information. I didn't turn on the heat lamp tonight and i will see what the temperatures are in the morning, when I turned everything off before bed his cooler temps were at 72, which I do expect to drop as the night goes on, but it won't drop anymore than a few degrees (probably in the upper 60s). I had no idea that I might be making it too hot for him, I was under the assumption that he needed a lot of heat all the time, I've gotten so much conflicting information about how cold it can get at night, it's hard to sift through the information sometimes. I will try this for a bit and I will start a light schedule by turning it on when I leave at 7 and off at night; hopefully this will help him until it gets warm enough for him to spend time outside.

 

[akp022]

Well I've tried everything I can think of, the temps are down at night and I don't turn the heat lamp on very much anymore, still the only time he wakes up is to eat then goes back to sleep. If he is still eating (not as much as before but he is eating a handful every day), has no signs of a respiratory infection, and is wide-eyes when he's awake should I just wait it out?