What is the normal amount of time for juvenile Hermanns tortoise to sleep during the day

[Megang97]

Hello! My Hermanns tortoise is 2, his temperature in his vivarium is fine - 32, 29 and 26. Overnight it’s around 20 degrees.

he sleeps for quite a lot of the day, gets himself up, eats walks around for a couple of hours and goes to sleep

he’s soaked twice a week, feed 5-6 times a week and his substrate is damp and humid

Is it normal for him to sleep so much during the day, baring in mind it’s winter in the UK. He gets up to eat which is relieving but he’s not as active as he was a few months back

 

[Maro2Bear]

Hello! My Hermanns tortoise is 2, his temperature in his vivarium is fine - 32, 29 and 26. Overnight it’s around 20 degrees.

he sleeps for quite a lot of the day, gets himself up, eats walks around for a couple of hours and goes to sleep

he’s soaked twice a week, feed 5-6 times a week and his substrate is damp and humid

Is it normal for him to sleep so much during the day, baring in mind it’s winter in the UK. He gets up to eat which is relieving but he’s not as active as he was a few months back

How’s your lighting? Nice & bright? On early at ”sunrise” and off 12-14 hours later? Up and walking about for a couple of hours seems about right.

 

[Tom]

There are several things you ought to be doing differently. Basking area needs to be 36-37C. 32 is too low. Other temps sound good.

He should be soaked every other day at this size/age.

He'd should be fed as much of the right foods as he wants to eat daily.

Its normal for them to be less active in winter, but there are many variables that account for how many hours a day they are active. There is no average or general guideline. If a young tortoise is full and warm, there is no reason for it to expose itself to predation, so they hide quite a bit.

You might try increasing the heat a little, bumping up the warm soaks a little, feeding more and more often, adding some light, increasing light timer duration to 13-14 hours, and increasing mid day UV. All of this should make him more inclined to be active an moving around more in winter when his body is telling him he should be sleeping.

 

[Megang97]

Hello, under his basking lamp is about 36 degrees which seems right

when he’s soaked he’s there for about 20-30 mins but I’ll do this more as he’s always more active after a soak - food wise, he eats a lot and has never been fussy, has a balanced diet of romain lettuce, cucumber, kale, broccoli and some tortoise dried food I have from a reputable tortoise shop and he also has a D2 (I think that’s what it’s called) powder every few days on his food.

his lights are usually on for 14 hours, someone told me to try 16 but I’m not sure. I also have a ceramic heater that I put on overnight at 20-22 degrees in the middle of his tank.

 

[Tom]

Hello, under his basking lamp is about 36 degrees which seems right

when he’s soaked he’s there for about 20-30 mins but I’ll do this more as he’s always more active after a soak - food wise, he eats a lot and has never been fussy, has a balanced diet of romain lettuce, cucumber, kale, broccoli and some tortoise dried food I have from a reputable tortoise shop and he also has a D2 (I think that’s what it’s called) powder every few days on his food.

his lights are usually on for 14 hours, someone told me to try 16 but I’m not sure. I also have a ceramic heater that I put on overnight at 20-22 degrees in the middle of his tank.

That is not a good or balanced diet. That is a whole lot of stuff that should rarely be fed. Read this for diet and other care info: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/
If that is what he's been eating for months or years, you could be seeing nutritional deficiency problems. Time to make some changes there. Romaine and cucumber have very little nutritional value and lack fiber. Kale and broccoli both contain goiterogenic compounds and should be fed sparingly. What type of dry food? That may be saving you, if he eats it?

The rest of it sound pretty good. I would not do to 16 hours of light. 14 is plenty.

You could add some ambient light with an LED. The brighter and more "daytime" like it is, the better. Use bulbs that are 5000-6500K on the color scale.

What are you using for UV? What type of bulb?

 

[Megang97]

his lights go on at 7am and off at 9pm, lights are very bright and clear.

I know there’s no right answer about how much heshould be walking around and not hiding but I just wanted to make sure he’s okay!

 

[Tom]

his lights go on at 7am and off at 9pm, lights are very bright and clear.

I know there’s no right answer about how much heshould be walking around and not hiding but I just wanted to make sure he’s okay!

Understood. In asking this question, its caused a review of your husbandry and housing, and some problems have now been discovered that you didn't know you had. Things can now be better than ever! I don't want your tortoise to be just "ok". I want your tortoise to be thriving!