Freddie the tortoise

JoesMum

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Barbie82

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Hi, when should I put Freddie to hibernate.
I was thinking of putting him in our shed in a large box with ,soli ,hay and some one told me paper ..
I was going to have the box on the side so it can come out of hibernation when he wants .
Barbie, I cannot tell you when to do it as it depends on your tortoise and the weather where you are.

Please read my thread about outdoor accommodation as I refer to the wind down in that.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/outdoor-accommodation-in-a-colder-uk-climate.140866/

The sooner your tort goes down then the sooner you will have to get it up. What's the weather usually like where you are in February? In March?...
thank you very much ,of an evening I move Freddie inside our garage where he has his little run and a dry shelter with lots of hay in .in the morning I put hi in our fenced of garden for him, at the moment Freddie I think is going of his appetite .i take it its natural for hito do that .
 

JoesMum

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As the weather cools and days shorten, appetite does decline. It's vital that you weigh weekly. You must keep your tort warm enough to eat and be active, and make sure he doesn't lose weight, until the weather is right for doing the proper wind down.
 

Barbie82

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thank you very much ,of an evening I move Freddie inside our garage where he has his little run and a dry shelter with lots of hay in .in the morning I put hi in our fenced of garden for him, at the moment Freddie I think is going of his appetite .i take it its natural for hito do that .
 

Barbie82

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As the weather cools and days shorten, appetite does decline. It's vital that you weigh weekly. You must keep your tort warm enough to eat and be active, and make sure he doesn't lose weight, until the weather is right for doing the proper wind down.
What would you do if your tortoise just won't eat . Some one at work who use to have a tortoise said they love bananas ,I tried to give him a banana tonight but had a bite and no more ..
I think Freddie is blind he can't seem to find his food I have to feed him
 

JoesMum

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What would you do if your tortoise just won't eat . Some one at work who use to have a tortoise said they love bananas ,I tried to give him a banana tonight but had a bite and no more ..
I think Freddie is blind he can't seem to find his food I have to feed him
No banana at all. It has far too much sugar.

Your species of tortoise cannot digest sugars properly - they cause digestive and kidney problems - so fruit, carrot, red pepper and tomato should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally if at all.

If your tortoise is not eating, it's because he's not warm enough.

I see you are in London, not so far from me in Kent. The temperature has dropped, and I would be expecting to see appetite declining now. It shouldn't have stopped completely.

I often found myself starting to offer Joe a little pellet food softened in water at this time of year to tempt him. I use Komodo.

You may need to bring Freddie in the house at night (just put him in a box in the kitchen before you go to bed) so he doesn't get too cold overnight. If he gets too cold overnight, he'll take too long to warm up and be unable to eat or digest food next day.

A heat lamp to give him a jump start in the mornings before you put him out would help too. A couple of hours under that would help no end.

Also consider a soak in warm water first thing in the morning for at least 30 minutes. Change the water if it goes cool. It will keep Freddie hydrated and also help to warm him up.

I have just looked at the extended forecast on Accuweather for my town and I would be aiming for last week in November hibernation based on that. Temperatures are forecast to be steadily around 10C by day that week for the first time. So here, I would be starting the full wind down two weeks before and keeping Joe eating, albeit with a declining appetite expectation, until then. See photo:
ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1504590197.461715.jpg

If you search Google for
Accuweather $town

where $town is where you actually live, you can look at the extended forecast for where you live. Let me know where you actually live (more accurate than London unless you live right in the centre) if you want me to take a look.
 

Barbie82

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Iv only had my tortoise a few months ,I'm a bit worried since the weather has been extremely hot .my tortoise just won't eat and keeps sleeping .a friend told me to give him cucumber which I did he seemed to like that ..but his normal food veg dandelions , salad leaves he just doesn't want .
 

JoesMum

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I don't think he's warm enough to eat.

Joe hated cucumber by the way, never would eat it. Not all torts like the same things.

