Desert Tortoise has come out of hibernation

[Beeivis]

I live in southern California and my girl has come out of hibernation for the second time this winter and it concerns me. It's supposed to be 82 degrees today! She is 40+ years old and I don't recall this ever happening before. I'm concerned for her health, metabolism.....should I be feeding her? Soaking her? Won't that make it more difficult for her to go back down? She's wandering around in my backyard right now, what should I do? -Charlotte

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Charlotte:

I'm sure this must happen in the wild too. What you should do is nothing. Make sure there's some water that she can find if she needs to drink, but just let her be. She'll come out and sun herself, then she'll go back inside. I'm assuming that she hibernates outside and can come and go at will? Just let her be. But make sure she's inside the shelter at night and if its going to rain.

 

[Tom]

This is why I don't like leaving them outside to fend for themselves in a backyard. Out in the wild they would be deep underground and they wouldn't feel this warm spell.

Your tortoise is in a bit of a "limbo". If she has eaten then you will need to go through all the procedures for starting hibernation from scratch. If not, you can try to get her somewhere cold and dark and try to get her hibernating properly again. I use a fridge for this purpose since our above ground winter weather here in SoCal is so unpredictable and frequently 80+ degrees.

Or you can get her into a proper heated enclosure of some sort and get her up and running again earlier than "normal" this year.

No one can predict what the weather will do for the next couple of months, but we could very well be done with the cold stuff for the rest of the year. Or... it might snow next week... I, however, can predict with great accuracy what the weather will be like inside my refrigerator where my tortoises are hibernating, or in my heated enclosures where my non-hibernating tortoises are spending their "winter".

 

[Beeivis]

Hi Charlotte:

I'm sure this must happen in the wild too. What you should do is nothing. Make sure there's some water that she can find if she needs to drink, but just let her be. She'll come out and sun herself, then she'll go back inside. I'm assuming that she hibernates outside and can come and go at will? Just let her be. But make sure she's inside the shelter at night and if its going to rain.

Thanks Yvonne. Yes her home outside is actually a "burrow" I made for her, surrounded by brick walls and a roof so rain can't get in. I always put a couple of bricks in front of the doorway to discourage stray kitties going in, but she has pushed them away. It's in a south/east corner with a lot of bushes so it's colder back there and dark. Like I said this has never happened before, but 80 degrees is 80 degrees right? Ok I will keep watching her.

 

[Beeivis]

This is why I don't like leaving them outside to fend for themselves in a backyard. Out in the wild they would be deep underground and they wouldn't feel this warm spell.

Your tortoise is in a bit of a "limbo". If she has eaten then you will need to go through all the procedures for starting hibernation from scratch. If not, you can try to get her somewhere cold and dark and try to get her hibernating properly again. I use a fridge for this purpose since our above ground winter weather here in SoCal is so unpredictable and frequently 80+ degrees.

Or you can get her into a proper heated enclosure of some sort and get her up and running again earlier than "normal" this year.

No one can predict what the weather will do for the next couple of months, but we could very well be done with the cold stuff for the rest of the year. Or... it might snow next week... I, however, can predict with great accuracy what the weather will be like inside my refrigerator where my tortoises are hibernating, or in my heated enclosures where my non-hibernating tortoises are spending their "winter".

Thanks Tom!

 

[ascott]

I live in southern California and my girl has come out of hibernation for the second time this winter and it concerns me. It's supposed to be 82 degrees today! She is 40+ years old and I don't recall this ever happening before. I'm concerned for her health, metabolism.....should I be feeding her? Soaking her? Won't that make it more difficult for her to go back down? She's wandering around in my backyard right now, what should I do? -Charlotte

I also agree with Yvonne....nothing is the best thing to do.....in the wild they will come out from time to time to partake of the sun or if it rains and water is available.....since the warmth is being provided for a bit then if you provide the water, the tort can do its thing.....also, perhaps take a peek into the hide and around it to make sure all is good and nothing has upset the tort.....closely look at the tort to make sure no marks or any issues going on with the tort and if all is ok, then I too would let the tort do its thing....about where in Southern Cali do you live?

 

[Beeivis]

I also agree with Yvonne....nothing is the best thing to do.....in the wild they will come out from time to time to partake of the sun or if it rains and water is available.....since the warmth is being provided for a bit then if you provide the water, the tort can do its thing.....also, perhaps take a peek into the hide and around it to make sure all is good and nothing has upset the tort.....closely look at the tort to make sure no marks or any issues going on with the tort and if all is ok, then I too would let the tort do its thing....about where in Southern Cali do you live?

Thank you. I am in Anaheim. She has never been a drinker, like out of a bowl or the hose. I tried but she ignored. She has always gotten her water from her food or there is a little dish i put lettuce in with water and she gets it there. And then I give her periodic soaks. Nothing going on in her house and she looks good. She has now gone into some thick iris "brush", her favorite hangout in the summer. I guess I'll just let her do what she wants until we drop to the 40's again at night and then put her back in her house. (again)