Hibernating my Horsefelde

[Ali]

Hello
Shelly is a young russian tortoise. I have had her since march 2010.
I have been looking into hibernating her but as she is classed as a very small tortoise this can be quite dangerous if I don't do it correctly.
I stopped feeding her on 01/11/10 as was told that 4-6 weeks for digestive tract to empty and to bathe regularly in warm water. This I have done But the wieght has plummeted. She was 175g now she is down to about 130g over 6 weeks. Her temperature and light have been reduced steadily to anly 2 hours a day at the moment.
I was going to pop her in her box today but she did a poo in her bath so not too sure that her stomach is empty. Also was worried about the weight loss too. I don't want her not too wake up at the end of January.
Any ideas where I should go from here???

 

[Yvonne G]

Any reason why you can't keep her up over the winter? She doesn't need to hibernate in order to be healthy. We always recommend that you shouldn't hibernate a tortoise for its first winter with you. That way you can get acquainted with the tortoise and make sure its healthy and ready to hibernate the following winter.


It usually only take a couple weeks of not eating for a tortoise's system to get cleaned out. And when they notice the shorter days and cooler nights, they usually stop eating on their own. My inclination is to think that Shelly isn't ready to hibernate and isn't even thinking about it.

 

[Ali]

I read on the tortoise trust forum that it is best for tortoises to hibernate if they are the correct species otherwise they may suffer from stunted growth
To be honest there is so much information on the internet that its hard to find out the correct info that matters hence joining the forum to speak to people who know their stuff.
You are right in that I don't really think Shelly is old enough or really knowa what to do but as her guardiam I want to do whats right for her.
Maybe it would be best to let her grow for a year before considering hibernating her?
Any thoughts

 

[Laura]

I would start raising her temps, longer light period and start feeding her again in a few days. Dont let her hibernate this year.

 

[dmmj]

You should never hibernate a new tortoise under a year's worth of ownership, and I personally don't hibernate any tortoise under like 4 years of age. The only drawback I have ever heard of happening to tortoises not hibernating is that they usually have a low sperm count. Though there are several on here who could dispute that fact. I personally would not hibernate her this year, just my 2 cents.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I don't hibernate any of my animals and none of them have ever suffered from it. Yet the chance of them dying in hibernation is great...so my advice is to not hibernate Shelly at least this year wait until you and she know more about what you are doing.

 

[egyptiandan]

How long is Shelly's carapace (straight carapace length, SCL)? This will help determine how much she should weight.

Danny

 

[Nofx]

Wait a year like they said.

I had my Russian for more then 2 years now and he is 5, and this is the first winter that i let him hibernate outside.
He is down in the ground for 2 months now, and i will let him down there till late January or at the start of February.
Why? because its his first time, and I cant wait to April, Im to nervous! ( in the wild they hibernate for 7 months +/- )
Last week i checked on him, he is fine. I added more soil and some old weeds on his place because the colder days are coming.

If you will hibernate him next year, you need to get a good ratio of your winter temps and compare them the ones in there natural habitat. I live in that part of Slovenia that i have the same temps as they do in the wild, a bit more of rain.. but still not to much.

And also keep in mind to COMPLETELY get out of his system all of his poo. Souk him every day, when he will start to sleep more and eat less ( to none ). He will have the poo in his system for weeks so really do it even if he didn't eat in days. Because the poo kills them in there sleep lol. It rots them from the inside.

Good luck next year


Niko

 

[abra]

I was thinking of hibernating Rambo next year but I think it's too much of a hassle, I would be too worried about him. Plus I would miss him haha

 

[Ali]

Shelly is about 90mm long when her head is tucked inside her shell. if that helps

 

[egyptiandan]

Absolutely no hibernating this year. At that size Shelly should weigh 185g. So she started under average before wind down. Now that she is 130g, she is below the low weight, 140g, for a Horsfields her size.
So keep her up and feed her very well.

Danny

 

[Ali]

Thanks all for your help.
Will keep Shelly up this year.