Hey all,

I have a year old Horsfield called Ely and he has been refusing to eat and drink for the last 2 weeks. His temperature is at 85degrees fahranheit and this is my first winter with him as I bought him in March this year. He usually loves the mixture of food and drink and loves a bath and to play, but lately all he does is stay in one corner burrowing. Is this normal? I'm quite worried
about him as he is usually very active.

Please help.

Lou

Hi,

Your tortoise is thinking "hibernation" and it is completely natural for them to start winding down once the evenings draw in. If your tortoise is healthy why dont you consider hibernation?

Ali

Hey Ali,

Thanks for the reply. To be honest I was always told that they are not old enough to hibernate until they are at least 3 years old. I've also read so many horrid stories about it, that I don't want to hibernate him. Is it a 'must' to hibernate them? Is what Ely's doing normal?

Thanks again.

As he is still young it isnt essential to hibernate him just yet but it is something you need to think about in the future. Yes he is acting completely normal

Ali

Hi Lou,

85f is a little on the cool side if your talking about the basking spot. To encourage your tortoise to be more active you need to up it to around 32-34c (90-93f).

Thanks Dave,

I'll give this a shot and see how he's doing.