Horsfield Tortoise Temperature Help

[Mike2389]

Hi

We have a 9month old Horsfield Tortoise 'Dorothy' which we have had for about 6weeks now.

We have her in a 5ftx3ft vivarium with top soil and coco coir substrate depth of 4-6inches. We have brown paper over part of the glass windows to prevent her from seeing out. We bathe her 30mins every morning and she has a changeable appetite (feeding mainly weeds from the garden based of tortoise table app). She has plenty of places to hide and burrow and a couple of spider plants in the enclosure.

We are using a 100W basking bulb and a UVB strip along the length of the enclosure both on 12 hour timers. The warm end is 33-36C and the cool end is pretty stable at about 29-31C. (I know the 'cool' end is too warm.) Humidity is between 45-55% during the day.

In recent days she has become very inactive and sleeping most of the day which has got me a bit worried. But she does eat a little and poos regularly when soaking her.

Any suggestions on how to cool the cool end of the tank? or any suggestions why she is so sleepy/lethargic.

 

[GBtortoises]

When you say that the temperatures at the warm end are 33-36C is that under the basking light or is that the entire area? If it is under the basking light that's fine. If it is the entire end of the enclosure it's much too hot. So is the cool end at 29-31C. Your cool end temperature is what the warm end should be. Normal activity temperatures during the daytime should be in the 24-29C range with the warmer side being at the end of the basking light. This allows a temperature gradient for the tortoise to choose from and keeps them active. Once the temperatures begin to reach around 29.5C and over a tortoise is going to begin to seek shelter from the heat in order to cool off to regulate it's body temperature. If the entire enclosure is too hot the tortoise has nowhere and no way to escape the warmer temperatures. Because tortoises are ectothermic they rely on their surrounding environment to regulate their body temperature. While it is true that they need a certain level of heat to become active and aid in digestion, they equally need to be able to escape heat by finding cooler resting areas. Their bodies can easily overheat without the ability to also cool down. When trapped in the heat they will become less active, often sleep much more and in some cases will go into aestivation to escape the excessive heat. I am very surprised that your tortoise hasn't buried itself for long periods. This is a primary reaction to escape.
Depending upon how far away your basking light is from the surface, it is probably too high a wattage, thus producing more heat than you really want. You can try moving it farther away from the basking light or better still try a lower wattage incandescent lamp to provide heat, a 60 watt often does the job. The temperature range, directly under the center of the basking lamp beam at ground level should be no more than 32.5-35.5C for a small Russian tortoise. Temperature should be measured at ground level, under the center of beam, approximately one hour after the light has been on.

 

[Mike2389]

Thank you so much for your response and advice.

I've changed the 100W bulb out for a spare 75W bulb now and the temperatures are much better with 31C at the hot end (close to under the lamp) and 26C at the cooler end.

I've also changed the location of the thermometers to be closer to ground level.

Just gave Dorothy a quick soak and she seems much happier already. I'll keep an eye on things over the next couple of days and see if things change.

Really appreciate the help and advice. As a new tortoise owner there is so much conflicting advice out there it's alot to take in.