Greeks That Hibernate

[webskipper]

Please list the Greeks that need to hibernate so it will help others.

My Ibera are now a year old and I'd like to know how/when to hibernate them since they are Indoor Torts. I've been successful with Snappers up north.

Below 50F, they won't need to eat.

 

[Yvonne G]

45 views and no answer yet. I'll send a PM to Danny.

 

[egyptiandan]

Actually no Greek needs to hibernate, but the only subspecies that truely hibernates is Testudo graeca ibera. Between 40 and 50F is what you want to shoot for temperature wise and 40 to 45F is the ideal.
You need to stop feeding them, keeping them at their normal enclosure temperatures for the first week. Than lower the night time temperatures to under 60F, with normal day time temperatures, for the next 2 weeks. Than lower the day time temperatures to the same as the night time temperatures for the last week. Lengths the lights are on should decrease also from 12 to 14 down to 8 to 10 at the end. Make sure you soak often and at the end of 4 weeks your tortoise should be ready for hibernation. You can do anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks hibernation.

Danny

 

[lvstorts]

Danny,
Mind if I pick your brain? I saw this hibernation thread and thought it would be an appropriate place to ask. I have 4 adult Iberas that I've hibernated since I got them (between 4 and 6 years). I've tried the refrigerator method, under the house, boxes in the garage and found nothing that worked really well except old-fashioned let-them-do-it-themselves. I based 'working well' on the amount of weight they lost and how awake they were. I 'detox' their gut prior.

Here's what I do now: I create an area with cinderblock 5 ft by 2.5 ft, line with wood/styrofoam to keep them away from the cinderblock. Fill it 15 inches all around with dirt (our freeze line is 9 inches) and top it with 30 inches of leaf/organic matter. I monitor the temp with two probes. One at the bottom, one mid level. The temp stays between 35 and 42F, depending on the depth. I dig them up every 6 weeks to check on them.

They come out April/May, depending on on weather looking for food. The most weight I've had them lose is 5 ounces.

What do you think of this method?

 

[egyptiandan]

The method is working for you, but I'd be a bit afraid of the 35F. That's a bit to close for comfort to freezing for me.
There's where people get the wrong idea about hibernation in reptiles. Unlike some mammals that literally sleep through most of the winter, reptiles don't go to "sleep" when it gets cold, they just become inactive. They may be asleep more than they are when they are warm, but they are still awake at some point in time during the day while hibernating. They will also move around during hibernation and thats normal.
What your shooting for is for your tortoise not to use more than 10% of it's start of hibernate weight during hibernation.

Danny

 

[lvstorts]

Thanks for the input. I'll be sure to keep a close eye on the temp and move them to a warmer place if it gets too close to 35F. I had no idea they were 'awake' during some point during the day. How odd! To be buried in the dirt and awake! I wonder what they think about!