How long to keep awake per day before hibernation.

[Zaffy]

I have a 60 year old tortoise that belonged to my brother. At hibernation time, brother used to put tortoise in a cardboard box in October. In April tortoise would wake up. Brother looked after tortoise instinctively and never sought advise. He just let tortoise do what it wanted to do.
I have had tortoise for three years now and have muddled through on the information that I find on all these wonderful internet sights but Brother did not do a three week fast on tortoise or any of the other things that one is advised to do. October put in box and that was it.
I find it is difficult to get tortoise to do what the forums tell him he should do. For the months tortoise is awake, he lives outside and I bring him inside (kitchen) at night for safety. Tortoise had his last nibble last week and now he wants to sleep, and doesn't want to do any of the gut emptying staying awake thing.
At the moment, he is in the kitchen in a box fast asleep. Just now, I put him under one of the special lamps and he just wandered off into a corner to sleep.
If I, for instance, wake him for twenty minutes or so a day will this be enough to keep his system moving to enable him to empty his stomach before final hibernation? Or do I have to keep him awake all day?

 

[JoesMum]

During the wind down, soak daily but don’t feed. Don’t bother disturbing your tort otherwise.

For hibernation to be successful the temperature must be below 10C and above freezing, ideally steady around 5C

If your tort is inactive above these temperatures it will burn calories and lose weight which could be dangerous.

You can weigh your tort throughout hibernation as once they are properly in torpor it is a bit like handling a brick. Apart from maybe a leg dangling there will be no response.

 

[Tom]

I have a 60 year old tortoise that belonged to my brother. At hibernation time, brother used to put tortoise in a cardboard box in October. In April tortoise would wake up. Brother looked after tortoise instinctively and never sought advise. He just let tortoise do what it wanted to do.
I have had tortoise for three years now and have muddled through on the information that I find on all these wonderful internet sights but Brother did not do a three week fast on tortoise or any of the other things that one is advised to do. October put in box and that was it.
I find it is difficult to get tortoise to do what the forums tell him he should do. For the months tortoise is awake, he lives outside and I bring him inside (kitchen) at night for safety. Tortoise had his last nibble last week and now he wants to sleep, and doesn't want to do any of the gut emptying staying awake thing.
At the moment, he is in the kitchen in a box fast asleep. Just now, I put him under one of the special lamps and he just wandered off into a corner to sleep.
If I, for instance, wake him for twenty minutes or so a day will this be enough to keep his system moving to enable him to empty his stomach before final hibernation? Or do I have to keep him awake all day?

Many people keep many species of tortoise, and other animals inappropriately, and somehow the animals survive. Whatever your brother did, for that tortoise, in that environment, worked well enough to keep the tortoise alive. Doesn't mean those things will work for you in your environment or work over the long term. All we can do is share what we know about successes and failures that we are familiar with, and hope the info helps you keep your tortoise alive.

 

[Zaffy]

Yes, Tom, that is why I am using this forum for advise.

 

[Zaffy]

During the wind down, soak daily but don’t feed. Don’t bother disturbing your tort otherwise.

Thank you. This is exactly the sort of answer I was looking for. I was worried that I might have to keep him awake all day, which is impossible.

 

[Yvonne G]

Your brother had the right idea, far as I'm concerned. The tortoise knows when to stop eating. They do it all on their own, with no interference from us. The tortoise will slow down eating and eventually stop altogether. He will come out of the shelter and sit in the sun, then go back into the shelter. Eventually he will not come out of the shelter. That's when I box them up and put the box in a dark, quiet spot where it will be above 32F but below 50F.

 

[Zaffy]

Yvonne G. Just what I didn't need. Confusion reigns!
Thanks anyhow.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yvonne G. Just what I didn't need. Confusion reigns!
Thanks anyhow.

What's confusing? I basically said the same thing as Joe's mum, without the soaking. She said leave them alone, I said leave them alone. Tortoises know what to do.

 

[Zaffy]

Yvonne G, thank you for your emails. The confusion is to soak or not to soak.

 

[Yvonne G]

Never a bad idea to soak.

 

[Zaffy]

Yvonne G
Thanks for response.
Will follow advise.

 

[SuzanneZ]

I have a 60 year old tortoise that belonged to my brother. At hibernation time, brother used to put tortoise in a cardboard box in October. In April tortoise would wake up. Brother looked after tortoise instinctively and never sought advise. He just let tortoise do what it wanted to do.
I have had tortoise for three years now and have muddled through on the information that I find on all these wonderful internet sights but Brother did not do a three week fast on tortoise or any of the other things that one is advised to do. October put in box and that was it.
I find it is difficult to get tortoise to do what the forums tell him he should do. For the months tortoise is awake, he lives outside and I bring him inside (kitchen) at night for safety. Tortoise had his last nibble last week and now he wants to sleep, and doesn't want to do any of the gut emptying staying awake thing.
At the moment, he is in the kitchen in a box fast asleep. Just now, I put him under one of the special lamps and he just wandered off into a corner to sleep.
If I, for instance, wake him for twenty minutes or so a day will this be enough to keep his system moving to enable him to empty his stomach before final hibernation? Or do I have to keep him awake all day?

I love this.