Gentledragons
New Member
Hello all,
Back in April I got a Russian Tortoise named Sprout. At the time I did not realize he was wild caught, but have since learned that he is. According to my and my vet’s estimate, he is around 5 years old. He is kept inside and I don’t have a way to keep him outdoors at the moment.
Here is my dilemma: this boy is dead set on brumating. He has been off food for almost an entire month now, won’t come out to bask, and is constantly sleeping. I took him to the vet and he tested negative for parasites.
I don’t want him to brumate, as I know it’s not wise to let a tortoise brumate your first winter with them. But unless I pull him out he refuses to emerge, and even though his ambient temp is around 75°F and his basking around 100°F he still wants to sleep.
Being wild caught, it seems his natural instincts are too stubborn to combat and no matter how many warm baths I give and food I offer he seems to want to sleep no matter what. I’m looking for advice. Is it safe to keep him at this temperature if he isn’t eating?
Thank you.
Back in April I got a Russian Tortoise named Sprout. At the time I did not realize he was wild caught, but have since learned that he is. According to my and my vet’s estimate, he is around 5 years old. He is kept inside and I don’t have a way to keep him outdoors at the moment.
Here is my dilemma: this boy is dead set on brumating. He has been off food for almost an entire month now, won’t come out to bask, and is constantly sleeping. I took him to the vet and he tested negative for parasites.
I don’t want him to brumate, as I know it’s not wise to let a tortoise brumate your first winter with them. But unless I pull him out he refuses to emerge, and even though his ambient temp is around 75°F and his basking around 100°F he still wants to sleep.
Being wild caught, it seems his natural instincts are too stubborn to combat and no matter how many warm baths I give and food I offer he seems to want to sleep no matter what. I’m looking for advice. Is it safe to keep him at this temperature if he isn’t eating?
Thank you.