LifewithFrank
New Member
Hey everyone,
I have a question my 2 year old Russian tortoise has started to slow down in pace as the winter rolls into California. He's an indoor tortoise and says inside, except for the occasional outings to his outdoor shelter once in a while when it's not too cold, and not raining. California winter temperatures are low 50's to high 60's degrees Fahrenheit during the day with evenings reading at low 40's to higher 50's degrees Fahrenheit. Our house is kept at 68-70 degrees Fahrenheit. His enclosure has a lighting system of: Mercury Vapor bulb (100w), a UVB tube light, and a ceramic heater (when temp goes below 65 degrees F); Lights turn on around 7am and stay on until 9pm-10pm(winter) where daytime temp is measured with an electrical system that reads 87-100 degrees in the basking area, and about 75-80 degrees in the cooler areas.
My question is, is the temp too cold/hot? He stays in his log for majority of the day, appearing outside once to walk around, and bask under his lamps, but no eating and hasn't touched food in 3-4 days. We can only assume he's trying not to eat so he can hibernate, but are not sure if it's a temperature/heating issue. We try and take him out in the morning to wake him up, soak him for 20-30 minutes and return him hopefully warm enough to feel hungry or more willing to stay out. We are not planning on hibernating him, but for the past two years when winter rolls around we have gotten away with increasing his heat for an hour longer at night, and warm soakings where he would have eaten (not a ton, but still eating).
Please let me know what you guys think.
Thanks
Cassie and Franklin
I have a question my 2 year old Russian tortoise has started to slow down in pace as the winter rolls into California. He's an indoor tortoise and says inside, except for the occasional outings to his outdoor shelter once in a while when it's not too cold, and not raining. California winter temperatures are low 50's to high 60's degrees Fahrenheit during the day with evenings reading at low 40's to higher 50's degrees Fahrenheit. Our house is kept at 68-70 degrees Fahrenheit. His enclosure has a lighting system of: Mercury Vapor bulb (100w), a UVB tube light, and a ceramic heater (when temp goes below 65 degrees F); Lights turn on around 7am and stay on until 9pm-10pm(winter) where daytime temp is measured with an electrical system that reads 87-100 degrees in the basking area, and about 75-80 degrees in the cooler areas.
My question is, is the temp too cold/hot? He stays in his log for majority of the day, appearing outside once to walk around, and bask under his lamps, but no eating and hasn't touched food in 3-4 days. We can only assume he's trying not to eat so he can hibernate, but are not sure if it's a temperature/heating issue. We try and take him out in the morning to wake him up, soak him for 20-30 minutes and return him hopefully warm enough to feel hungry or more willing to stay out. We are not planning on hibernating him, but for the past two years when winter rolls around we have gotten away with increasing his heat for an hour longer at night, and warm soakings where he would have eaten (not a ton, but still eating).
Please let me know what you guys think.
Thanks
Cassie and Franklin