Urinate During Initial Hibernation

[dale_d_h]

hi all

i put my greek spur thigh into hibernation last night.
he is 188mm long, weighs 1200 grams. about 8 years old.
just over 4 weeks without food, and bathed him every 2 to 3 days.
he is going into a fridge at 6 degrees, and depending on his weight lose i was planning a 6 week hibernation.

during the process of cooling him down and putting him in the fridge for hibernation, he has urinated a small amount.
i have been told that this can happen during the change of temperture, and that he will be ok to carry on. is this correct?
should i leave him to hibernate and only bring him out if he urinated again or should i bring him out rehydrate and try again at the weekend?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi dale_d_h:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May we know your name (Dale??) and where you are?

I usually don't worry about things like that. I box them up, stuff the box with shredded paper and set it aside. I will occasionally touch a foot during the hibernation period to be sure they're still alive. But once I put them away, they're there to stay until they start moving around in the spring.

 

[dmarcus]

I can't help with hibernation, just want to say Hello and welcome to the forum...

 

[dale_d_h]

hi guys

my name is Dale
im from the UK. A smal town called Scunthorpe

thanks for your replys.
anyone else have any advice?

 

[JoesMum]

Hi Dale

I'm a Yorkshire emigrant living in Kent now... I wouldn't worry too much. Clean up. Make sure the bedding is clean and dry and pack him away again. keep an eye at regular intervals to make sure all's well.

Have youo got a steady cool temperature? You don't say whether you are using boxes or a fridge.

 

[evlinLoutries]

Welcome to the forum,

 

[dale_d_h]

He is in a stack and store box, padded out with newspaper.
in a fridge,
With an external thermostat that I bought, which reads within 2 decimal places, which gives me a good accurate temp.
The fridge stays between 6.5 and 5.3 degrees

Hi Dale

I'm a Yorkshire emigrant living in Kent now... I wouldn't worry too much. Clean up. Make sure the bedding is clean and dry and pack him away again. keep an eye at regular intervals to make sure all's well.

Have youo got a steady cool temperature? You don't say whether you are using boxes or a fridge.

 

[ascott]

I ditto what Yvonne shared....

Also...how rapidly are you putting him from his current temp to the extreme cold temp? Have you slowly decreased his temps prior to boxing?

 

[dale_d_h]

i turned off his lights a few days before.
turned down the radiator in his room the week leading up.
boxed him up and put him in the front porch which is unheated, the temp dropped from about 12 to about 8 degrees in a 2 hour period.
then popped him into the fridge which was set at 6.5.
then after about 3 hours dropped that to 5.5.


i think he urinated within the first hour of being put into the fridge.

I ditto what Yvonne shared....

Also...how rapidly are you putting him from his current temp to the extreme cold temp? Have you slowly decreased his temps prior to boxing?