Worried about our tortoise

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Hello there, New member here (Autumn) needing help and advice.

We got (from Kijiji) a little hermann tortoise two months ago. I think we have all done all the right things to give him a good home and happy life, but he just isn't active or anything. He never comes out from hiding, his food is hardly eaten and I am starting to get concerned about his lack of movement.

He has a nice enclosure with coco (sp) substrate, a hide, a number of plants, water dish, heat light 125w- basking temps at 80-90, ambient temps 70-75, humidity around 55% in the house and food (greens and weeds).

If we bring him out from hiding he'll eat, drink and bask for 10mins, we've given him baths (he poops) and he then goes right back to hiding. Any advice or suggestions on what we need to change would be greatly appreciated. He weighs 107g. I've attached some pics.

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Yvonne G

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Hi Autumn, and welcome to the Forum!

I think it may be a bit too cold and drafty in that cage. While the floor plan and design is quite beautiful, the cage bars, rather than solid walls, are allowing the cooler air from the house to permeate the enclosure. Try wrapping paper around the sides and see if that doesn't make a difference.

Do you give your new baby a soak in warm water occasionally?
 

Tom

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If you are measuring 80-90 on top of that half log, it might be too cool down at floor level. I like to use a flat pieces of slate or sandstone right under the basking bulb and adjust the fixture up or down to get a basking temp of 95-100. Also, with Fall upon us, its a good idea to set your light timer for 13-14 hours a day, so he doesn't think its time to nestle in and hibernate.
 

Yvonne G

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A couple other things...

sink the waterer down into the substrate so he doesn't have to climb to get in, and position the light so it shines straight down, not at an angle. What kind of light is that? He'll need some UVB either from the sun or from the light.
 

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Thanks so much you guys, we will get right on making it warmer for our little guy. His light is a mercury UV bulb (125w). We do give him baths, but maybe not enough? How many a week should we be giving him?
 

Tom

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In an open enclosure like yours, and with no humid hide, I would soak him every other day or so for such a little one. When he gets bigger, less often will be fine as long as he's drinking on his own.
 

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Thanks Tom. We have been doing two times a week, so I'll up it. Hopefully the added warmth and baths help him become more active.
 

Tom

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Season said:
Thanks Tom. We have been doing two times a week, so I'll up it. Hopefully the added warmth and baths help him become more active.

Don't forget light duration and brightness this time of year too. It might help to add a florescent tube over the length of the enclosure to really brighten it up during the day, and into the early part of the night, as our days continue to get shorter and shorter.
 

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Another question - we have a brand new under tank heater and a temperature controller that's been sitting in our basement - can that be used to make his enclosure warmer?
 

Pokeymeg

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Season said:
Another question - we have a brand new under tank heater and a temperature controller that's been sitting in our basement - can that be used to make his enclosure warmer?

Tortoises expect heat from above, not below, and therefore a heat source underneath them can be dangerous. Since tortoises are not really programmed instinctively to find heat from below, they can overheat :(

You've gotten some really good advice - Be sure to follow all of it! Especially what Yvonne says about the light bulb pointing straight down. For MVB bulbs, they can be rendered useless, or break, when kept at an angle!

Good luck! Hopefully your tort will perk up with the higher temps and higher humidity!
 

Moozillion

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My Hermann's, Elsa, doesn't really get active until her enclosure temps are around 80. She's sluggish at a temp of 73. She is about 4 yrs old.
 

stinax182

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your tort looks pretty small and just like a human baby, baby tortoises sleep a lot too :) sleep, eat, bask, poop and sleepi agree that it's probably not warm enough. you could even wrap the cage in a clear trash bag, make sure to not let the plastic touch the hot lights, though. try giving your baby a warm bath in the morning before you feed him and that should keep him going for awhile :D

Sent from my MB886 using TortForum mobile app
 

Terry Allan Hall

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Season said:
Thanks so much you guys, we will get right on making it warmer for our little guy. His light is a mercury UV bulb (125w). We do give him baths, but maybe not enough? How many a week should we be giving him?

In that enclosure, I'd suggest daily...you really can't over-do soaks, particularly when they're that young.

And, yes, you need warmer temps and to take it out for real sunshine every day you can...even 30 minutes/day will do wonders!
 

nate.mann

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the info given will solve your problems, if theyre still sluggish, you may just have a lazy tort. haha.


0.1.0 Russian tortoise
0.1.0 Sonoran Desert Tortoise
1.0.0 Bluenose Pit/American Bulldog
 

HermanniChris

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Just though I'd point out that you do not have a Hermann's tortoise. This is a Greek tortoise but either way you're being given great advice so far.
 

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A Greek?? I wondered!! Guess I need to do some more reading on what our little Greek guy needs. We were told he was 6 months old too - was that correct you think? My husband is already designing and will be building a table to get him warmer and to hang the lights properly. Thanks again everyone!
 

Raymo2477

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Season said:
A Greek?? I wondered!! Guess I need to do some more reading on what our little Greek guy needs. We were told he was 6 months old too - was that correct you think? My husband is already designing and will be building a table to get him warmer and to hang the lights properly. Thanks again everyone!

Yeah it looks like an ibera Greek. The first Herman's I got was in reality a Greek!
 
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