keepeing temperatures up in a tortoise table

[jimmythetramp]

hay eveyone, got a bit of a dilema my hermanns tortoise is currently on 4ft x 2ft tortoise table and has the perfect set up, everything is fine and dandy and not having any issues... until recently, i'm currently using a 150w bulb to create a basking site of 32 - 35degrees and got a strip light that runs the lengh of her table ( not her shelter though) and she gets the right levels of calcium and vitamins. but i've been finding that temperatures in the table are falling bellow this and i cant lower the bulb much more for fear of causing burns, she'll be 2 years old in december is to young to hibernate yet but i'm worried that she may be trying to go into hibernation against my wishes! she usually eats like she's never seen food before, but for the last week or so she's only been eating one meal a day which certainly isnt like her! i'm beggining to get worried that she may be trying to go into hibernation or may becoming ill.

could temps be causing this? any suggestions of keeping her warm? is this a normal tortoise thing during winter, this is our first winter together so not sure what to expect.

[purplepixie]

How long have you had your tortoise?
Firstly she is not too young to hibernate as what do you think young tortoises do in the wild?
Lol it might be against your wishes if she is slowing down, but its probably not against her genes.
Your temperatures need to be 32c, and I am surprised you cant maintain that temperature if you have the bulb at the correct height. Approx 12ins above the tortoises head. Maybe you need to up the ambien temperatures.
Make sure she has a dry nose, and clear bright eyes.
Try bathing her everyday, as this can help keep her up and about.

[annsimpson1]

sorry if I'm stating the obvious but the temps only need to be in the 30's under the heat lamp, the rest of the table is normal room temp, around 20c or so through the day and no heat/light at night so a drop in temps, I was wondering whether you thought ALL of the table should be the same? sorry if I'm wrong, also if you don't have any heating in the room then the temps will struggle in the table, many people who work through the day don't have the heat on if they're not at home, if thats the case then you may have to move your tort into a small room where there is heat.

[xDiddersx]

Jimmy and I have had cheerio since summer. We have done a lot of research into keeping a tortoise. I raised the heating in the room today and found the temperature under her basking light to be 33 degrees. She has clear eyes and a clean nose. There's a lot of conflicting views about when you should hibernate your tortoise. A lot of tortoise keepers dont seem to hibernate them until they are older. We will be hibernating cheerio next year.

[annsimpson1]

I don't think people realise how much a table is affected by the room temp, not wanting to state the obvious but heat rises so one heat bulb can't heat more than the area beneath it especially if the room is cold and as its switched off at night there'd be no heat at all. An unheated house in the winter with an overwintering tort is the only time I'd consider using a viv as it could work out cheaper and more reliable if you can't heat the room. When I overwintered my babies I had them in the office (the smallest room) and had the radiater on, with the door shut at night it stayed nice and warm for them, with the cold weather approaching maybe moving the table into a much smaller area would be cheaper than trying to warm a large room especially if you work all day.

[jimmythetramp]

rest assured that the bulb is 12 inches above her head and i'm more than aware the basking bulb should heat the area underneath it and then gradually get cooler untill you reach room temprature at the other end, but hermanns maintain their optimum body temprature at 32 degrees so this is perfectly acceptible and so it also states in the tortoise trusts care sheet. and the room she's in is always a warm temp never dropping bellow 20 that was the whole reason that we bought a tort table and not a wooden/glas viv, i researched everynight for months before getting cheerio but their is alot of conflicting information on hibernation and after a check up with a specialist reptile vet and discussing hibernation it was agreed that she was not of suitible size/weight to hibernate. she's perfectly healthy with no discharge or other symptoms, the tortoise trust has provided alot of information on the subject. and i'm following their guidelines, she seems her normal self today so all is well

[purplepixie]

As your reptile specialist knows better, then I would say he/she is the person to ask your questions too.
As it differs from all my experience of 30yrs + is. And most keepers on here are using the same info/basics with little twists.
Me thinks you are just worried about hibernation like most keepers, which is not wrong, but tortoises have been doing things their way for millions of years, and would rather go by them than any specialist vets advice, which is sometimes out of a book rather than first hand experience.
Sorry we are not able to help you

[annsimpson1]

do you know that the tortoise trust has its own forum, maybe you'd be better trying on there as you're following their care sheets, I am surprised though that they don't reccomend hibernation as I thought they were all for it. Most of us on here read up and follow several forums/slightley different ways then work out what suits each of us the best

[purplepixie]

They do believe in hibernation Ann, and I am sure they allow for hibernation, as they have hibernation instructions for adult and smaller tortoises.

[annsimpson1]

sorry I must have misread the last reply, I thought the poster was following the TT guidelines and not hibernating because of something they'd read on their caresheets