Inactive tortoise

[TayefA08]

So firstly my Russian tortoise has been very inactive this past week before then he would wake at 11am to 12am and go into his log to sleep around 6pm 7pm inbetween that time he would wander his table doing his own thing, but recently he would wake around 1pm 2pm bask for a bit eat and go sleep around 4pm 5pm he doesn't wander his table anymore also he's been excreting white stuff which I know is urates but they've been more liquidy how can I prevent this? And how can I keep him active?

 

[Yvonne G]

This is the time of year for them to brumate. Could that be what's wrong with him?

 

[Tortoise lover 2000]

Try soaking more often it might make your tortoise more active. Also only soak in the morning. That is when they are most sluggish

 

[TayefA08]

This is the time of year for them to brumate. Could that be what's wrong with him?

What about the liquidy urates

 

[Markw84]

A tortoise that naturally hibernates (brumates) is "programmed" that way as a survival mechanism. Shorter days and weaker UV levels in light mean cold temperatures are coming and its time to brumate.

To keep a hibernating species active, you need a 14 hour photoperiod and good, bright lighting with good UV. With enclosures/tables in our homes, we often don't realize how much lighting changes with the season. The ambient light from windows dramatically changes with the season, so even with the enclosure lights, especially with a table-type enclosure, the overall lighting is very different. In England, you go from an official daylight of just under 8 hours in mid winter to over 16 1/2 hours in mid summer. That is a huge swing in light. At 51° latitude, the sun is only 17° above the horizon midday! In mid summer it is 62° above the horizon. That makes a very big difference in the light and almost totally filters out all UV in the winter.

 

[TayefA08]

A tortoise that naturally hibernates (brumates) is "programmed" that way as a survival mechanism. Shorter days and weaker UV levels in light mean cold temperatures are coming and its time to brumate.

To keep a hibernating species active, you need a 14 hour photoperiod and good, bright lighting with good UV. With enclosures/tables in our homes, we often don't realize how much lighting changes with the season. The ambient light from windows dramatically changes with the season, so even with the enclosure lights, especially with a table-type enclosure, the overall lighting is very different. In England, you go from an official daylight of just under 8 hours in mid winter to over 16 1/2 hours in mid summer. That is a huge swing in light. At 51° latitude, the sun is only 17° above the horizon midday! In mid summer it is 62° above the horizon. That makes a very big difference in the light and almost totally filters out all UV in the winter.

I use a thermostat which keeps my daytimr temps exactly 37C I think it's because of the night time temp. My tortoise is kept is the utility room which is the room connecting to the garden and it can get very cold and drop to 18C and even 16C at the worst what can i do to keep temps up bare in mind he sleeps in his log not outside so using a lamp is useless since the heat won't reach.

 

[TayefA08]

This is the time of year for them to brumate. Could that be what's wrong with him?

I use a thermostat which keeps my daytimr temps exactly 37C I think it's because of the night time temp. My tortoise is kept is the utility room which is the room connecting to the garden and it can get very cold and drop to 18C and even 16C at the worst what can i do to keep temps up bare in mind he sleeps in his log not outside so using a lamp is useless since the heat won't reach.

 

[Melis]

I use a thermostat which keeps my daytimr temps exactly 37C I think it's because of the night time temp. My tortoise is kept is the utility room which is the room connecting to the garden and it can get very cold and drop to 18C and even 16C at the worst what can i do to keep temps up bare in mind he sleeps in his log not outside so using a lamp is useless since the heat won't reach.

Why wouldn't the heat from a CHE reach him? Do you have pics of the enclosure?

 

[Markw84]

I use a thermostat which keeps my daytimr temps exactly 37C I think it's because of the night time temp. My tortoise is kept is the utility room which is the room connecting to the garden and it can get very cold and drop to 18C and even 16C at the worst what can i do to keep temps up bare in mind he sleeps in his log not outside so using a lamp is useless since the heat won't reach.

Experience has shown me that photoperiod is a stronger precipitator of brumation than temperatures are. An overnight 16°- 18° with daytime highs above 30° would not trigger brumation.

You say the enclosure is in the utility room connecting to the garden. That would indicate a room with a window as a very primary source of light. Check your lighting and photoperiod. You did not say what you are using for lighting for the enclosure and the photoperiod and type of light. That is where I would look first.

 

[TayefA08]

Experience has shown me that photoperiod is a stronger precipitator of brumation than temperatures are. An overnight 16°- 18° with daytime highs above 30° would not trigger brumation.

You say the enclosure is in the utility room connecting to the garden. That would indicate a room with a window as a very primary source of light. Check your lighting and photoperiod. You did not say what you are using for lighting for the enclosure and the photoperiod and type of light. That is where I would look first.

Here are some pictires of my enclosure what I feed him where he sleeps and night time lamp loghts are on 14 hours also growing my own food at the moment we feed him store bought salad

 

[TayefA08]

Why wouldn't the heat from a CHE reach him? Do you have pics of the enclosure?

Here are some pictires of my enclosure what I feed him where he sleeps and night time lamp loghts are on 14 hours also growing my own food at the moment we feed him store bought salad

 

[TayefA08]

@Yvonne G

 

[Markw84]

sorry no one has gotten back to you sooner.

What type of bulbs do you have? It looks like a T8 tube there? Is that a 10.0 UVB bulb? If so, it is mounted too close to your tortoise and can be very irritating to the eyes and cause potential damage that close.

The incandescent colored bulb is not an efficient way to provide heat. A ceramic heat emitter would work much better.

Is the basking bulb a MVB or just a regular incandescent? What wattage? In the photo it looks like it is an incandescent with more of a red-end color spectrum. With the overall low lighting level of the enclosure that shift to a redder spectrum could well stimulate hibernation/brumation.

It does look like it is an overall quite darker room the enclosure is kept in. Is there a widow in that room? The ambient light from a window will have a great effect on the overall light of the enclosure. Where you are in the UK, there is a great seasonal difference. All these things combined could well be causing your tortoise to try to hibernate/brumate.

The substrate is potentially a big problem. that soil has perlite in it and that is a definite impaction risk. Especially with the blue or black bulb you have. Depending upon the type you have there, those emit some light in a wavelength you cannot see and tortoises see wavelengths we do not see. Animals with 4 cone eyes seem to use that added vision in particular in identifying different foods and mates. So not only will a tortoise often eat small white particles it finds, but it may well be more inclined with that altered lighting.

 

[TayefA08]

The UVB bulb is a T8 10.0 ill mount it higher The basking buld is a regular incndesent 150w the 150w is only temporary it is connected to a thermostat so it will always be 37 around the basking area and to keep the light level higher i will buy a longer uvb bulb since we have no light bulb in this room as well as the day light in Wales is really dark and provides no light even thothere is a window right beside his enclosure the substrate i will cjange to coco coir as the research i have done its the best to use