Mild weather this autumn

[classiccarman2]

I have 3 tortoises. Two Hermann females (Billie owned 61 years and Millie, 10 years old).
My daughter was given 2 young Horsefield males (7 to 8 years old) who fought each other terribly so she gave one to her brother who keeps it in a heated vivarium inside. Boris, the one she kept, was starting to bury himself in the small garden they have outside last month so she gave him to me to hibernate him in our garage in a cardboard box. He was fast asleep so I weighed him to check he was ok to hibernate and bedded him back down in his box of straw. Our two have wooden guinea-pig hutches filled with straw to hibernate inside our garage which they use as houses in the garden in summer.
With the mild Autumn weather we have had this month, all 3 of them are awake and moving about inside their boxes. Little Boris has scratched the bottom out of his cardboard box in an attempt to escape. Horesfields do seem to like to dig more than Hermann's though as my Son's Horsefield spends about half an hour every night at bedtime trying to dig a hole in the bottom of is house. He is going to put more soil in there for him to bury in.
I just hope it turns colder soon and they go back to sleep as they seem to think it is Sping already?

 

[Lyn W]

The middle of November and I'm still drying washing on the line!

Many people use fridges now to hibernate their torts in to keep the temps low and even.
With climate change these fluctuating winter temps are a big problem for torts who are hibernated outdoors in gardens. If they wake and eat - the food would rot in their gut.
Very worrying.

 

[JoesMum]

If your tortoises are moving about then they’re not hibernating and they’re burning energy without being fed or watered. This means they’re losing weight and dehydrating which is bad news.

I got a fridge for Joe our Greek after I realised I could no longer rely on the weather to stay cool enough throughout the winter here in Kent.

Sadly he had to be put to sleep due to a tumour in 2017 after 47 years with us. I know he wouldn’t be hibernating now. It’s just too warm. It was starting to be normal to have him up until the start of December.

I talk about how we coped with the cooling, but not cold enough, days in this thread

Outdoor Accommodation in a Colder (UK) Climate

Background We live in the UK and have had our Greek, Joe, a male Testudo Graeca Graeca (TGG), since 1970. He is full grown, weighing in at around 3.2kg (7lb) and measures just over 26cm (10”) Straight Carapace Length (SCL) He would have been wild caught, so was not a baby when he joined the...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Yvonne G]

I have a similar problem here in the Central California Valley. My box turtles are still all out wandering around, however, it's too cold for them to eat. I've already found one with swollen eyes. I check every day hoping to find no more.

 

[classiccarman2]

If your tortoises are moving about then they’re not hibernating and they’re burning energy without being fed or watered. This means they’re losing weight and dehydrating which is bad news.

I got a fridge for Joe our Greek after I realised I could no longer rely on the weather to stay cool enough throughout the winter here in Kent.

Sadly he had to be put to sleep due to a tumour in 2017 after 47 years with us. I know he wouldn’t be hibernating now. It’s just too warm. It was starting to be normal to have him up until the start of December.

I talk about how we coped with the cooling, but not cold enough, days in this thread

Outdoor Accommodation in a Colder (UK) Climate

Background We live in the UK and have had our Greek, Joe, a male Testudo Graeca Graeca (TGG), since 1970. He is full grown, weighing in at around 3.2kg (7lb) and measures just over 26cm (10”) Straight Carapace Length (SCL) He would have been wild caught, so was not a baby when he joined the...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Yes, that's what I am worried about. We are apparently heading for a cold spell next week and they seem to have settled down now, with their front legs tucked in. They were all a bit overweight for their size when I put them away last month so they should be ok. I will keep an eye on them.?