You need to start weighing Freddie. Use digital kitchen scales. Place a tin on the scales and then zero them. Balance Freddie on top of the tin so he can't walk off and you will weigh him easily. At present weigh him once a week at roughly the same time of day each day.

If he isn't eating then he must be soaked to prevent dehydration.
- Use a large flat-bottomed bowl that he can't see through or over - a washing up bowl is ideal.

- The water needs to be warm, but not hot. Think baby bath.

- The water should be deep enough to come just up over the join between the shell and the plastron (undershell)

- Soak for at least 30 minutes. Change the water if it goes cold

- Pooping and peeing in the bathwater is normal. Scoop poop out, change the water if it's truly disgusting, but don't worry too much.

Do you have a vet experienced with torts local to you who can check Freddie over to make sure he's healthy enough to hibernate?

My vet, Mark Rowland at Trinity Vets in Maidstone does free pre-hibernation checks.
http://trinityvetcentre.com/
 

Barbie82

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No banana at all. It has far too much sugar.

Your species of tortoise cannot digest sugars properly - they cause digestive and kidney problems - so fruit, carrot, red pepper and tomato should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally if at all.

If your tortoise is not eating, it's because he's not warm enough.

I see you are in London, not so far from me in Kent. The temperature has dropped, and I would be expecting to see appetite declining now. It shouldn't have stopped completely.

I often found myself starting to offer Joe a little pellet food softened in water at this time of year to tempt him. I use Komodo.

You may need to bring Freddie in the house at night (just put him in a box in the kitchen before you go to bed) so he doesn't get too cold overnight. If he gets too cold overnight, he'll take too long to warm up and be unable to eat or digest food next day.

A heat lamp to give him a jump start in the mornings before you put him out would help too. A couple of hours under that would help no end.

Also consider a soak in warm water first thing in the morning for at least 30 minutes. Change the water if it goes cool. It will keep Freddie hydrated and also help to warm him up.

I have just looked at the extended forecast on Accuweather for my town and I would be aiming for last week in November hibernation based on that. Temperatures are forecast to be steadily around 10C by day that week for the first time. So here, I would be starting the full wind down two weeks before and keeping Joe eating, albeit with a declining appetite expectation, until then. See photo:
View attachment 217453

If you search Google for
Accuweather $town

where $town is where you actually live, you can look at the extended forecast for where you live. Let me know where you actually live (more accurate than London unless you live right in the centre) if you want me to take a look.
Thanks for that ..very informative
 

JoesMum

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Tidgy's Dad

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Are you saying your tortoise likes cheese lol
I am certain that Tidgy would eat cheese if she could.
Who wouldn't ?
When she was young and ill after I rescued her, I used to tempt her with cheese and when she opened her mouth, I would pop in a bit of proper food, much to her annoyance.
But it's me who adores cheese most.
Cheese mentions get point in the Cold Dark Room.
And points to Linda. (Joe'sMum) for the free advertising.
 

Barbie82

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Help ! Freddie has been sleeping for the last few days .enjoyed his bath on Monday .but just won't eat .
Brought Freddie inside today to walk around the house and to tempt him with food cue and green leaves still won't eat .
Freddie is walking around but very slowly.
I was told to leave him in his run and house which has hay in ,it's in my garage and when he wants he will come out .he will only hibernate when they are ready ,they are more intelligent than what we think . Do you think I'm worrying unnecessarily.
 

Barbie82

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Where he is I haven't got electricity .any suggestions what I can do .?
 

JoesMum

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Freddie cannot maintain this without losing a lot of weight.

He is cold-blooded and if he cannot bask, he cannot eat or digest food and he can't be active. He will lose weight rapidly and he will get sick.

If he can't bask in the garage then you're going to have to rig something up for him to bask indoors... or run a cable through a window into an insulated dog kennel or something.

There is no getting round the fact that heat is essential to Freddie's health and the weather is not cold enough for him to hibernate b
 
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