The Tortoise Table

Hi All
It’s been a while since I’ve posted on here, mostly because having Fergus has been pretty uneventful. He sleeps, he eats, he sleeps again

However recently we have started finding him asleep in his water bowl. Is this just stupidity or a sign of something I should be worried about?

Many thanks
Nic

Hi Nic,

Great to hear from you, and I don't think there is any problem with Fergus sleeping in his bath. My Doris used to like to sit outside her water bowl, put one foot in it and then stay like that for ages. As long as the water is nice and warm he should be fine, but I wouldn't let the water get cool or cold while he is in it for any length of time. What are the temperatures in his table -- at the hot end and the cool end? I'm just thinking that maybe if it's too hot he might be staying in the bath to cool off -- but I doubt that this is the case, and he probably just finds it relaxing to linger in his spa for a while

I'm so glad to hear that Fergus is eating well --- I remember the difficult time you went through right after you acquired him. How much does he weigh now?

Nina

Hi Nina- thank you for getting back to me.
I think you may be into something about Fergus trying to cool down. His hot end sits between 28-32 degrees but as we have a wood burner, overall temperature can fluctuate. Haven’t clocked whether he’s more likely to sit in the bowl when the fire is on but will keep an eye out for that.

He is doing really well, a whole 80g now and a bit of a grumpy fella but I think he may be trying to hibernate so we keep getting him up and putting back under his lamp or on his food so that may explain some of that. I haven’t quite got my head round hibernation yet- mostly because I just don’t know where I would keep him and am terrified of just forgetting about him!

I have attached a couple of photos by way of update- including one showing size difference since we got him!