Tortoise began brumation with food in GI tract

[He-Who-Gathers_Dandelions]

My 15yo Iberian tortoise buried herself yesterday, about a month earlier than typical and only two days after last eating. She ate very well that time, though her appetite had dropped off a lot in October, which isn't unusual, even though it's still very summer-like where we live in that month.

We got our first rain of the year yesterday and while it's stayed above 60F even at night, she took it as the sign to begin her brumation, apparently.

Normally once she'd dug herself in, I dig her out after dark and box her up and pop her in her fridge for the winter. But this year I know she had lots of recently eaten food in her gut. It's also usually mid- or late-November by then. The problem with starting this early is she'll either wake when nights are still dropping to near freezing, or stay in the fridge a month too long. We have a heat lamp for her shelter, so it's not a danger, but it is less than ideal, with only a few hours of the day warm enough for her to be very active in March.

I'm curious what the consensus is, regarding which would be better to assure she has a healthy overwinter rest? To dig and wake her today, and keep her up until she's properly wound-down (I can monitor her stools well enough) or to let her over-winter with food in her G.I. tract?

Thanks so much for any informed, supportive replies.

 

[wellington]

You'll have to dig her up and keep her up until the gut has emptied.

 

[KarenSoCal]

You can't let her brumate with food in her gut. As she cools her digestion will come to a complete stop, and that food will lay in there and rot. She needs to be woke up and put under heat and bright lights until she is empty.

 

[He-Who-Gathers_Dandelions]

You'll have to dig her up and keep her up until the gut has emptied.

Thank you, Karen and Wellington! She'll be grumpy but then again she always is. Cold blooded beastie! I'm so glad I got this advice, which was consonant with my own understanding to start with, while the sun is still up.

 

[keepingslim]

She would be absolutely fine, and excreet any food whilst in the box, no different to the hundreds of thousands of tortoises who live naturally in the wild. Sometimes, although it is good to take the best care for our animals and treat them as best we can, there is often a point where we start to worry far too much.

 

[TammyJ]

I guess we will never know how many out of those hundreds of thousands in the wild who brumate with food in their guts, survive the "loaded" brumation. If we always stuck to this "in the wild" thing, I believe a lot more of our pets in general would not survive.

 

[Tom]

She would be absolutely fine, and excreet any food whilst in the box, no different to the hundreds of thousands of tortoises who live naturally in the wild. Sometimes, although it is good to take the best care for our animals and treat them as best we can, there is often a point where we start to worry far too much.

Our backyards are not the wild. Many tortoises die annually because of mistaken thinking like yours expressed here. You are wrong.

 

[Tom]

My 15yo Iberian tortoise buried herself yesterday, about a month earlier than typical and only two days after last eating. She ate very well that time, though her appetite had dropped off a lot in October, which isn't unusual, even though it's still very summer-like where we live in that month.

We got our first rain of the year yesterday and while it's stayed above 60F even at night, she took it as the sign to begin her brumation, apparently.

Normally once she'd dug herself in, I dig her out after dark and box her up and pop her in her fridge for the winter. But this year I know she had lots of recently eaten food in her gut. It's also usually mid- or late-November by then. The problem with starting this early is she'll either wake when nights are still dropping to near freezing, or stay in the fridge a month too long. We have a heat lamp for her shelter, so it's not a danger, but it is less than ideal, with only a few hours of the day warm enough for her to be very active in March.

I'm curious what the consensus is, regarding which would be better to assure she has a healthy overwinter rest? To dig and wake her today, and keep her up until she's properly wound-down (I can monitor her stools well enough) or to let her over-winter with food in her G.I. tract?

Thanks so much for any informed, supportive replies.

There is info in these two threads that will help you understand what to do:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[mark1]

I guess we will never know how many out of those hundreds of thousands in the wild who brumate with food in their guts, survive the "loaded" brumation. If we always stuck to this "in the wild" thing, I believe a lot more of our pets in general would not survive.

from what i've seen it doesn't happen .......... the weather fluctuations prevent it ..... turtles and i can only assume tortoises do not dig in and hibernate the first time it gets cold , usually they dig in and emerge 3-4 times before they stay down for the winter..... if they eat before the first cold snap , they get an opportunity to come back out at least 2-3 times , they won't eat after the first time they dig in......... if they dig in and you stick them in a fridge , well they don't get another chance to get empty, so that may matter ......getting cold one time and staying cold for the winter doesn't happen , at least no place i've lived , it's unnatural ....... during a warm stretches at any point in winter , the ones that aren't buried deep may come out ......

 

[TammyJ]

from what i've seen it doesn't happen .......... the weather fluctuations prevent it ..... turtles and i can only assume tortoises do not dig in and hibernate the first time it gets cold , usually they dig in and emerge 3-4 times before they stay down for the winter..... if they eat before the first cold snap , they get an opportunity to come back out at least 2-3 times , they won't eat after the first time they dig in......... if they dig in and you stick them in a fridge , well they don't get another chance to get empty, so that may matter ......getting cold one time and staying cold for the winter doesn't happen , at least no place i've lived , it's unnatural ....... during a warm stretches at any point in winter , the ones that aren't buried deep may come out ......

Ok! This is interesting. Being from the tropics, I don't really understand a winter season! Never experienced one from start to finish. Thanks.