1 year old tortoise sleeping more

[hugothehermann]

my Hermann tortoise is a year old and I live in London and its winter so temperatures have dropped, I have had him since spring 2016 and he always got up and ate, but now that it is winter he rarely gets up and eats. he does get up somedays but not for long, he goes in his hide and burries himself in the hay. we think it could be something to do with hibernation. it would be much appreciated if anyone could help us and maybe give us some tips on how to stop this.

many thanks,
Debs and Anna (mum and daughter)

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Debs, and welcome to the Forum!

I don't know enough about Hermanni to know if they hibernate or not, but that's what it sounds like to me. Tortoises just seem to be able to tell, even when they live indoors, that it's winter and time to sleep.

Make sure to keep the light on 14 hours a day. Get him out each a.m. and soak him in warm water for about 15 minutes then place him in front of the food. Several times throughout the day get him up and place him in front of the food or in his water dish, just do something to disturb him. But make sure his habitat is summertime warm.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome.
Have you found the caresheet for hermanns yet?
That will tell you all about temps, diet, humidity and substrate etc so you can check if he is warm enough. A digital temp gun is brilliant for spot checking temps around the enclosure.
The Beginners Mistakes thread (link below) will help you avoid problems experienced by others.
If you post pics of your enclosure and heat/light sources etc members can advise on any changes you could make.

I have a leopard who doesn't hibernate and he lives indoors in his own room. I use an 125w Arcadia D3 MVB for heat, light and uvb, a basking bulb, and ceramic heat emitter (CHE) run through a thermostat for night heat (and extra day heat), as well as a radiator on 24/7/365. The floor is also warm owing to pipes running close to the surface and the windows are insulated with bubble wrap blinds. In spite of all this he isn't as active as usual at this time of year either. He only comes out of his hide for about 4 hours a day to bask and eat. I'm not sure but I think it is something to do with the light.

 

[hugothehermann]

thank you so much for your help I will read the beginner mistakes and see if we can change something