always sleeping

[kristin_roman]

Hey Everyone! Im new to here, and new to having a tortoise, I have 2 red eared sliders that i've had for 5 years! I recently got a 2 month old Hermanns tortoise, he is now 3 months old. I have him set up in a enclosure similar to the "Tortoise House" that petco sells. It's 2 stories, he has a little water to soak in, some places to hide, and burrow in, he also has 2 bulbs a UVB and a heat bulb. Although since i moved him into his new enclosure he has spent almost all of his time sleeping. I would think he would be happier in this enclosure considering i had him in a 20L gallon aquarium the first 2 weeks i had him. He burrows himself a little hole inside his house and will sleep all day long. He wakes up around 12pm each day, crawls out of his hole a little and falls back asleep. I have to take him out of his cage and hand feed him in order for him to eat. Other wise he will just sleep all day. Is this normal for a baby tortoise? I am up for any types of suggestions or advice to help my little guy!

 

[Yvonne G]

If your UVB bulb is one of those spiral bulbs, the compact fluorescent bulb, then turn it off immediately! They cause pain similar to snow-blindness and cause baby tortoises to stay hiding away from the light. After it is turned off for about 3 days to a week, the eyes will be ok again.

What is the temperature on the lower floor of the habitat? It looks like it might not be warm enough.

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome Ditto to what Yvonne said on the bulb and the temps. If its too cold they will stay hiding trying to stay warm. How often do you soak in warm water?

 

[kristin_roman]

If your UVB bulb is one of those spiral bulbs, the compact fluorescent bulb, then turn it off immediately! They cause pain similar to snow-blindness and cause baby tortoises to stay hiding away from the light. After it is turned off for about 3 days to a week, the eyes will be ok again.

What is the temperature on the lower floor of the habitat? It looks like it might not be warm enough.

Yes, it is one of the spiral bulbs! its a "exo terra reptile uvb" i just turned it off. Would it have caused any damage to him? and is there any specific uvb bulb i should get for him? I've read they need uvb to prevent shell deformities. i'm not exactly sure what the temp on the bottom is, i haven't yet got a thermometer, he never leaves his house so i wasn't too worried about it until he started exploring more.

 

[kristin_roman]

Hello and Welcome Ditto to what Yvonne said on the bulb and the temps. If its too cold they will stay hiding trying to stay warm. How often do you soak in warm water?

i soak him around 3-4 times a week. Usually in the morning once he wakes up.

 

[wellington]

You can get a mercury vapor bulb, gives out uv, heat and light. You can also buy one of the tube flourescent kind. Gives light and uv. You should soak him every day for 20-30 minutes until he is older, around one and then you can cut back to every other day. Don't use the spiral bulb anymore and as Yvonne said he should be fine in a few days or so. A temp gun works best for temps. You shoot it at the thing you want to know the temp of. What other things do you have for heat? A ceramic heat emitter works good for day and night time heat. They last a really long time and give out heat but no light.

 

[kristin_roman]

This is the bulb I had before the exo terra is one i had just removed, and replaced it with the powersun. Is that bulb okay for him? please give some feed back! I want my little guy to be happy and healthy!

 

[Flash2013]

The Powersun that you posted is the one I use now. I noticed a huge difference in my Flash's behavior vs just the heat source bulb. I only found out about this bulb through this forum so keep asking questions...you will learn a lot from everyone. I was very ignorant before joining this forum and quickly learned that PetSmart and Petco are not great sources of knowledge. Good luck. [GREEN HEART][TURTLE]

 

[Yvonne G]

The Powersun is what you need. It provides heat and UVB all in one bulb/fixture.

 

[kristin_roman]

Thanks so much for your help! Me and tortellini greatly appreciate it!

He seems much happier now, he's sitting in his food dish!

 

[Flash2013]

He's beautiful. What a cute name! [GREEN HEART][TURTLE]

 

[kristin_roman]

Tortellini and I both say thank you flash! [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES][TURTLE][TURTLE][TURTLE]