Hello again,
I'm back for more advice about Sheldon our 7 year old horsefield who was lost over winter and then refound and came back to action in the spring!
Sheldon has had a lovely summer in our front garden, and has spent most of it outside and burying himself into the soil and eating the dandelions and plantain and roses etc that are growing. Just in the last week or so he has slowed right down and given the chance will come into the house and climb into the large fireplace and bury himself in the ash. It seems like he is trying to go to sleep and I am having to wake him up and put him under his lamp. He does eat a little when he wakes up but then makes a beeline for the dark whether its the fireplace or if I put him under his lamp he heads straight off into the little dark cave area in his tortoise table. I've noticed the inside of his mouth looks less pink too, as if he's anaemic. I haven't seen a poo for ages - he hasn't been doing them in the bath, just a wee. Today I thought the boost in warm weather would really get him going and he marched straight back inside and climbed into the fireplace and buried himself. When he is under the lamp I can still never get it up to 30 degrees. 26 is about as hot as I have ever managed to make it - but for most of the summer he was very active outside and seemed very well.
Is he trying to go to sleep early or do you think there's something wrong?
lethargic tortoise.
Re: lethargic tortoise.
Hi Amber,
Great to hear from you. It does sound as if Sheldon is going into hibernation mode -- and that is happening to lots of tortoises (especially Horsfields) now. I'm not sure how great it is for him to bury himself in the ash in your fireplace (in case he inhaled some of it), but it doesn't seem to have done any harm yet (lol, just be sure not to light a fire there on a cold night!).
Regarding the temperature under his light. What wattage is the light bulb? 26C isn't terrible, but have you been measuring it directly beneath the lamp and at the height of Sheldon's shell (a thermometer mounted on a nearby wall will give you a lower reading)? If it isn't hot enough under the bulb then put a higher wattage bulb in, or lower the bulb so that it is closer to Sheldon, and that will raise the temperature.
Are you planning to hibernate him this year or keep him awake? We can send you instructions for both plans -- it can be difficult to keep a Horsfield awake over the winter, but it can be done, but it's a bit early for hibernation, and you were to hibernate him now you would have to wake him up about in mid-December so there would be a long, cold period ahead of him before he could go outdoors again.
Let us know what decision you make, but if the inside of his mouth looks pale, and given that he had a difficult winter last year, it might be a good idea to get him checked out by a good tortoise vet. I remember that he had difficulty getting going after you found him in February, and you weren't happy with the vet you used and so were considering going to one on our list in Ross on Wye. Did you ever go there? If you do want to go to that vet, be sure to ring first and make sure the exotics specialist is still here (vets do come and go and we aren't always notified.
In the meantime here is a link to our article on overwintering. https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tor ... 1ead4vTW9s
I know you might not be overwintering him, but the advice there is equally good for getting a tortoise going again when they go into hibernation mode too early. Do get him up in the mornings and put him under the lamp, and do it several times in the morning if he goes back into a corner to sleep. Sometimes after two or three weeks of doing this they do start to wake themselves up again and become more alert.
I hope some of that helps, and please let us know how you get on. Sheldon is obviously a survivor and I think deserves five-star treatment this year, so that he has a better winter than he had last year.
Nina
Great to hear from you. It does sound as if Sheldon is going into hibernation mode -- and that is happening to lots of tortoises (especially Horsfields) now. I'm not sure how great it is for him to bury himself in the ash in your fireplace (in case he inhaled some of it), but it doesn't seem to have done any harm yet (lol, just be sure not to light a fire there on a cold night!).
Regarding the temperature under his light. What wattage is the light bulb? 26C isn't terrible, but have you been measuring it directly beneath the lamp and at the height of Sheldon's shell (a thermometer mounted on a nearby wall will give you a lower reading)? If it isn't hot enough under the bulb then put a higher wattage bulb in, or lower the bulb so that it is closer to Sheldon, and that will raise the temperature.
Are you planning to hibernate him this year or keep him awake? We can send you instructions for both plans -- it can be difficult to keep a Horsfield awake over the winter, but it can be done, but it's a bit early for hibernation, and you were to hibernate him now you would have to wake him up about in mid-December so there would be a long, cold period ahead of him before he could go outdoors again.
Let us know what decision you make, but if the inside of his mouth looks pale, and given that he had a difficult winter last year, it might be a good idea to get him checked out by a good tortoise vet. I remember that he had difficulty getting going after you found him in February, and you weren't happy with the vet you used and so were considering going to one on our list in Ross on Wye. Did you ever go there? If you do want to go to that vet, be sure to ring first and make sure the exotics specialist is still here (vets do come and go and we aren't always notified.
