entertainment

[bakexlove]

I noticed Herman has been sluggish and I was wondering if its just because of the winter. I bought some pieces of driftwood for him to climb on and some timothy hay to burrow under. He didn't seem interested last night in them but now hes using them. Do any of you have any ideas for torts to be more active?

 

[GBtortoises]

If your tortoise is being kept indoors at normal activity levels it being winter outdoors has no bearing on your tortoise's activty or lack of. Temperatures, light duration and light intensity are what determines a tortoises amount of activity.

 

[PS95]

I keep 2 Russian females indoors all year round on a tort table under a UVB lamp set to a constant timer. For the last five years since I adopted them, I was surprised to see them following a definite seasonal cycle. Every Oct they stop eating and start sleeping round the clock under their substrate. At the end of Jan they start eating and become active again. In fact, they just emerged a couple of weeks ago and are eating like crazy. I don't know how they do it - they seem to be getting seasonal cues from the environment somehow. I live in Southern California so depending on your local climate and latitude, as well as your enclosure setup, your experience may be different.

 

[bakexlove]

Well I have the reptisun 100w bulb and its like 95 degrees. I keep the light on for 12 hours.

 

[GBtortoises]

Many people that keep tortoises indoors rely on a single MVB lamp to provide light, heat and uv rays for their tortoise. MVB's do a good job at providing heat and uv but only provide localized light. Tortoises, especially those in the northern hemisphere rely on not only changes in temperature and light duration to determine their activity levels but also light intensity. Many indoor enclosures using only a uvb light fall short of providing enough light intensity. This lack of intensity can cause tortoises to become inactive despite having active level temperatures and in most cases a long enough light duration. Russian tortoises, more than any other Testudo species are notorious for this action.
Light duration to maintain normal activity should be 14-15 hours. A 12 hour duration when speaking of a temperate climate species is more is more like late fall/ early spring duration, both seasonal periods when tortoises are much less active in the wild.
In a 3' x 6' indoor Russian tortoise enclosure I use a 150 watt MVB with a 75 watt halogen spot lamp next to it and a 4' florescent uv to illuminate the majority of the enclosure. All on for 14 hours a day. My Russians remain completely active for as long as these conditions are maintained.

 

[PS95]

Well, I can think of a few things to check for:
Does the enclosure have a cool side? If its too hot this can cause torpor (estivation).
Do the torts have access to a shallow wading pool of water. Perhaps the torts are dehydrated. You can soak them in luke warm water (must be shallow, only half way up their chest) once or twice a week for 15 minutes.
Change up the food provided. Mine love red leaf and green leaf lettuce.
I hope the above helps.

 

[bakexlove]

I live in central Wisconsin. The other side stays cooler of his enclosure. I could put another light that doesn't give off much heat I guess. I do soak him twice or three times a week and watch him to see if he's drinking. He has a shallow water bowl in his enclosure as well. I could increase the light times.

 

[PS95]

Sounds like you are doing the right things. If I remember my geography, central Wisconsin is pretty far north. In theory this shouldn't make any difference if they are indoors under a UVB light. But as I said, my torts are kept in a similar setup and they still become inactive every winter even though their enclosure is bright and warm. Since we are further south, my torts may become active earlier in the year. Give yours a few more weeks. I suspect they will eventually perk up.