Winter update

[louisewhomack76]

I posted a while back as I was concerned about my 2 year old tortoise when the temperatures had dropped in our awful UK winters. My tortoise was hiding for most of the day despite temps and humidity being fine.
He is now getting himself up in a morning and I am giving him warm soaks daily. He is eating like a pig and passing urates. He is still putting himself to bed around midday but generally has a wander first. He seems healthy and has steadily gained weight since October. He was 86 grams back then and today weighs 113 grams. Will be glad when spring arrives and he can return to more normal behaviour.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thank you for posting an update! Maybe he knows, that spring is coming

 

[louisewhomack76]

Thank you for posting an update! Maybe he knows, that spring is coming

I hope so. I can't wait to get him outside again. I have found the winter quite stressful with worrying about my tortoise.

 

[Tom]

I hope so. I can't wait to get him outside again. I have found the winter quite stressful with worrying about my tortoise.

Maybe willing to brumate him next year? It really is easy and a natural process for them. You don't HAVE to brumate your tortoise, but I think you SHOULD brumate your tortoises. It appears that he wants to anyway...

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Maggie3fan]

I posted a while back as I was concerned about my 2 year old tortoise when the temperatures had dropped in our awful UK winters. My tortoise was hiding for most of the day despite temps and humidity being fine.
He is now getting himself up in a morning and I am giving him warm soaks daily. He is eating like a pig and passing urates. He is still putting himself to bed around midday but generally has a wander first. He seems healthy and has steadily gained weight since October. He was 86 grams back then and today weighs 113 grams. Will be glad when spring arrives and he can return to more normal behaviour.

That kinda IS normal behaviour for many torts thru the winter...I have 2 tortoises in a tort shed and both get up and eat, poop and are back to snooze the day away. The Sulcata lately has been banging on her door so I have opened it, but she looks at the pouring rain and goes back to bed...

 

[louisewhomack76]

Maybe willing to brumate him next year? It really is easy and a natural process for them. You don't HAVE to brumate your tortoise, but I think you SHOULD brumate your tortoises. It appears that he wants to anyway...

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

I wanted to but when I took him to vets in October he said to not do that this year. I don’t know why.

 

[louisewhomack76]

That kinda IS normal behaviour for many torts thru the winter...I have 2 tortoises in a tort shed and both get up and eat, poop and are back to snooze the day away. The Sulcata lately has been banging on her door so I have opened it, but she looks at the pouring rain and goes back to bed...

It’s my first year with a tortoise so I’m still learning their habits. It will be good experience for next year. Your Sulcata is not daft. That’s what most of us feel like doing too 😂

 

[TammyJ]

I wanted to but when I took him to vets in October he said to not do that this year. I don’t know why.

I would definitely want the vet to tell me why I should not brumate my tortoise. It may be very important.

 

[Tom]

I wanted to but when I took him to vets in October he said to not do that this year. I don’t know why.

Vets don't know tortoise care and they learn their wrong info from the same wrong sources that everyone else learns from. There is no semester on tortoise care in vet school.

Many people subscribe to this idea that they should not be "hibernated" their first year, or sometimes its their first three years, or five... It doesn't matter. Hatchlings of temperate species in the wild hatch out of the ground in late summer or early fall after months of warm summer temps. Then is gets cold and winter sets in. This happens every year in the wild. Then the babies come out in spring and resume eating and growing. I speculate that the reason people say not to do it their first few years is because so many people do it wrong, and the tortoises die. You can't just leave them outside to fend for themselves in the back yard. But if done correctly, it works perfectly and they are all healthy and fit.

Here is some general info explaining why so much tortoise care info is wrong:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[louisewhomack76]

I would definitely want the vet to tell me why I should not brumate my tortoise. It may be very important.

I did but I can’t remember. I have a condition which affects my brain. I need to write down notes for next time.

 

[Tom]

I would definitely want the vet to tell me why I should not brumate my tortoise. It may be very important.

This is true Tammy. Good catch. There may be a medical reason and I am painting with too broad a brush...

If the answer is something like, "The tortoise is too young to hibernate..." or "They shouldn't be hibernated for the first five years...", then my answer applies.

 

[louisewhomack76]

He is a specialist tortoise vet and I travelled to see him as his reputation is excellent, so I think whatever the reason it must be important. I agree that the above reasons are not that valid and too generic.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Maybe you can give him a call and bring up the reason?

It's not about questioning his knowledge, but to understand the reasons which might affect your tortoise husbandry. And keep such cases in mind when helping other keepers with advice on brumation.

 

[louisewhomack76]

I will definitely phone and check.