Sleeping forever!

[Merlyn]

So, I've had Juliet for quite a while now and all has been well. I've been feeding her the same foods, providing her TNT and a salt block to chew on if needed. Her turtle table has worked great for her with proper lighting and places to hide etc. Very little has changed except recently she has been sleeping for what seems like ever. I am not home much of the day but from what I can tell she hasn't moved since at least Monday (or if she has, she's gone back to the same place). This has been going on for a few weeks. I've woken her up and she seems perfectly fine, she'll go bask if I wake her up and wonder around, go in her water bowl and then go back to sleeping. She hasn't touched any food in the last 3 days.

I do have a section of her enclosure that is void of all light which is where she is right now and it seems if I prevent her from going in there she's more active because of the lighting. A few months back I took her to the vet to have her checked out (due to sneezing and squeaking) There was only one vet in my area and though she said she took tortoises she didn't seem to know a ton about them. She checked the poop and said all was well except for a parasite found in lizards that exists in tortoises but isn't harmful to them, and, if drugs were administered to kill, they could easily harm the tortoise. Everything else checked out okay. I've read a few threads here and other places where people talk about this behavior as normal but I'm just worried as I am not seeing her active at all and know she isn't eating.

Any information would be great!

 

[pdrobber]

hi, it might be suggested you take temps at the cool side, hot side and basking spot and share them here for better advice...

 

[Merlyn]

Hot side is 85F, cool side is 75F (house temperature) and the basking area is 95 - 100F (raised it up a bit to lower the temperature)

I just took Juliet out of her sleeping and gave her a long nice soak in the bathtub. I've left her some fresh food and water (as I normally do anyway) and she seems to be exploring. She hasn't eaten or drank anything (besides when she was soaking) and was basking for a little while after the soaking. She wandered about shortly and is now back under the basking light trying to dig through the bottom of the table

 

[lynnedit]

You can increase the lighting w/o increasing the heat by adding a Reptisun tube light. You wouldn't need to do this if the dark area is small.

Consider trying to get the cool side even cooler, down to 70 or a bit less. (That may not be possible if your home is at 75, however.)

If her eyes/nose are currently clear, then she may just be having some 'down time'. What is the weather like outside?
My torts have done this for even a couple of months at a time when in inside tortoise enclosures. Then they gradually come out of it. I did continue to soak them 2-3x per week, and offer food.

Does your tort get outside much?

 

[Merlyn]

You can increase the lighting w/o increasing the heat by adding a Reptisun tube light. You wouldn't need to do this if the dark area is small.

Consider trying to get the cool side even cooler, down to 70 or a bit less. (That may not be possible if your home is at 75, however.)

If her eyes/nose are currently clear, then she may just be having some 'down time'. What is the weather like outside?
My torts have done this for even a couple of months at a time when in inside tortoise enclosures. Then they gradually come out of it. I did continue to soak them 2-3x per week, and offer food.

Does your tort get outside much?

Lynnedit,

Thanks for the response. I'm unable to get the cool side any cooler (the house sits at 73F so it's possible the temp reading is just off). I live in Central Florida so the weather is muggy. Her eyes and nose seem fine from what I can tell. With some nudging on my end she's been a little more active yesterday and today. I went to the store to buy her what seems to be her favorite food and she is not interested at all in eating it. She seems healthy all around and is quick on her feet when she's mobile. I'm not able to get her outside as much as I'd like due to chemicals in the grass around here.

As I was typing this I went and put some food close to her (she would always eat out of my hands before) and after I put it down near her under the basking light she went and started eating. I'll see if this weekend we can go out to a local park so she can get some sun light and activity and I'll keep you posted.

It would be nice to know if this is normal or something is wrong.

 

[lynnedit]

I bet it is normal. They naturally become very inactive during hot weather as well. So she may want to just hang out and keep cool. If you can take her outside, make sure it is in earlier or later; temps >90 degrees will probably make her want to burrow down to stay cool. Continue to soak her a couple of times per week since she is in an inside enclosure.

I have found that my torts are pretty smart about knowing what they want and need, as long as they are basically healthy.