Hibernation... How long???

[benterence]

This is the second year that I have hibernated Terence. The first year as I had only had him around 7 months I didn't want to do it for too long, 6 weeks the vet recommended as the minimum. I was rather against hibernating him as I felt I wasn't overly knowledgable about it but he seemed intent on doing so so I did my research, weighed him weekly and checked on him and he did great, this year we are now on week twelve, for the entire time the temperature in the fridge he is in has been between 3 and 7 degrees (I have a minimum/maximum thermometer) though mostly it is around 5 degrees. His weight decrease has been under 5 percent of his body weight each month and he has not wee'd at all, I was planning to take him out around the tenth of February which would take him up to 14 weeks but a friend of mine has a tortoise that she hibernates in a garage and says theirs is in there for 7 months!!! I'm slightly alarmed at leaving him in there for that long, and I am not even sure of the breed of their tortoise. Once he comes out he will stay in his tortoise table until the weather has improved enough here in the uk for him to go outside (it has rained now for about four weeks solid!) ANYWAY! Sorry.... The short of it is should I be aiming for longer if there are no concerns??? Thanks and sorry it is such a long one!!!!

Ben

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Made a mistake there... I just checked my notes!! He was 467g when he went into hibernation, I have calculated his 'critical weight' for wake up would be 421g as this would be a total weight loss of 10% body weight, he is currently 442g (as of just now)

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Ben:

If it were my tortoise, I would slowly wake him up and get him set up in his indoor habitat. Tortoises don't usually lose weight during hibernation (brumation), they sometimes even gain weight.

My Russian tortoises start to dig in and disappear around the end of September, then I try to find them and place them in a dry, cool place to hibernate. I don't check on them, weigh them, water them...I leave them strictly alone. When I hear them moving around in early spring, I get them up, give them a good soak, and put them back outside.

 

[benterence]

Oh okay, I'm just waiting for a UVB tube to be delivered and then I'll get him out. Thanks for the advice I didn't want to keep him In there too long.

 

[benterence]

Hi Yvonne, having checked pretty much everywhere on the net I can't find any advice that doesn't say the tortoise in question will lose weight? I didn't realise that this wasn't always the case!

 

[biochemnerd808]

Mine have been down for 10 weeks now. I'm letting them sleep for 2 more weeks, and then will wake them up.

1 of them lost some weight because she peed, so I got her up. The others have had steady weight throughout. I have them at 40 degrees F (5 degrees C).

 

[TortsNTurtles]

Hi Ben:

If it were my tortoise, I would slowly wake him up and get him set up in his indoor habitat. Tortoises don't usually lose weight during hibernation (brumation), they sometimes even gain weight.

My Russian tortoises start to dig in and disappear around the end of September, then I try to find them and place them in a dry, cool place to hibernate. I don't check on them, weigh them, water them...I leave them strictly alone. When I hear them moving around in early spring, I get them up, give them a good soak, and put them back outside.

Do you set then up in a refrigerator, outside in a certain spot set up for hibernation , or garage etc. with no refrigeration?

 

[Saleama]

I let mine hibernate outside. I had one come up for a day, look around and go back under. I know where she is but I have no clue where the boys are. They refused to stay in the hibernation area I created.

 

[TortsNTurtles]

I let mine hibernate outside. I had one come up for a day, look around and go back under. I know where she is but I have no clue where the boys are. They refused to stay in the hibernation area I created.

Thanks I was curious and wondered about thrmoving. I would love to let them hibernate outside. We can get rain in the winter. We have gone from freezing temps to snow to rain going back to cold & snow all in a matter of weeks. I am more concerned about the rain if they decide to migrate to an area I have not prepared for them safe with good drainage any coverage etc . I am in the north east so even though I would love for them to do it outside .I am wondering in my climate if the indoor is the way to go. I am still researching and ears perked to this topic.

 

[ascott]

Thanks I was curious and wondered about thrmoving. I would love to let them hibernate outside. We can get rain in the winter. We have gone from freezing temps to snow to rain going back to cold & snow all in a matter of weeks. I am more concerned about the rain if they decide to migrate to an area I have not prepared for them safe with good drainage any coverage etc . I am in the north east so even though I would love for them to do it outside .I am wondering in my climate if the indoor is the way to go. I am still researching and ears perked to this topic.

My 2 cents ; figure a way to do the process indoors, due to the wetness where you are....cold and dry is acceptable, cold and wet is a bad recipe for an ailing, or worse, tortoise...

 

[biochemnerd808]

I like the controlled environment of a fridge hibernation. Do your research though, to make sure you do it properly!

Thanks I was curious and wondered about thrmoving. I would love to let them hibernate outside. We can get rain in the winter. We have gone from freezing temps to snow to rain going back to cold & snow all in a matter of weeks. I am more concerned about the rain if they decide to migrate to an area I have not prepared for them safe with good drainage any coverage etc . I am in the north east so even though I would love for them to do it outside .I am wondering in my climate if the indoor is the way to go. I am still researching and ears perked to this topic.

My 2 cents ; figure a way to do the process indoors, due to the wetness where you are....cold and dry is acceptable, cold and wet is a bad recipe for an ailing, or worse, tortoise...