toirtoise sleeping under the basking lamp all day !

[Valoutecook]

Good morning,
I am new to the forum but have been using the tortoise table a lot for the past year. I have a 12-month-old eastern testudo hermani and every thing was going well until the end of April. My tortoise is acting strange to me.

So first of all I got her end of January from a breeder, not a pet shop. she did settle in very quickly and grew well.
End of April the weather warmed up so I decided to put her outdoors in an enclosure (guinea pig cage) that I had prepared for the summer. I only bring her outdoors when the sun was warming up the pen. Every time I find her buried in the substrate, things she never did before. I tried it for 3 days but I stopped because she started to digue in her tortoise table at home too. She also started to eat less and spend time in the hide things she never did before too. But lately, she seemed like she did get better, she is still not eating a lot but she was running around her table and behind very active. The night before yesterday she did not sleep in her hide but under the basking lamp (it is off at night) but in the morning she refused to wake up and spent her day at the spot under the basking lamp (on). She only eats when I put her close to the food but not a lot and today same thing. She is up but not moving at all. I am worried and don't know what to do.

Valoutecook

[lin]

Morning, and welcome to the forum.
Can I ask what substrate you are using in both the indoor and outdoor enclosure and if you have a photo of both setups it helps us to point out any tweaks that might help. When you put your tortoise outside is it after he has warmed up after basking? Are there any basking lights outside in the Guinea pig enclosure?

I have a feeling it has something to do with the temperature changes but seeing both setups will help a lot.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Lin

[Valoutecook]

Hi Lyn,
Inside set up: only topsoil
Outside: topsoil and coconut coir

Sorry, I can't a picture right now of the outdoor guinea pig cage because it is flooded by the rain we had, I need to put draining holes at the bottom but is bigger than the tortoise table. there is no basking lamp in it, I put in a hanging flower basket upside down as hide.
when I put her it was after she warmed up. I have not put her outside since it has been two weeks now.

Valerie

[lin]

Ah, I Think the problem could be a common term we use down south, it’s called ‘throwing the rattle out of the pram’, having a stroppy moment because it’s has had a taste of the outside world where the grass is greener but being so small he will lose the core temperature much faster than a bigger older tortoise and not having the basking area then it’s feeling the chill and digging down and it hasn’t got the depth in the outside run to regulate it’s temps, as it would in a natural way that tortoises do.
How do you measure the indoor temps Valerie, and what are the readings at the tortoise height in both hotspot and cool area. And is your bulb a combi offering both heat and uvb or just uvb.
Sorry for the delay, I thought I had already sent this.

Lin

[Valoutecook]

Hi Lin,

Thank you for your help. I thought so it was about the temperature. Today she moved and eat bot but not much. It has been two weeks almost tree. Do you think that she will recover. When it is going to be good time to bring her outside? What temperature, what conditions?
Temp in house 19/21
Under basking area : 35
Cold area: 20

[Valoutecook]

Sorry i forgot, i have a uvB proT5 24w arcadia and an 100 W bulb . But it is not a combi.

[lin]

Everything in your enclosure, temp wise, seems perfect and the Arcadia pro t5 is the best so I don’t think anything is wrong with that. I do really think it a punishment to you for not allowing the freedom of the outside. Once they try it they don’t like coming back inside and will show off.

With one so small he can go out, we usually say when it’s warm enough for us to be outside in a short sleeve T-shirt but when they start to chill (this can be seen by a slowing of his behaviour, not eating, looking to sleep and dig down (tortoises will dig down if they are too cold out too hot) and the shell will be cool to the touch. This is the time he should be taken inside and placed on a warm bright table under a basking lamp so that he can warm the core temperature again.
If you can offer a small, secure outdoor enclosure with a cold frame or something similar inside where he can go to be warmer it will be sufficient during the summer but while we are having this typical British weather it will be better if you do have to go out then bring him indoors.

Hopefully because he has eaten a little today he is starting to forgive you and will come round but do keep an eye on him and if you are worried over anything then please do get back to us.

Lin

[Valoutecook]

Okay , thank you very much Lin. O will keep you updated. I cant wait for warmer weather for him.