hibernating

[lauren and harry]

hi I'm not going to hibernate my tort for another two years yet,but the thought of doing it absolutely petrifies me,I did read a post on here where someone had said "people dont hibernate their torts due to igronance" which is not the case with me.I am really not confident in giving it ago,is there any positive thoughts out there that its not as scary as it seems?I know it does the tort good,but just thinking about doing it terrifies me,what would be the out come if i didn't hibernate him?

 

[JoesMum]

Well if it helps, Joe is heading for his 46th hibernation with us this winter.

It's not mandatory to hibernate your tort, but it can be done fairly easily.

The prerequisites are that your tort is healthy and heavy.

If your tort is unwell in any way or underweight then hibernation will do more harm than good.

The wind down is critical - your tort starts to slow down naturally as the days shorten and days cool, but must not lose a significant amount of weight. It can be quite hard work keeping a tort going until the time is right to cut out food for a couple of weeks so the gut is empty - you only soak during the last couple of weeks.

For hibernation you need to be able to achieve a steady temperature under 10C (50F) and above freezing throughout - around 5C (41F) is ideal.

We have always "double boxed" Joe. He goes in a box packed with straw accompanied by a min - max thermometer probe. This box is then placed in a massive box packed with straw. This combination gives temperature stability and stops him from moving to the outside of the big box.

We keep the hibernation box in our little used garage which holds a steady temperature well (the roof/loft isn't suitable as it gets too hot on a sunny day) and have an electric radiator with a thermostat in there. The radiator has a frost thermostat and cuts out when the temperature is at 2C. The radiator just stops the garage from freezing on the coldest nights.

Having said all that, climate change is making hibernation harder for us. Last year we had temperatures of 17C in mid December! Joe was up until nearly Christmas!

We are looking into buying a fridge later this month so we can hibernate him in that in future.

He has only missed one hibernation when he recovering from sickness (long story involving a URI and excess testosterone). It's fair to say that keeping a full size Greek indoors all winter (he had the whole of our dining room) that's used to having the run of the garden was incredibly stressful for tort and humans alike; it is not something we ever intend to repeat.

 

[lauren and harry]

thank you,I think it is keeping the temperature right thats the more worrying part I have a garage and would buy a little fridge but I'm just scared that when the time comes to wake him up he wont .

 

[JoesMum]

You must monitor your tort throughout hibernation.

I pull Joe out once a fortnight to weigh him and check him over. He barely moves and is more like an door stop until towards the end.

A tort must be roused if it loses 10% of its pre-hibernation bodyweight. Joe rarely loses anything like that much. For Joe it's usually about 50-75g which, when he weighs 3.3kg, is nothing!

I also said he is boxed with a min-max thermometer probe. I have the other bit on a shelf and that gives me the reassurance of temperature stability inside the box.

I keep an eye on the weather forecast (Accuweather is good online) so I can see the trend and judge when to rouse him.

Generally he'll be down from late November to late March, but he has gone down in mid October and he has been left in hibernation as late as the third week of April (we got a lengthy period of snow at the start of April a few years back!)

 

[lauren and harry]

ok thank you that is a lot of help,if I decide to would I be able to ask you a few more questions?nearer the time.What happens if he doesn't hibernate?.

 

[JoesMum]

ok thank you that is a lot of help,if I decide to would I be able to ask you a few more questions?nearer the time.What happens if he doesn't hibernate?.

If the temperature is consistently below 10C he will hibernate.

It's not optional. Your tort is cold blooded and must have external heat to do anything including digest its food - hence the basking lamp.

Not all species can hibernate. All the Testudo Greeks, Russians, Hermanns) can hibernate, but Sulcatas and Reddfoots can't for example.

I'm thinking of starting a thread about Joe's slow down this autumn to give people an idea of what's happening when for us.

To be honest, I do it all by 'feel' these days so it would be useful to have some sort of diary so I know what I actually do for sure

 

[WithLisa]

Hibernation is something totally normal for Hermanns, adults as well as hatchling. Why are you scared? In my country almost everyone does it, it's even required by law.

I don't have to do anything, my torts wind down and wake up by themselves in their outside enclosure. I just have to make sure they are protected from frost.

A tort must be roused if it loses 10% of its pre-hibernation bodyweight.

Weight loss is a sign of dehydration. I don't know about Greeks, but I would recommend to hibernate Hermanns in slightly moist substrate. If they really loose weight (mine always gain weight) you don't have to rouse them, but add some water.

 

[JoesMum]

My vet does pre-hibernation health checks which is very handy for those less confident. He keeps torts himself and knows exactly what to do and what to look for.

He gave me quite a grilling about Joe, but I passed

 

[lauren and harry]

Hibernation is something totally normal for Hermanns, adults as well as hatchling. Why are you scared? In my country almost everyone does it, it's even required by law.

I don't have to do anything, my torts wind down and wake up by themselves in their outside enclosure. I just have to make sure they are protected from frost.


Weight loss is a sign of dehydration. I don't know about Greeks, but I would recommend to hibernate Hermanns in slightly moist substrate. If they really loose weight (mine always gain weight) you don't have to rouse them, but add some water.

because I've never done it before,and just scared if anything does go wrong,but @JoesMum has helped eased my nerves a bit,id just be better if I had someone here to do it first time with me,so if they start to loose weight a lot do I wake him?I would need to keep harry in a fridge as the cat roams around in the garage?what temp would the fridge need to be throughout?.

 

[JoesMum]

because I've never done it before,and just scared if anything does go wrong,but @JoesMum has helped eased my nerves a bit,id just be better if I had someone here to do it first time with me,so if they start to loose weight a lot do I wake him?I would need to keep harry in a fridge as the cat roams around in the garage?what temp would the fridge need to be throughout?.

I am working from fridge hibernation guides on the internet on this, so not an expert. However, you shouldn't keep your tort in your main fridge. You keep opening the door and the temperature varies constantly. This why we are buying a small fridge which will be in our spare bedroom for hibernation only.

If your tort is double boxed, there is no way the cat would be a problem. Rodents maybe, but the cat wouldn't get close. The important thing is that the temperature must be low enough and stable.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Also in regard to a fridge for brumation, it is very important to get one of the old style types. Modern refrigerators dehydrate while keeping things cool. This is something you really want to avoid. Test it out by leaving an unprotected piece of bread inside. New refrigerators will dry it out promptly in a day. Avoid those and find a different one to use.

 

[JoesMum]

Also in regard to a fridge for brumation, it is very important to get one of the old style types. Modern refrigerators dehydrate while keeping things cool. This is something you really want to avoid. Test it out by leaving an unprotected piece of bread inside. New refrigerators will dry it out promptly in a day. Avoid those and find a different one to use.

I think it's the ones with auto defrost that do this in particular. They dehumidify the compartment to reduce ice build up.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

Ive been think about hibernating my Russians also. Maybe a small fridge but i havent done much research