In the meantime here is a link to our article on overwintering. https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tor ... 1ead4vTW9s
I know you might not be overwintering him, but the advice there is equally good for getting a tortoise going again when they go into hibernation mode too early. Do get him up in the mornings and put him under the lamp, and do it several times in the morning if he goes back into a corner to sleep. Sometimes after two or three weeks of doing this they do start to wake themselves up again and become more alert.
I hope some of that helps, and please let us know how you get on. Sheldon is obviously a survivor and I think deserves five-star treatment this year, so that he has a better winter than he had last year.
Nina
Re: lethargic tortoise.
Nina thank you so much for all that advice. In the end I didn't get to the vet in Ross because lockdown happened and he had perked up so much and seemed back to normal. But I think I will take him there now to get him checked out and try and get a poo sample to see if he needs worming. I will have a look at your overwintering guidelines and make sure we have a plan but I would rather he stays awake for now!
The bulb I have is 230V 100W and it is a mercury vapor bulb by Aiicioo and it is supposed to be providing the UVA and UVB as well as heat. It says it is for reptiles . Sheldon can get pretty close under it by climbing on the rocks -( I can't find another way to lower it) and I have the fridge thermometer to measure temp above his shell but it is just never 30! I bought this bulb in the spring when we refound Sheldon so I wonder if it is time to buy a new one. Do you have a recommendatino for the best one perhaps? And also when he was outside in the summer where he seemed much happier he definitely wouldn't have had much time at 30 degrees here in rural herefordshire! But if I ever felt he needed warming up I put him under his lamp or gave him a bath.
Thanks so much for all the invaluable advice!
Amber
The bulb I have is 230V 100W and it is a mercury vapor bulb by Aiicioo and it is supposed to be providing the UVA and UVB as well as heat. It says it is for reptiles . Sheldon can get pretty close under it by climbing on the rocks -( I can't find another way to lower it) and I have the fridge thermometer to measure temp above his shell but it is just never 30! I bought this bulb in the spring when we refound Sheldon so I wonder if it is time to buy a new one. Do you have a recommendatino for the best one perhaps? And also when he was outside in the summer where he seemed much happier he definitely wouldn't have had much time at 30 degrees here in rural herefordshire! But if I ever felt he needed warming up I put him under his lamp or gave him a bath.
Thanks so much for all the invaluable advice!
Amber
Re: lethargic tortoise.
Hi Amber.
Can I jump in and ask if you would concider swapping you combined heat/ubv bulb to a single heat, possibly a PAR 38 or non led spotlight and an Arcadis ProT5 12% UVB strip light. It allows UVB to cover a much wider area of the enclosure and gives off a brighter light for the tortoises.
https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/arcadi ... desert-12/
https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/arcadi ... olar-spot/
Its quite expencive to setup but once its done you only have to replace the bulbs.
Lin
Can I jump in and ask if you would concider swapping you combined heat/ubv bulb to a single heat, possibly a PAR 38 or non led spotlight and an Arcadis ProT5 12% UVB strip light. It allows UVB to cover a much wider area of the enclosure and gives off a brighter light for the tortoises.
https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/arcadi ... desert-12/
https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/arcadi ... olar-spot/
Its quite expencive to setup but once its done you only have to replace the bulbs.
Lin
Re: lethargic tortoise.
Yes, I agree you could switch, but really you ought to be able to lower that bulb enough to get the temperature up, or you could get another mercury vapour bulb at, say, 150W.
I use the UBV strip lights similar to the one Lin has shown you, and they are good, but it means you have to have one light for heat and light, and another (the strip) for UVB, so lots of lights above the table. However, it also means that you can raise and lower the heat/light bulb without having to worry about moving the UVB source too close or too far away. If you do get a strip light, get as long a one as your table will accommodate, so you get overall coverage with UVB.
Nina
I use the UBV strip lights similar to the one Lin has shown you, and they are good, but it means you have to have one light for heat and light, and another (the strip) for UVB, so lots of lights above the table. However, it also means that you can raise and lower the heat/light bulb without having to worry about moving the UVB source too close or too far away. If you do get a strip light, get as long a one as your table will accommodate, so you get overall coverage with UVB.
Nina
Re: lethargic tortoise.
Brilliant - thank you both for that advice. I will get to work on it!
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