Russian hibernation

Popcorns17

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My russian tortoise started acting weird soon as winter hit. First he was not active and barley eating. Now he wont touch his food and when you pick him up it takes a few minutes for him to even open his eyes and he is losing weight i think he is just going into hibernation. I tryed giving hime treats and i have two heat lamps that are a 100 watts and a heating pad to keep his tank warm? Any suggestions
 

SarahChelonoidis

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How warm is his tank? The wattage can't tell us the temperature - it all depends on how cold the room is and how the enclosure is designed. It sounds like he's too cold - how low are the lows, how high are the highs? How many hours a day do you have UVB/basking lights on for?
 

Tom

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In addition to Sarah's questions, do you want him to hibernate, or do you want to keep him up all winter?
 

Popcorns17

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One side is pretty cold its 65 and the other is mid 70s and his hidey hole is much colder i put so many heating things i dont know what else to do. Also i was not planning on hibernating him.
 

SarahChelonoidis

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Does he not have a basking temperature? 70s is fine, but he needs the ability to get much hotter to digest. If you post a photo showing how your lights are placed, people can provide suggestions. You likely have them too high up.
 

Jodie

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Agree with the above. To keep him up you're going to have to provide temps in the 80s during the day with a basking area near 100. Night lows in the upper 60's at the lowest. Soak him daily for a couple of weeks. Sounds like you need a closed chamber enclosure. If you want to hibernate him, do some research and do it right.
Pictures of your enclosure will help us give you ideas.
 

Mac1967

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One side is pretty cold its 65 and the other is mid 70s and his hidey hole is much colder i put so many heating things i dont know what else to do. Also i was not planning on hibernating him.
Why is it so cold? It should be a lot warmer if you want him to stay healthy.
 

Popcorns17

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Its hard to see he has a barrier around it so he cant see out! And i dont know why its cold that is why im asking for suggestions
 

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dmmj

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moving the lights closer will make it warmer getting higher wattage lights will also do it. at those temperatures he won't go into hibernation just burn calories and slowly die. keep them warm or hibernate
 

Popcorns17

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If i got a plastic tote what type of cover should i put on it to keep him warm?
 

dmmj

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a smaller enclosure would be easier to heat but then you got a tortoise in a small enclosure.
 

Popcorns17

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it would be temporary solution until I can get his bigger enclosure temperatures up.
 

Tom

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