Horsfield advice please (to hibernate or not)

Hi... ive got a 3 year old horsfield tort... named Turbo... ive not hibernated him yet... but im going to this winter. Prob is... for about 3 weeks now hes been off his food and just hides in the corner sleeping. Is he self hibernating? I was going to hibernate him at the end of oct?
And if so... what is the best way (in the UK) Advice much appreciated.

Hello

Before you can hibernate a tort you must be 100% certain that your tort is healthy and is at full weight for their size.

You must know your tort's weight and it must not lose more than 10% of its body weight from wind down to wake up.

My Greek Joe, who we've had for 46 years, has started to react to the shorter days and cooling temperatures in the UK over the last week. However, he is still eating. I don't expect to start his wind down for at least another couple of weeks - possibly longer as it's been late November before he has hibernated in recent years.

Is your tort kept outside? This lack of activity suggests that he's not warm enough and/or not able to bask properly.

Hi.. thanks for your reply... my tort lives inside on a table top with all the right lighting etc. I put him outside on sunnier days and he gets bathed reguarly. But this is the first time hes been like this... and ive not changed anything. He just seems very sleepy

Hi.. thanks for your reply.
Hes been fine up until the past few weeks... and ive not done anything different. Hes in an open top tort table.. with correct lighting... and gets bathed reguarly.
As you can see hes sleeping in the corner.

Check your temperatures - use a temperature gun thermometer for accuracy - and make sure they haven't been affected by the end of summer.

You may need supplementary heat.

Also, it's possibly getting too chilly at night now. We're in that interim period where temperatures drop but the central heating is still off.

You must soak your tort every morning for 30 minutes in warm water while he's not eating.

I suggest that you make a point of hauling him out first thing, soaking him and then popping him under the basking lamp with food nearby and in sight.

TurboTankTiny said:

Hi... ive got a 3 year old horsfield tort... named Turbo... ive not hibernated him yet... but im going to this winter. Prob is... for about 3 weeks now hes been off his food and just hides in the corner sleeping. Is he self hibernating? I was going to hibernate him at the end of oct?
And if so... what is the best way (in the UK) Advice much appreciated.

Click to expand...

Please read the "Beginners Mistakes" Thread as well as a thread on hibernation.

If you've recently got the tort, then it will take him time to adapt, as torts do not like change.

And a very warm welcome to the forum.

Hi... thanks for the advice. No... hes 3 now... had him since he was mths old. Hes not had any change at all. I cant see it being the night temp as my house is warm enough for him and hes a horsfield... but i will try bathing him everyday and see how it goes.

TurboTankTiny said:

Hi... thanks for the advice. No... hes 3 now... had him since he was mths old. Hes not had any change at all. I cant see it being the night temp as my house is warm enough for him and hes a horsfield... but i will try bathing him everyday and see how it goes.

Click to expand...

Please keep us updated.

Well... i bathed Turbo this morn first thing.... and encouraged him to have a walk around the living room... i put him back in his table near all the food... he turned his nose up and went into hiding again!!

TurboTankTiny said:

Well... i bathed Turbo this morn first thing.... and encouraged him to have a walk around the living room... i put him back in his table near all the food... he turned his nose up and went into hiding again!!

Click to expand...

Leave him in his enclosure. The living room floor is unsafe for many reasons including being distracted and stepping on him, escape and your tort eating something it shouldn't.

Bath and back in table under lamp with food in sight.

When a tortoise is ready to hibernate, he stops eating. They have to clean out their digestive tract so food doesn't rot while they're too cold to digest it. I would assume your tortoise is ready to hibernate.

What are your four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking area and over night low?
How long are the lights on per day?
I can't see it in the pic, so what are you using for heating, lighting and UV?

World meet Turbo... hes been out for food
Im not silly about having him stepped on.... whilst hes walking about. It was just to give him a change of scenery to see if he would be more active

I use Arcadia sunglow 50w on my horsfield.... left on from 8am to 7pm approx.
Temp at 34°c
No night lights on through the night as its not recommended in the UK by tortoise specialists. Tend to find that alot of info contradicts. But thats the way ive always done it and had no problems at all.

Oh and hes obviously got a uv tube in... also arcadia

Well hes starting to be abit happier now.....

Here he is after a clean out

And here are my sulcatas... Tiny & Tank....

Any constructive criticism or advice on my set-up?

Cute