4 year old horsefield tortoise hasn’t moved for two weeks, help please!

Kitty425

New Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
England
Hello

My horsefield tortoise is three and a half and over the last month he hasn’t eaten much and the last two weeks he hasn’t surfaced!

Two weeks ago my partner cleaned out his house so we put fresh top soil in, about two/three inches thick. Since then he hasn’t come out to eat or drink.

We live in the Uk so temp has dropped for this time of year but his house is in the living room so room temp is between 18-21 and he has a basking lamp set to 32 degrees.

I’m not sure if he is hibernating but I’ve read that he perhaps isn’t as the temp isn’t right.

I’m really worried as previous to this his left eye wouldn’t open and at the time I was giving him daily baths to try and help.

He’s burrowed himself and I thought to just leave him and that he would come out when he’s ready and I felt bad dragging him out as I didn’t want to startle him but now that a couple of weeks have last I’m really concerned.

I’ve never hibernated him before.

Any help would be much appreciated please.

Thanks in advance!
 
Last edited:

LaLaP

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5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2018
Messages
959
Location (City and/or State)
Portland, OR
Sounds like he is trying to hibernate (brumate) but if he wasn't in perfect health before he started then it's not recommended to let him hibernate. Also there is a protocol of winding him down which basically means he needs to stop eating and get all the food and poop out of his system before he hibernates or he is at risk of the food rotting and injuring his gut.
So considering these things I wouldn't let him sleep any longer. Wake him up and soak him really well. Also check all your temps and make it very very bright in the enclosure. Leave the lights on for 12-14 hours a day.
Here is the Russian caresheet which includes all temperatures.
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
Make sure you have a reliable way to measure temps. A temp gun and a digital thermometer are ideal. Analog gauges and stick-on thermometers are notoriously inaccurate.
Do you have a UVB light?
If you post pics of your enclosure we can point out anything else that may be causing your guy to get sleepy.
Hope this is helpful.
 

Kitty425

New Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
England
Sounds like he is trying to hibernate (brumate) but if he wasn't in perfect health before he started then it's not recommended to let him hibernate. Also there is a protocol of winding him down which basically means he needs to stop eating and get all the food and poop out of his system before he hibernates or he is at risk of the food rotting and injuring his gut.
So considering these things I wouldn't let him sleep any longer. Wake him up and soak him really well. Also check all your temps and make it very very bright in the enclosure. Leave the lights on for 12-14 hours a day.
Here is the Russian caresheet which includes all temperatures.
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
Make sure you have a reliable way to measure temps. A temp gun and a digital thermometer are ideal. Analog gauges and stick-on thermometers are notoriously inaccurate.
Do you have a UVB light?
If you post pics of your enclosure we can point out anything else that may be causing your guy to get sleepy.
Hope this is helpful.
Sounds like he is trying to hibernate (brumate) but if he wasn't in perfect health before he started then it's not recommended to let him hibernate. Also there is a protocol of winding him down which basically means he needs to stop eating and get all the food and poop out of his system before he hibernates or he is at risk of the food rotting and injuring his gut.
So considering these things I wouldn't let him sleep any longer. Wake him up and soak him really well. Also check all your temps and make it very very bright in the enclosure. Leave the lights on for 12-14 hours a day.
Here is the Russian caresheet which includes all temperatures.
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
Make sure you have a reliable way to measure temps. A temp gun and a digital thermometer are ideal. Analog gauges and stick-on thermometers are notoriously inaccurate.
Do you have a UVB light?
If you post pics of your enclosure we can point out anything else that may be causing your guy to get sleepy.
Hope this is helpful.

Thank you so much for your reply and for all your advice. I will certainly wake him up and soak him. I’ll post pictures on his enclosure in daylight as would appreciate any advice! Thank you!
 

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