Russian Tortoise Moving Around

[Peacheslcg]

I have a Russian tort, about 6", in cypress and coconut fiber in a big plastic tub. Eats and potties like a champ, heat lamp, UV bulb 12 hours a day. He went under for 6 weeks starting September, then popped out and we fed him a bit. Then he dug in again and seemed to go down for the winter. I moved his tub into the basement end of October where it's about 55 degrees consistently.

Every time I'm down there I hear him scratching around amidst his substrate. I peak in the tub and he hasn't surfaced -- just tunneling around verrry slowly. Is this normal or am I killing my pet?

I ask because he brumated perfectly last winter but was in the dining room at 70 degrees the whole time and didn't make any noise til springtime. I just want him to live comfortably, and long.

 

[JoesMum]

Russians spend anything up to 60% of their time underground in the wild. Nothing abnormal there. They dig a lot.

However it is too warm for any tort to hibernate properly or safely.
For hibernation temps need to be steady around 45F.

At 70F your tort was inactive, but not hibernating. At 55F you are hearing activity!

Activity or inactivity without eating and drinking is potentially dangerous as your tort is burning energy and will lose weight and dehydrate.

Either you dig him up (repeatedly if necessary), warm him up and give him brighter lights so he can be properly active...or you reduce temperatures and hibernate him properly