Death during hibernation

ssindel

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Hello, I am curious to better understand how a tortoise can die during hibernation and what I can do to prevent it. I heard from an individual that their adult desert tortoise died during hibernation. I am worried about my tortoise. Any info would be helpful. Thank you!
 

Tom

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What you can do could fill a book. The condensed version is:
  1. Feed and hydrate them correctly all summer long.
  2. In fall, give the tortoise the proper lead in time to empty their gut, and hydration too.
  3. Hibernate the tortoise indoors in controlled conditions at the correct temperature for the species. Leaving them outside, fluctuating temperatures, and high temperatures, can all be a death sentence.
  4. Bring the tortoise out of hibernation with the correct temps, lighting and hydration.
 

ssindel

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Jan 28, 2020
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Location (City and/or State)
Arroyo Grande, California
What you can do could fill a book. The condensed version is:
  1. Feed and hydrate them correctly all summer long.
  2. In fall, give the tortoise the proper lead in time to empty their gut, and hydration too.
  3. Hibernate the tortoise indoors in controlled conditions at the correct temperature for the species. Leaving them outside, fluctuating temperatures, and high temperatures, can all be a death sentence.
  4. Bring the tortoise out of hibernation with the correct temps, lighting and hydration.
Thank you Tom!
 

Yvonne G

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This has happened to me more times than I can count. A couple years ago I lost ALL the MALE texas tortoises during hibernation, but all the females made it through ok. They were all boxed up individually and placed in disconnected chest type freezers, in other words, all of them, male and female, were set up to brumate in the same conditions.

In my opinion, number 1 in Tom's reply is the most important. In other words, don't allow a tortoise to brumate if he's not in peak condition.
 

ssindel

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Jan 28, 2020
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Location (City and/or State)
Arroyo Grande, California
This has happened to me more times than I can count. A couple years ago I lost ALL the MALE texas tortoises during hibernation, but all the females made it through ok. They were all boxed up individually and placed in disconnected chest type freezers, in other words, all of them, male and female, were set up to brumate in the same conditions.

In my opinion, number 1 in Tom's reply is the most important. In other words, don't allow a tortoise to brumate if he's not in peak condition.
Thanks for sharing your experience Yvonne.
 
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