Hibernation for DT

[Toddoise]

I'm trying to be pro-active and would like some more information for when my desert tort decides to hibernate. Does anyone know a good link or have some information? Thanks in advance.

 

[ascott]

Well, there are lots of variables to consider.....how long have you had the tort in your care? where did the tort come from? how did the tort spend prior winters? what is the approximate age of the tortoise? have you scouted out and determined the most successful location in your care for the tort to brumate in/at? What are your winters like where you live during those coldest/wet months? what is the health of the tortoise?

 

[Toddoise]

I've had these two for a little over a month. They came from someone’s home in southern California. Unfortunately I don't know how they spend previous winters. One's two years and the other is four years, or so I'm told. I'd like more information on the best place for them to brumate. Winters in my area are not very wet (although weather changes often here), mostly low 70's and up. Pretty close to the beach. They seem very health. Eating lots and very active. They've been munching on a cuddle bone to improve their beaks.
Thank you for your help.

 

[phebe121]

Where do u live just state

 

[Toddoise]

Where do u live just state

Southern California

 

[phebe121]

Just spent some of my summer there beautiful place i dont think id hibernate them id just bring them inside thats what my bf mom does and shes got a bunch thats where i got mine from and she got them from.her brother who also lives there hes a breeder

 

[TigsMom]

I didn't allow my Desert Torts to hibernate for a few years after we had rescued them from some owners who were not caring for them properly. They were 2-3 years old then and had soft shells due to poor diet and lack of sunshine (or uva/uvb lights). I needed to get their health and weight good and strong to survive a few months of brumation. I strongly recommend waiting at least 1 year before allowing yours to brumate to ensure they're health is the best. Mine now brumate in their burrows outside, I have a few friends that put their's into brumation boxes out in their garages and I too did that last winter so that I could build new enclosures and burrows for them. We live in Arizona. Typically they brumate around the end of November and wake up around late March or early April when temps are steady at 70 Degs or more for several days. Hopefully, you'll get more responses from folks in Southern California who have Desert Torts. There are several Turtle and Tortoise Care Society groups in Southern California that are a wealth of information and comprised of lots of people who raise turtles and tortoises, you might really enjoy joining a group near you. We learned a ton and enjoyed their monthly meeting immensely. Our kids (now adults with kids of their own) really learned alot and benefitted greatly from those meetings. They also have a love and respect for turtles and tortoises. If you have kids, it's a great place for them to learn about all sorts of turtles and tortoises and their proper care. Here is there care sheet for Desert Tortoises: http://www.tortoise.org/general/descare.html

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

You should wait til you've had them at least a year to check their health and to build up their fat reserves . And it's not important to let them have the winter off


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[Toddoise]

Thank you everyone for your help.

 

[Toddoise]

Thank you everyone for your help. I really appreciate it. When I first got them the person who was caring for them (not the breeder) told me their shells were soft because they were so young. After all the great advice I've learned from everyone on here I remember picking them up a noticed the enclosure they were in wasn't in any sun. Didn't think much of it at the time but now I'm thinking that had some effect on them.
So to keep them from hibernating I should not let them burrow and I shouldn't put them in a box and put them in the garage?
Thanks again.

 

[TigsMom]

To keep them from hibernating you'll need to set up an indoor enclosure that includes a source of heat to keep temps around 80 degs (CHE and thermostat are good) and uva/uvb light for 10-12 hours a day. You can put them in an outdoor enclosure on warm days (above 70 Degs for about an hour, in the Sun a few days a week). There are lots of great buildable ideas for indoor enclosures in the Enclosure section of these Forums. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/forums/tortoise-enclosures.7/

 

[ascott]

I would wait for at least a full year of caring for them before considering supporting brumation. That time will allow you to figure out what their NORMAL is..then you will be more in tune in the event they change behavior for no apparent reason......also, in that time you will allow time to allow any issues to come to the surface and to be better equipped to offer them aid.

The best piece of advise that I can offer is; the moment you begin caring for the tortoise..that is the moment you are preparing them for a successful brumation....food, exercise, uv rays, hydration and overall mental stimulation (allowing the torts to be torts as they will)..so, if you refrain from supporting brumation for at the least the first year, then when you have selected a spot and selected a hibernacle you will then have set the torts up for the best outcome....brumation is often nerve rattling in the beginning (hell, can still cause a moment of second guessing from time to time...lol) but if you have plumped up the tort, have juicied up the the tort as much as possible and the tort is overall in good mental standing....then there is no reason the brumation will not be successful....I would offer a bit shorter brumation to begin with for young torts....8 to 10 weeks (have an indoor enclosure set up and at the ready for the tort to transition into) ...when you put the tort into the indoor awake enclosure, don't turn on all lights and heat full nelly to begin with...turn all on for short periods of time until over a week you have established a new routine for the sleepy tort...understand that while some will say that all you have to do to over winter a tort is to leave the enclosure on and business as usual , is not entirely so...there are some individual torts that have a deep seeded drive to rest during select times of year...and no matter what you do, they will insist on doing what they do..this can be hazardous for the tort...the tort will likely not want to eat, not want to bask, not want to hydrate--but yet will continue to burn body mass--in an adult it is not as hazardous..but in young/small tortoise it is hazardous....so soaking is imperative if you elect to overwinter the tort..and when you wake the tort from their rest.....

If you should need further info, please do ask...you see, there is so much info that I could type and type and type...with all of the small subtle ticks ....but you will have your own individual success story based on your research of a variety of methods folks use...and based on your individual tortoise and your individual geographic location....

I am here in the High Desert, not too far outside of the natural range....but here, I still support brumation indoors--the weather can be too erratic for a forced captive tortoise....so it is my responsibility to keep the tort in the best situation as possible....