Is this possible Sulcata hibernating??

[Holly'sMom]

Everything I read has said sulcata do not go into hibernation BUT I found a lady in Pennsylvania who has an older sulcata it looks rather large from her pics (looks normal, no weird shell or deformities). Anyways she's telling me her's hibernates!! She has an outdoor pen and she's had him for a long time from what she's telling me (im not sure if it would be ok to share her pics but anyone wants to PM me I can send them the pics that way). Anyways is this just one of those oddities. She claims it's been doing this from about oct-April for years now. I mean I'm not an expert on tortoise but from the pics I'm 99% sure it's a sulcata like she says. Is it possible for them to go into hibernation in a Pennsylvania winter?

 

[tglazie]

This strikes me as being impossible, as many forum members who lost their animals when heaters went down overnight in the dead of winter can attest. Sulcatas aren't adapted to sustain such temperatures, but I have seen some folks in southern Arizona and South Texas who allow their animals to spend the mild winters in a burrow. This is something I would never allow, even for a temperate species (whenever I brumate my marginated tortoises, I use a fridge; fridges are temp stable, flood proof, and most importantly, rat proof). But yes, this strikes me as very unlikely to say the least, in the realm of impossible, if I'm to be perfectly honest. Perhaps this is a case of misidentification.

T.G.

 

[Holly'sMom]

Is there any way for me to send the pics of the tortoise privately?

 

[Holly'sMom]

It wouldn't let me edit to delete her profile pic/name I apologize I had to do it from messenger lol

 

[Holly'sMom]

I didn't believe it either at first.. is it a Sulcata?

 

[wellington]

Yes, that is a sulcata. I would venture to guess she is leaving out information. I have leopards. They also do not hibernate. They do go thru a slow down, where they don't eat as much and will act slower to wake and early to bed then in the summer. I would love to know more details as to what she is considering a hibernation. Seeing sulcata really don't, I sure hope this poor fella isn't starving all that time and just barely making it thru those long months.

 

[Holly'sMom]

As far as I know he's kept outside until around now when it starts to get colder then put in a garage set up about the end of September none stop. She said it's like he's a table during April/October and if it gets warm he'll wake she's had him since he was small too. But that's why I was so baffled after everything I've read. I'm just curious I have no intentions on trying to do this w ours. maybe I'll take a ride down soon and see how she got him set up. Maybe there is something missing as She's a mutual friend so I don't personally know her. someone tagged her on a pic of our Sulcata that's how we started talking

 

[tglazie]

Okay, clearly not a case of misidentification. However, she's not exactly leaving him out in the yard come the hard freeze either. Is there a water heater in the garage, a furnace outlet I wonder? What is the average garage temp during the winter? Regardless, that tortoise is beast to survive that way, months on end with no food, water or significant warmth. Me personally, I would never recommend this. Such is a good way for the tortoise to suffer dehydration along with putting it at risk of respiratory illness, given the suppressed immune response that comes with a reduction in temperature and lack of access to water and food. Like I said, I've known people who allow their sulcatas to "hibernate" in their earthen burrows over the winter, but one of these guys that I know actually lost a male when that animal decided to sleep near the entrance of the burrow on a night that dropped into the forties. So, in my view, keeping sulcatas anything but warm and humid in the winter is, in my opinion, a risk that I would be unwilling to take. It's true that even with the most attentively maintained and constructed indoor enclosure, tortoises often become listless during the winter, regardless of their geographical origin. But doesn't mean sulcatas can be exposed to suboptimal temps without potentially suffering life endangering consequences.

T.G.

 

[dmmj]

any reptile become inactive in the winter time, this tortoise is no exception. I imagine it's a combination of being a very strong animal and getting very well fed during It's time of activity. not unheard of but not healthy either playing roulette with It's life

 

[Yvonne G]

One of these days you're going to get a text from her saying the tortoise died and she just can't imagine why.

 

[Tom]

They can sometimes survive conditions that don't seem survivable.

If you put 100 naked humans in individual cages and made them sleep outside on a below freezing night, do you think some of them might survive? I think some would. Does this mean its good for them, or okay in any way? No. Not in my opinion.

Sulcatas don't hibernate, but they are capable of surviving cold temps in some situations. "Surviving". Barely.

 

[Holly'sMom]

Just to be clear I have NO INTENTIONS on trying this. I was just curious because I was told it was a Sulcata hibernating and everything I read said they absolutely did NOT. I appreciate all the info and I sincerely hope that doesn't happen( I hear from her one day and he's past). I'm probably going to pass on some of this info and hopefully she will make changes where needed

 

[Tom]

Just to be clear I have NO INTENTIONS on trying this. I was just curious because I was told it was a Sulcata hibernating and everything I read said they absolutely did NOT. I appreciate all the info and I sincerely hope that doesn't happen( I hear from her one day and he's past). I'm probably going to pass on some of this info and hopefully she will make changes where needed

They don't "hibernate" or "brumate" in the way that other species from temperate regions do, but if you cool any ectotherm down their metabolic rate slows and they become inactive. For species that have evolved to deal with this, its fine. For species that live in climates that are hot year round, it is not fine, even if some of them manage to survive. According to my friend Tomas from Senegal, there are two season in sulcata territory in his country. "Hot." And "hotter."

 

[Holly'sMom]

They don't "hibernate" or "brumate" in the way that other species from temperate regions do, but if you cool any ectotherm down their metabolic rate slows and they become inactive. For species that have evolved to deal with this, its fine. For species that live in climates that are hot year round, it is not fine, even if some of them manage to survive. According to my friend Tomas from Senegal, there are two season in sulcata territory in his country. "Hot." And "hotter."

Thank you im going to pass this on to her. I have a heated horse barn and a heated garage and a work shop/store in her area. it wouldn't take much to build a little set up for the cold months in any of those places so I may just offer her the housing as I'll need it in a few years myself anyways.

 

[Yvonne G]

very old thread