Do I need to bath my tortoise in brumation?

[Tortoise_Tarzan]

I’ve been doing a lot of research on brumation and I was wondering if I should bath him every week whilst he is in brumation, he’s only in there for 3 weeks and I thought I need to do it once a week. People have said yes and no but I want to get an opinion from others!
Also I here’s a list of what I have for his Brumation.
-1 container(to go on outside of where he sleeps)
-1 smaller container (where he actually sleeps)
- organic top soil(the substrate)
-hay(to go on top of him whilst brumating)
-digital thermometer
Thanks!

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings! @JoesMum and @Lyn W are probably good sources of info of how to properly care for your brumating tort.

I personally would think that once a tort is brumating away that you would NOT want to disturb during this critical deep sleep stage. I would think that a warm water bath would interrupt this cycle.

 

[Tortoise_Tarzan]

Greetings! @JoesMum and @Lyn W are probably good sources of info of how to properly care for your brumating tort.

I personally would think that once a tort is brumating away that you would NOT want to disturb during this critical deep sleep stage. I would think that a warm water bath would interrupt this cycle.

Okay thanks, I just heard some people were doing it and some weren’t, but thank you!

 

[Lyn W]

Hi I am from S Wales too but my tort is a leopard so doesn't hibernate/brumate so I can't really help.
Is this the first time you have done this? If so how old is your tort and how long have you had him?
I know there is a period of preparing the tort for hibernation - decreasing feeding etc so that food doesn't rot in his gut etc and I'm guessing that would apply for short periods too but I could be wrong about that. Maybe @Tom can help with that.
There are also several threads here about hibernation.
There is a tort sanctuary in Sully that I believe takes torts in for their hibernation and have pre hibernation health checks by vets but I think that is usually about Oct time.
Sorry I can't be more helpful.

 

[Tom]

I’ve been doing a lot of research on brumation and I was wondering if I should bath him every week whilst he is in brumation, he’s only in there for 3 weeks and I thought I need to do it once a week. People have said yes and no but I want to get an opinion from others!
Also I here’s a list of what I have for his Brumation.
-1 container(to go on outside of where he sleeps)
-1 smaller container (where he actually sleeps)
- organic top soil(the substrate)
-hay(to go on top of him whilst brumating)
-digital thermometer
Thanks!

Once they go down and temps are correct, I would not disturb them. I left mine alone other than to check on temps.

I would not use soil. There is no way to know what composted material it is made from, and it could be something toxic. I used orchid bark or coco chips. You can use coco coir, but it gets dusty if its dry.

I would not use hay. It serves no purpose, and if it gets damp, it will mold.

I use two digital thermometers, just to be on the safe side.

Why only 3 weeks? Did you mean three months? 3 weeks is not long enough.

Where are you planning on having him? What is the temperature where he will be brumating?

 

[JoesMum]

Hi

i agree with Tom. A hibernating tortoise needs as little disturbance as possible. Definitely no soaks. I did do a half-way-through weigh in, but handling a properly hibernating tortoise is like handling a house brick... no response. I also checked the inner box periodically to make sure he hadn’t peed or shown other signs of waking.

Temperature needs to be steadily below 10C and above freezing for hibernation. If it’s any warmer your tortoise will be inactive, but not hibernating and thus burning calories, losing weight, dehydrating and could get very sick indeed.

i double boxed Joe for years. A smaller inner box filled with shredded paper. I put a sheet of kitchen paper in the bottom; if it’s wet you know your tort has peed and there’s a problem. I also put the outdoor sensor of an indoor/outdoor thermometer in with him. The thermometer had a min/max function so I could reassure myself that temperatures were staying within heathy parameters.

I then had a massive outer box, about the size of a tea chest which was was packed hard with straw. Joe’s box was set right in the middle so there was no chance whatsoever of him getting anywhere near the edges and freezing.

The box spent the winter in our garage, propped off the floor. I had an electric radiator in there which was set to cut in only if the frost thermostat triggered it, so it didn’t ramp up my electricity bill.

Unfortunately, here in Kent, the winters have got progressively warmer and I could no longer guarantee that temperatures wouldn’t suddenly shoot up even in January. I switched to hibernating Joe in a fridge, specially bought for the purpose, rather than using the one for our food.

