Winter Activities

[Wewt]

Hey all!

Winter is here and Doug has been rather lethargic lately. I worry about him, as Sulcatas are not meant to hibernate. In the summer he was outside for 1-3 hours 3-4 days a week, but now he is stuck inside in his enclosure.

Enclosure FAQ:
- 8"x16" area
- 26-30 degrees celsius
- Weekly / bi-weekly soaks
- Urates are white and properly chunky/phlegmy
- Eating diet of hay & greens (appetite has slowed!)

I've tried to entertain him by setting up toddler play equipment. On the first day he was fairly excited but now is back to sleeping all day. Does anyone else have this issue? What do you do to keep your little one entertained while it's cold outside?

Thanks!

OH!:

PS: He has started to eat the large rocks in his enclosure. He did not take to doing this in the summer, so I think it might be related to the boredom. I've also read it might be due to a calcium insufficiency, so I will be upping his doses. I just find it strange he didn't touch the rocks until about a week ago and now I've found one or two in his poo.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

I can't help with his lethargy (I'm sorry!) but I must say this urates are supposed to be more creamy and toothpaste like than chunky, that means he's dehydrated! He might be trying to get some minerals from the stones... mine was doing this and a couple peeps recommended MinerAll, and he stopped after I used it for a bit

 

[lismar79]

Mine did this but snapped out of it when I bought a new uvb bulb. The other one was weak and no sunshine to fill in the needs.

 

[wellington]

I agree with both above. Urates should be creamy, not chunks or grity, and more and new lighting may also help.

 

[Wewt]

Good to know about the urates! I'll make sure he is getting more water.

As for the bulb, it is less than 2 months old, so I don't think this is the issue. If I don't go down there and drag him out of his hide he just sleeps all day.

I will also get those other minerals you suggested. Hopefully the combination of more water and minerals will snap him out of it. Changing up his environment certainly didn't help.

 

[marcy4hope]

my sulcata went through this recently in her utdoor enclosure and i upped the temps inside her night box to 93 degrees fahrenheit and she immediately started eating a lot more and got active again. if i lower the temp to under 90, she slows her eating down. maybe raise temps and see if that helps?

 

[lismar79]

Without a uv meter you will not know if your bulb is good. Even a new bulb can be weak depending on height and quality. Just something to think about. I use minerall and my tort stopped eating rocks also