- Joined
- Dec 1, 2013
- Messages
- 307
I know it's pretty normal to have a slowdown for tortoise during the winter season but I just want to make sure.
He lives outdoors 24/7 and can come in/out of his outdoor nightbox as he pleases. Temps inside are constant at around 85-87F throughout the day and night (when it's a chilly 40F outside).
Oil-heater and Reptifogger keep the inside at around 85F, 80% humidity where he normally "sleeps" within the box.
However, as the winter season is now upon us, he rarely comes out of his box to eat, poop, whatever. I weighed him 3 weeks ago (he's 2.5 yrs old and weighed 4720g 3 weeks ago), and now he's 4715g. Of course, he pooped and pee'd yesterday during his 1 hour soak so that might explain that, but he used to gain 100g a week! So he's technically supposed to be over 5000g at this point, but he's not.
It's currently overcast and we're expecting an El Nino in California pretty soon, so I'm not expecting much sun at all for this season so his source is UVB/UVA sunlight will be limited. Should I put an MVB in his outdoor nightbox enclosure even though it's not really needed to get him kick-started every morning? I know the temps are fine, but what about the UVB/UVA benefits?
If I'm over-worrying, please let me know.
Thanks
He lives outdoors 24/7 and can come in/out of his outdoor nightbox as he pleases. Temps inside are constant at around 85-87F throughout the day and night (when it's a chilly 40F outside).
Oil-heater and Reptifogger keep the inside at around 85F, 80% humidity where he normally "sleeps" within the box.
However, as the winter season is now upon us, he rarely comes out of his box to eat, poop, whatever. I weighed him 3 weeks ago (he's 2.5 yrs old and weighed 4720g 3 weeks ago), and now he's 4715g. Of course, he pooped and pee'd yesterday during his 1 hour soak so that might explain that, but he used to gain 100g a week! So he's technically supposed to be over 5000g at this point, but he's not.
It's currently overcast and we're expecting an El Nino in California pretty soon, so I'm not expecting much sun at all for this season so his source is UVB/UVA sunlight will be limited. Should I put an MVB in his outdoor nightbox enclosure even though it's not really needed to get him kick-started every morning? I know the temps are fine, but what about the UVB/UVA benefits?
If I'm over-worrying, please let me know.
Thanks