Narcoleptic tortoise

Tim the tortoise

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Feb 12, 2017
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OK so not new to this but I could do with some help. My tortoise has this rather strange habit of falling asleep in strange places. It seems to be happening more and more I'm a little worried there's something I'm missing. Hopefully the image has uploaded. This is him asleep at his food bowl not laid down just asleep.

Tuptus.jpg
 

Gillian M

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A gorgeous little tort. GOD bless.

Please read the so-called "Beginners Mistakes" Thread and the care sheets.

Give your cute tort a daily soak in warm water so as to avoid dehydration and pyramiding. Make sure he's warm and that there's enough humidity in his enclosure.


And a very warm welcome to the forum to both of you.
 

SarahChelonoidis

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Russian tortoises can get 'sleepy' this time of year, but it's a good idea to check your temperatures and lighting to make sure you are doing what you can to discourage a tortoise from sleeping too much. How many hours a day are your lights on? How recently have you replaced your uvb bulb? How hot is your basking temperature? How low is your overnight low temperature?

Also, are those grapes you are feeding? Russians really shouldn't have that much sugar so grapes are not a good food.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Hello, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and Tim. :)
Please read http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
and http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
As has been mentioned, it may just be the time of year, a sleepy tort or just basking with his eyes closed.
Or it may be that his conditions are not correct.
Check the temperatures and make sure you're not using a coiled or compact bulb as these have been known to damage tortoises eyes.
 

Tim the tortoise

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Feb 12, 2017
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A gorgeous little tort. GOD bless.

Please read the so-called "Beginners Mistakes" Thread and the care sheets.

Give your cute tort a daily soak in warm water so as to avoid dehydration and pyramiding. Make sure he's warm and that there's enough humidity in his enclosure.


And a very warm welcome to the forum to both of you.
Thank you I shall check your proposed threads. I do check him for dehydration quite often as an ex partner of mine was not very attentive while I was away and he did have some issues with this.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Tim's beak could benefit from the clippers. Just clip off that bit in the front that points down.

Double check the temperature as has been said before, and make sure the habitat is warm enough.

It could just be that he's comfortable and feels safe enough to sleep out in the open. Who knows what goes on in those little pea brains?
 

Tim the tortoise

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Feb 12, 2017
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Russian tortoises can get 'sleepy' this time of year, but it's a good idea to check your temperatures and lighting to make sure you are doing what you can to discourage a tortoise from sleeping too much. How many hours a day are your lights on? How recently have you replaced your uvb bulb? How hot is your basking temperature? How low is your overnight low temperature?

Also, are those grapes you are feeding? Russians really shouldn't have that much sugar so grapes are not a good food.
He has not yet been hiberated so this may be a large contributing factor. His day time temp is 30 degrees with a tank gradient of about 5 degrees at the coold end. His over night temp is roughly 20 degrees this I am not certain on as obviously I'm unable to monitorit constantly. The lights are on about 16-18 hours a day. (Heat is on a thermo regulator). Bulb replaced with in last 12 months and no they are blueberries. I placed them in as a treat hoping to entice him out he loves them. Kind of worked he just fell a sleep. He only gets them once every few months. I tend to stay away from fruit. As much as possible
 

Tim the tortoise

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Feb 12, 2017
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Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Tim's beak could benefit from the clippers. Just clip off that bit in the front that points down.

Double check the temperature as has been said before, and make sure the habitat is warm enough.

It could just be that he's comfortable and feels safe enough to sleep out in the open. Who knows what goes on in those little pea brains?
Thank you I didn't know his beak could be clipped. He does sleep out in the open quite alot this had crossed my mind as I do zoology degree so it seemed counter intuitive that he just sprawls out. Obviously I don't deal with many domesticated animals so that's why Ive turned to this paget for information. How would I go about clipping his beak and is it necessary? Don't Want to cause him discomfort if it's avoidable.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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The basking spot should be 35 to 38 degrees with a a gradient dropping naturally away from that.
Nighttime temp is fine.
Lights should be on 12 to 14 hours, he needs to sleep too!
Use a pair of nail clippers and carefully cut away just a tiny bit at a time. He won't like it, but there you go.
 

Tim the tortoise

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Feb 12, 2017
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The basking spot should be 35 to 38 degrees with a a gradient dropping naturally away from that.
Nighttime temp is fine.
Lights should be on 12 to 14 hours, he needs to sleep too!
Use a pair of nail clippers and carefully cut away just a tiny bit at a time. He won't like it, but there you go.
He does have a raised baskin stop which he is using a lot less recently so I assumed the temperature was too much. I will change the times see if that helps. I will attempt to trim his his beak thank you again. The gradient drops about 5 degrees not to 5 should have clarified
 

Lyn W

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Thank you I didn't know his beak could be clipped. He does sleep out in the open quite alot this had crossed my mind as I do zoology degree so it seemed counter intuitive that he just sprawls out. Obviously I don't deal with many domesticated animals so that's why Ive turned to this paget for information. How would I go about clipping his beak and is it necessary? Don't Want to cause him discomfort if it's avoidable.
If you don't feel too confident about doing it a vet will. I am nervous about holding his head when he's struggling but there's probably ways of doing it. I believe holding him and tipping him forward slightly will make him pop his head out.
Also if you put a cuttlefish bone in (the sort they use for birds but without the cage clips) he may nibble on this for a calcium source and it will help keep his beak trimmed in the future. Mine tends to ignore his most of the time but I have caught him scrapping it occasionally.
 

Tim the tortoise

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Feb 12, 2017
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Thank you everyone for you suggestions I have used them all and he is slowly becoming more active and eating properly again. And is once again a happy tortoise.
 

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