Sleep Problems

[Thom]

Hello,

I have a 5-year-old Russian tortoise and have recently been preparing him for hibernation. I was informed by his previous owner that he has never gone through the hibernation period before, as young tortoises do not have sufficient resources - this was confirmed as normal practice by the vet i visited for advice and various online help communities.

I visited a vet before preparing my tortoise for hibernation and was told that he was in good health. I stopped feeding the tortoise two weeks before hibernation, while regularly giving him water and bathing him in warm water. I also prepared the fridge so it is now set at a constant 5 degrees Celsius. He is 'stored' in a large shoe box full of shredded paper with a large ventilation hole above.

As far as I know I have done everything possible to prepare my tortoise for hibernation, but I noticed scratching noises today and realised he was awake when I then opened the fridge door. I have read that Russian tortoise sare more cold-resistant than other tortoises and it could be the case that they take longer to settle in and go to sleep. Even so, I was extremely worried, that now, after two weeks of him being in the fridge, I heard moving and am now not sure whether I should cancel the hibernation or continue to wait a little longer. Is there anyone who can help and offer me some advice? I'd really appreciate your help as I need to resolve this problem as quickly as possible.

Thanks very much in advance.
Thom

 

[Yvonne G]

I never understood why people think they have to "induce" hibernation. I always allow my tortoises to hibernate on their own. My desert tortoises are outside. I just leave them outside (in their house) until they are truly asleep. They are still outside now, as they still come out every morning and sit in the sun.

My Russian tortoises are also outside. But about three weeks ago, I never saw them. So I had to go around their pen with a probe, find where they were buried, and dig them up to put them away for hibernating.

The tortoises stop eating on their own. I don't with hold food. They can walk about and graze to their hearts' content. However, as the days and nights cool down, I don't see grazing, just sunning.

The tortoises have been doing this for lots of years, and I just trust them to do it on their own. When they don't come out to sun, I get them, box them up in shredded newspaper, and put them in the old freezer (unplugged).

If your tortoise is an indoor tortoise, then there is no reason for hibernation. This (hibernation) is a tool for the tortoise to be able to withstand the cold weather.

Yvonne

 

[Thom]

I never once "thought I had to induce hibernation", I was advised by two experts to hibernate my tortoise as it will stay in stronger health in the long-term and its life will be prolonged in doing so. This also does not seem to be uncommon practice given the amount of discussion about 'indoor tortoises' and fridge hibernation in various online forums and specialist tortoise care websites. Thank you for your response, but it still hasn't really addressed my original concern. I presume from your response, your advice would be to stop the hibernation?
Thanks,
Thom

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, you never did say whether or not your tortoise is an indoor tortoise or is outside.

Indoor tortoises don't need to hibernate. It doesn't make their life any longer or better. In fact, hibernation is quite hard on the tortoise and some of them don't make it through.

An outdoor tortoise should be allowed to hibernate at his own pace, not when we think its right for them. As you've found out, a tortoise put away for the winter when he isn't ready to be put away will just dig and scratch and use up his energy, and not settle down to sleep.

So, if your tortoise is outside, then, yes, in my opinion, he should be put back outside so he can feel and see the weather changing and get himself ready to go to sleep.

Yvonne

(Didn't mean to sound like such a snob...sorry)

 

[Thom]

Thank you, Yvonne.
As a relative novice in keeping (indoor) tortoises, I just need to be sure what the correct action I should take, as I have been given a lot of conflicting advice. Yours sounds to be reliable and trustworthy so I'll take your word for it.

Cheers,
Thom

(I also apologise if I my tone was a little agitated, I'm just worried and felt I was getting the response I needed)

 

[Yvonne G]

Ok...apology accepted! and:

to the forum!!

There are quite a few folks here who don't hibernate their indoor tortoises. You may see a change in his attitude in a couple more weeks, and it might mean he's ready to hibernate...or then again, he just might be one of those who is willing to stay awake all winter. Really, its no problem. The only benefit to a hibernation period is they are more ready to breed when they wake up. But male Russians are always ready, so this is a moot point.

Yvonne

 

[Thom]

OK, that's reassuring. Just to make sure, the tortoise is not suffering by being kept in the fridge without ? I assume that's what you meant by "really, it's no problem". Including the two weeks before hibernation, he has now gone 4 weeks without food. In that case, I will persist with the hibernation for the next week and then remove him from the fridge if there is no change in attitude by then and he is still awake. Thanks again for your help and the welcome!

Thom

 

[Yvonne G]

Tortoises can go for a very long time without eating. Sometimes if there has been no rain in their natural habitat and no plant growth, they might even go a whole season with little or no food. That's not to say that it is good for them, just to say that your Russian would probably be ok in the fridge for another week. But if you still hear him scratching and digging after that, I'd certainly get him out and warm him up and feed him. He obviously isn't ready to hibernate.

Yvonne

 

[tortoisenerd]

Welcome to the group! I agree with everything Yvonne said. I also want to comment that a lot of people, books, and websites have outdated information on how to keep healthy tortoises. A lot has gone on in the recent decades in that we now care for tortoises very differently. I have found the information on this forum as well as the resources recommended to be top notch. It is so difficult to find good information, and this truly is a one stop shop. Best wishes.