For a first hibernation, erring on the side of caution with regard to length is fine. There should be little or no weight loss regardless of the length of the hibernation as your tort shuts down all its systems so effectively. Lots of soaks and plenty of heat and bright lights when you rouse your tort. Joe was around 3.5kg and I could keep him down for 3-4 months.

 

[Tortoise_Tarzan]

Hi I am from S Wales too but my tort is a leopard so doesn't hibernate/brumate so I can't really help.
Is this the first time you have done this? If so how old is your tort and how long have you had him?
I know there is a period of preparing the tort for hibernation - decreasing feeding etc so that food doesn't rot in his gut etc and I'm guessing that would apply for short periods too but I could be wrong about that. Maybe @Tom can help with that.
There are also several threads here about hibernation.
There is a tort sanctuary in Sully that I believe takes torts in for their hibernation and have pre hibernation health checks by vets but I think that is usually about Oct time.
Sorry I can't be more helpful.

This is his first time hibernating and yes I started the slowing down process last month where I started to other him less and less food, I’ve checked for bubbles coming out of his nose and he doesn’t have any! I’ve been to the sully tortoise sanctuary and I was talking to them there and they are very friendly.

 

[Tortoise_Tarzan]

Once they go down and temps are correct, I would not disturb them. I left mine alone other than to check on temps.

I would not use soil. There is no way to know what composted material it is made from, and it could be something toxic. I used orchid bark or coco chips. You can use coco coir, but it gets dusty if its dry.

I would not use hay. It serves no purpose, and if it gets damp, it will mold.

I use two digital thermometers, just to be on the safe side.

Why only 3 weeks? Did you mean three months? 3 weeks is not long enough.

Where are you planning on having him? What is the temperature where he will be brumating?

It’s his first time brumating as he’s only 3 and a half years old, so I didn’t want to have him in there for too long but the older he gets the longer it will be. I will change over to orchid bark and I will use two digital thermometers as I accidentally ordered two.

 

[Tortoise_Tarzan]

Hi

i agree with Tom. A hibernating tortoise needs as little disturbance as possible. Definitely no soaks. I did do a half-way-through weigh in, but handling a properly hibernating tortoise is like handling a house brick... no response. I also checked the inner box periodically to make sure he hadn’t peed or shown other signs of waking.

Temperature needs to be steadily below 10C and above freezing for hibernation. If it’s any warmer your tortoise will be inactive, but not hibernating and thus burning calories, losing weight, dehydrating and could get very sick indeed.

i double boxed Joe for years. A smaller inner box filled with shredded paper. I put a sheet of kitchen paper in the bottom; if it’s wet you know your tort has peed and there’s a problem. I also put the outdoor sensor of an indoor/outdoor thermometer in with him. The thermometer had a min/max function so I could reassure myself that temperatures were staying within heathy parameters.

I then had a massive outer box, about the size of a tea chest which was was packed hard with straw. Joe’s box was set right in the middle so there was no chance whatsoever of him getting anywhere near the edges and freezing.

The box spent the winter in our garage, propped off the floor. I had an electric radiator in there which was set to cut in only if the frost thermostat triggered it, so it didn’t ramp up my electricity bill.

Unfortunately, here in Kent, the winters have got progressively warmer and I could no longer guarantee that temperatures wouldn’t suddenly shoot up even in January. I switched to hibernating Joe in a fridge, specially bought for the purpose, rather than using the one for our food.

For a first hibernation, erring on the side of caution with regard to length is fine. There should be little or no weight loss regardless of the length of the hibernation as your tort shuts down all its systems so effectively. Lots of soaks and plenty of heat and bright lights when you rouse your tort. Joe was around 3.5kg and I could keep him down for 3-4 months.[/QUOTE

Yes thanks! The temperature won’t go above 7 or below 3, if it did I have another spot for him. I’ve done health checks on him and he’s healthy. Thanks!

 

[Nadz]

Hello, just wanted to chime in and mention that brumation and hibernation are very, very different things...My little monsters brumate...they follow the weather, so will sleep for up to 5 days in a row, (average 4) then be up for a couple of hours for a few days...This active period is when they will soak, nibble food (or not) and wee...Then sleep again. Cycle depends on the weather. We are in the South of France, so heats up very quickly when sun's out, but can snow later same day! I like their brumation because it doesn't have the stress of hibernation (my stress!) although it can be a lot of work following their needs! N