Worried about my Russian?

[unitepariahs]

Hi all! I have a ~4 year old Russian tortoise that recently seems to be sleeping more than usual. He is eating and pooping and peeing normally, but he isn't walking around his enclosure very much and prefers to stay in or near his hide most of the day, taking naps. He does seem to alternate between sleepy weeks and active weeks but I feel like he's been sleepy longer than normal.

I have OCD which does project onto his health so I am not completely sure if I am imagining the behaviour changes or not, but does this sound like something to worry about? Could he be bored maybe? Or adjusting to weather changes? I have gotten a couple of new things for him to climb on lately, maybe he is stressed by the change?

Info:
He is in a 3x5 (building larger as he grows, this is temporary) indoor enclosure, with a basking spot at 97, general area around 83, and cool side at 77. His diet is an assortment of grocery greens mixed with various dried weeds purchased online grown specifically for tortoises, or tortoise pellets mixed in when I don't have those available. The humidity is usually around 50-60%. He has an Arcadia ProT5 UVB strip light which has been checked. The substrate is a mix of mostly cypress mulch with some coco coir.

Thanks all!

 

[unitepariahs]

Oh, and he gets baths twice a week!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Has there been any recent changes in his enclosure or diet.

 

[unitepariahs]

Has there been any recent changes in his enclosure or diet.

I bought him a new hide that he is obsessed with which was the only change prior to this week, when I replaced his basking bulb (prior one was too warm) and moved a couple things around the enclosure to better break his sight line in case he was just bored. I don't think I had moved anything much prior to that. No changes in diet.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome! Your temps sound pretty spot on, as is your basking bulb type and uv which is always lovely to read🥰humidity is fine too for your adult, and your substrate choice is good🙂

Now they are an adult you can definitely build him his ultimate lifelong enclosure, 8x4 foot is considered the minimum but if you have more space even better!😁

Is your uv on a separate 4 hour timer to the basking bulb?
Do use any ambient lighting? Sometimes people just use the basking bulb to light their enclosure which is often not enough, usually if the whole enclosure is well lit, it can increase their activity, you could even try leaving on the basking and ambient lighting for 14hours instead of the usual 12, to try and trick him into thinking it’s the height of summer, hopefully waking him up a bit lol

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Also it sounds silly but even some minor changes can stress them a little, so there is the possibility that he might be having a bit of a strop at you moving stuff🥲

 

[unitepariahs]

Hello and welcome! Your temps sound pretty spot on, as is your basking bulb type and uv which is always lovely to read🥰humidity is fine too for your adult, and your substrate choice is good🙂

Now they are an adult you can definitely build him his ultimate lifelong enclosure, 8x4 foot is considered the minimum but if you have more space even better!😁

Is your uv on a separate 4 hour timer to the basking bulb?
Do use any ambient lighting? Sometimes people just use the basking bulb to light their enclosure which is often not enough, usually if the whole enclosure is well lit, it can increase their activity, you could even try leaving on the basking and ambient lighting for 14hours instead of the usual 12, to try and trick him into thinking it’s the height of summer, hopefully waking him up a bit lol

I will definitely get started on the 8x4! I just need to figure out which furniture I can get rid of in my room 😅. He was rehomed to me from someone who had him in very bad conditions and once in my care he grew rapidly at first and then slowed down so I increased his enclosure size a couple times but definitely will be working on his long term home soon!!

I don't have any of the lights on timers, I manually turn them on and off, I had technical issues with timers. Should I try timers again to make sure things are more completely consistent? Also - UV light is only 4 hours? When should that be turned on/off? Is it bad to keep it on longer? Also I will make sure the whole enclosure is bright enough, honestly the opposite end could use an LED bulb for light.

I didn't think he was prone to stress much but I got a little cheap cam monitor for him so that I could start tracking his sleep better and it seems he does get quite stressed with people who aren't me feeding him or talking to him which is very surprising to me as nobody has told me that! He's very calm with me, never hides, comes up to me to be pet, eats treats from my hand, etc, so I didn't realize he hid from other people until now!

Today, for example, he woke up around 11:00, made his way out of his hide to the edge of his basking area (~85 degree spot, id guess) and has been sleeping there for the 6 hours since! Didn't walk around at all :- (

Do you think this warrants a vet visit? Or should I wait longer and chalk it up to stress since he is still eating and stuff normally?

I greatly appreciate your reply thank you so much!!!

 

[unitepariahs]

I should also clarify he is eating well when I put him in front of his food dish but he often sleeps through the time that he should be eating normally.

 

[Cathie G]

I should also clarify he is eating well when I put him in front of his food dish but he often sleeps through the time that he should be eating normally.

Hello and welcome. Don't forget that our weather is turning into fall and he's feeling it through his plastron. If you don't want him hibernating keep him at his normal temps and keep doing regular care. My Russian slows down this time of year. Some days I'll just put him close to his food tile in a way that he has to walk past it. I'm also trying to get him in his outdoor enclosure as much as possible right now. Winter is coming fast and he needs as much sunshine as I can give him. Since your little fella is eating and behaving somewhat normally except the slow down, I think it's just the seasonal change. I could be wrong.

 

[unitepariahs]

Hello and welcome. Don't forget that our weather is turning into fall and he's feeling it through his plastron. If you don't want him hibernating keep him at his normal temps and keep doing regular care. My Russian slows down this time of year. Some days I'll just put him close to his food tile in a way that he has to walk past it. I'm also trying to get him in his outdoor enclosure as much as possible right now. Winter is coming fast and he needs as much sunshine as I can give him. Since your little fella is eating and behaving somewhat normally except the slow down, I think it's just the seasonal change. I could be wrong.

Thank you for your reply. I know he normally does slow down but it feels kind of early since it's still August, but also the temperature here has dropped like 10 degrees in the last couple weeks since he's gotten sleepier. I haven't hibernated him yet and I don't feel comfortable doing so as of right now so I will def keep things normal in his enclosure. Again, much appreciated, I'm always so worried about that guy 😭

 

[Cathie G]

Thank you for your reply. I know he normally does slow down but it feels kind of early since it's still August, but also the temperature here has dropped like 10 degrees in the last couple weeks since he's gotten sleepier. I haven't hibernated him yet and I don't feel comfortable doing so as of right now so I will def keep things normal in his enclosure. Again, much appreciated, I'm always so worried about that guy 😭

Well I'm pretty sure your area is getting cold nights like me or colder. I'm farther south. I know Sapphire can feel autumn setting in even though he's on a tortoise table. I don't hibernate my Russian either. He had problems with his shell when I got him so I couldn't. 17 years later it doesn't seem like he really needs to. It's like he's adjusted to it. But really unless I totally understand how to I wouldn't do it anyway. There's many people here that can tell you exactly how when you're ready to though 😊

 

[unitepariahs]

Well I'm pretty sure your area is getting cold nights like me or colder. I'm farther south. I know Sapphire can feel autumn setting in even though he's on a tortoise table. I don't hibernate my Russian either. He had problems with his shell when I got him so I couldn't. 17 years later it doesn't seem like he really needs to. It's like he's adjusted to it. But really unless I totally understand how to I wouldn't do it anyway. There's many people here that can tell you exactly how when you're ready to though 😊

Yes if/when I decide to brumate I will 100% do tons of research and make sure I am comfortable and familiar with everything but so far so good in the 3 years I've had him so far... I just get so anxious when he does anything out of his normal even when it is probably completely fine. Again, thank you!!