hi all, twiglet has decided to give me a new problem to solve,shes now decided she isnt hungry at all, her temp under her light is 30 and her cool end is about 20, but her overnight temp is variable between 15 to 21 is this too cold for her, shes made a nest in the timothy hay which has the heat emitter about 5/6 inches over it, i think ive gotten all my temps wrong , she does wander about during the day if its warm enough and she is drinking normally but her food intake has dropped to a few nibbles here and there, the only change ive made is to add the hay but i cant control the weather lol, any advice accepted with great thanks xxxx

sharon

Hi Sharon

It sounds like you have Twiglet  too warm at night.  The temperature can be allowed to drop down to 10°C at night without any worries.  None of my russians even the babies have any heat at night at present.  They need to experience the night drop in tempertaure to maintain full activity.

HTH

Helen

Just another thought Sharon

Can Twiglet dig down at night?  All mine dig right down  under the soil.  Don't worry about food until you have the temps sorted. 

Did you know that Russians only eat for a maximum of 15 hours in total per year in the wild?

Helen

Thanks helen, twiglet has got about 6inches of substrate to dig down into but she never fully goes under just enough to cover her head and bum, im waiting for delivery of a thermostat so if the temps drop below 10 the heater will kick in but what do you suggest i do in the meantime?, should i switch her heater off because like i said she has got hay over her as well and if she gets too cold will she dig down further?

im glad you told me about the food im such a worrier with this little one

thanks again xxxx

sharon

Just turn the heat off completely at night.  I haven't any of my thermostats plugged in at present.  Remind me wher is Twiglet housed at night - indoors or outside.

Helen

hi, shes actually outside in her pen but its under the pergola which has a roof but no sides so she wont get wet if it rains xxx

hi helen, there a picture in her album if that will give you a better idea on how to help thanksxxxxx

Hi Sharon

Yes I remember Twiglet's enclosure.  It looks really nice.  I think I should just check on the forecast and if the night time temps aren't scheduled to drop below 10°C I wouldn't give any night time heat at all.  Just ensure she is able to bask at 30°C when she wakes up. 

The day time weather isn't too conducive to the tortoises eating much either; so if Twiglet isn't showing any signs of illness I should stop worrying  for now.  Just keep us informed of how she is doing and we'll continue to advise.

Helen

ok thanks helen i will keep you informed on how she goes, thanks for your advise xxxxx