Ormond is Trying to Hibernate

[Lady Thompson]

My 1 year old tortoise keeps trying to hibernate. I have been waking him up in the morning and giving him a bath to perk him up. He will amble over to his food but he doesn't eat very much. He will take a few bites and then retreat to his hiding place, where he sleeps.

I have checked the temps and all is fine. I wonder if it is because our days are shorter now and so its darker in the morning, etc. So I bought a regular lamp and 60 watt lightbulb to go over the other side where it is a little bit darker. I'm hoping this will help.

Yesterday I gave him 2 baths, the afternoon bath was with baby carrot food to get some vitamins into him. I have offered all kinds of foods:

dandelions
endive
green leaf lettuce
kale
zucchini
squash
radicaddo (sp?)
Mazuri Tort Pellets

He will walk about a bit and take a couple bites but then all he wants to do is sleep.

Can anyone give me advice or suggestions? I"m at a loss. Thanks.

 

[ascott]

My 1 year old tortoise keeps trying to hibernate. I have been waking him up in the morning and giving him a bath to perk him up. He will amble over to his food but he doesn't eat very much. He will take a few bites and then retreat to his hiding place, where he sleeps.

I have checked the temps and all is fine. I wonder if it is because our days are shorter now and so its darker in the morning, etc. So I bought a regular lamp and 60 watt lightbulb to go over the other side where it is a little bit darker. I'm hoping this will help.

Yesterday I gave him 2 baths, the afternoon bath was with baby carrot food to get some vitamins into him. I have offered all kinds of foods:

dandelions
endive
green leaf lettuce
kale
zucchini
squash
radicaddo (sp?)
Mazuri Tort Pellets

He will walk about a bit and take a couple bites but then all he wants to do is sleep.

Can anyone give me advice or suggestions? I"m at a loss. Thanks.

Where in the world do you live with him?

 

[Lady Thompson]

Hi I live in British Columbia, Canada. He lives inside. Today he ate part of a Mazuri Pellet and some squash. I had to literally handfeed him the squash. Oh and he took a bit of baby bok choy.

 

[Lady Thompson]

Now he has gone back to bed. sigh

 

[Lady Thompson]

Goodness my tort is being a weirdo. I thought he had gone to bed but then I looked in awhile later and he is just sitting looking around. So I said hello and he came over! So cute! I hand fed him some squash. I think he is turning into a little prince. Should I not hand feed him? I"m worried he'll depend on me doing this. Thanks!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Torts can become lazy and reliant on hand feeding, so don't do it all the time.
I know it's hard, but make him eat by himself when he's back to eating properly.
I have even heard of tortoises getting used to being force fed and coming to only want to be fed that way.
Keep the temps up and make sure your uv is ok.
Remember most uv bulbs need to be replaced every 3-6 months as they cease to work properly after this time, though they might look ok.
I'm sure he'll be fine, we tort-owners are natural worry-worts, that's why I and many others, joined this forum.

 

[Moozillion]

I sometimes wonder if it's more than just light and temperature that signals to them it's time to hibernate. I have no clue what that might be- it's just an idle thought, nothing more.

I got Elsa when she was about 3-4 years old and 4 inches long, clearly VERY young. I have no idea if she was hibernated prior to coming to me, but she made NO ATTEMPT to hibernate the first 2 years I had her. But this year she was DETERMINED, and no amount of increased light and heat could convince her otherwise. My theory is that as she matures, her instincts are maturing as well, hence her unprecedented hibernation effort.

 

[Lady Thompson]

I've thought that too, Moozillion, I mean about them having some type of internal clock that tries to get them to hibernate despite the correct lighting, food, temps, etc. Ormond is currently having his carrot bath. He really likes bathing.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I sometimes wonder if it's more than just light and temperature that signals to them it's time to hibernate. I have no clue what that might be- it's just an idle thought, nothing more.

I got Elsa when she was about 3-4 years old and 4 inches long, clearly VERY young. I have no idea if she was hibernated prior to coming to me, but she made NO ATTEMPT to hibernate the first 2 years I had her. But this year she was DETERMINED, and no amount of increased light and heat could convince her otherwise. My theory is that as she matures, her instincts are maturing as well, hence her unprecedented hibernation effort.

You could well be right. Young tortoises often don't hibernate, and older ones do. Not just heat and light, but instinct drives them.

 

[Moozillion]

How's young Ormond doing?

 

[HLogic]

It's not light! It is changing day length... Research pineal eye/gland.

 

[Lady Thompson]

Ormond seems to have perked up a bit. He had this bath this morning and then ate some Mazuri. But ... he is currently sleeping/hiding as usual.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Good news! Hopefully this will continue each day.

 

[Dan]

And the tortoise that seeks out cool areas and has no interest for food? How then can you indulge the urge to hibernate?

 

[Lady Thompson]

Sorry Dan I don't understand your question.

 

[Dan]

This post started out as a 'my tortoise is trying to hibernate, what should I do?' discussion that turned into a 'nevermind, he's perking back up' post. The question is the natural progression of this discussion: how can I properly hibernate my tortoise once he's decided to take a break? Mine is an adult, has not fed in a couple of weeks, receives soaks 2-3 times per week, and clearly needs to either use the basking areas provided to stay active and awake, or be cooled off a lot more to slow the rate at which fat reserves are burned.

 

[Lady Thompson]

ahh I see. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with hibernating. My guy is just a year old.

 

[Dan]

There's about 4-6 weeks before Gordon Lightfoot (T. Boettgeri) will be left outside full time for the summer, so I'm skeptical that hibernating would even do much good but the little guy's got ideas of his own. Spring's a-coming!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I hope the tortoise will soon realize it's spring and stop trying to hibernate if that's what it's trying to do.
I think it's too young to hibernate anyway.
It'll soon give up the effort given warmth, food and sunshine.

 

[WithLisa]

I think it's too young to hibernate anyway.

It's too late to hibernate, it's spring now. But why do you think a tortoise can be too young? In the wild it's normal for them to start their first hibernation when they are only a few weeks old. I've heard they sometimes don't even leave the nest.