Tortoise wants to keep hibernating

[Pokey]

Hello, I have a female that I found in the rubble of the demolished building a couple of years ago. She seems pretty healthy, although as you know with tortoises it's sometimes hard to tell. For some reason this year she doesn't really want to come out of hibernation though which I'm a bit concerned about. She has a nice den that I built outside, however, it seems if i leave the back door open she'll sneak inside the house and go back into hibernating any chance she gets. Does anyone have any suggestions for this type of thing? Thanks!

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. Best I can recommend is to make sure the temps and humidity is correct for you tort. What species is it?

 

[Pokey]

I'm pretty sure she's a California Desert Tortoise. I live in Arizona, so she should be fine with being outside most of the year. I let her stay inside during the winter; we've had some record lows the past two years, and I know freezing temperatures can be deadly for them. I've had a hard time though trying to encourage her that it's time to be outside now.

Update: The good news is that I brought her outside again today, and feed her. I left the back door open again and she went into her den this time

 

[wellington]

Don't forget too. If it is really not there, they will hide the hottest part of the day and come out early morning or late afternoon when the sun isn't at it's hottest. Be sure there are lots of shade and cooler hides in the outside area.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Does Pokey have things to graze on in her yard? If this were my tortoise, I would put a nice pile of greens in front of her burrow each morning...turnip greens, dandelion greens, endive, escarole, radicchio, maybe even a bit of Spring Mix, mulberry leaves, grape leaves, etc. And I would keep the door to the house closed. She needs to understand that her territory, the place where she can find food, is outside and NOT in the house.

If there is enough grazing food for her in the yard, then you can slowly, over time, cut back on the amount you feed her.

Does Pokey have a waterer that she can climb into and get drinks whenever she wants them?

It's interesting that you live in Arizona, yet you call Pokey a California desert tortoise. Actually now there are two recognized species of the western desert tortoise, the Gopherus agassizii (California desert tortoise found south of the colorado river) and the Gopherus morafkai, or Sonoran desert tortoise, found north of the river.

Here's a link to a map where they're found:

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2842

 

[Laura]

they need a place to cool down when its too hot.. could that be?

 

[GBtortoises]

Your tortoise is not brumating (hibernating), this only takes place during times of the year when the days are short and temperatures too cold for activity. During very hot and especially dry periods tortoises will aestivate. There are major differences between the two states of inactivity. Brumation requires weeks or months of the tortoise's body preparing for it ahead of time by "bulking up" on food and water. Once in the state of brumation the tortoise's systems (digestive, respiratory, circulatory) all slow to a very slight rate. This is all to accomodate an anticipated long inactivity period of anywhere from 3-7 months, depending upon species and geographical location. Despite these conditions, the tortoises are not actually complete inactive. They have the ability (and do) move upward or downward in the ground in order to adjust to colder or warmer temperatures from above. This however is not an ideal situation for them since it causes them to expel energy which in turn uses precious survival reserves and may increase waste by-products.

Aestivation is very different than brumation in the sense that it is generally not a continuous inactivity period and the tortoise is rarely ever in the situation to prepare for it well ahead of time. Because it involves hot weather, not cold which slows the ability of activity, the tortoise is usually more alert and instantly active. Many tortoises that have been aestivating for several days or even weeks will come out almost instantly when it begins to rain to seek water and food.

The primary reason that tortoises brumate is to avoid very long cold periods when food is not available. The primary reason that tortoises aestivate is to conserve body hydration and energy during extremely hot periods.

 

[Pokey]

Hi, thanks very much for all of the great information. Since I last visited Miss Tortoise seems to have come out of her lethargic state and appears to enjoy her home outside. She did come inside one night that we had a thunderstorm, although the following morning she was at the door waiting to go out.

She has had a huge appetite, so I've been giving her greens daily. Mostly green leaf lettuce, and she nibbles on some native grasses around the yard. There definitely don't have enough natural food sources naturally in the yard, so I've been grocery shopping for her. The list of foods you listed will be a great help; are there any types of lettuces or greens I shouldn't be feeding her? I have tried to mix up her diet in the past, but she's a bit partial to the green leaf lettuce.

She spends her mornings sunning herself then goes for a long walk around the entire inside perimeter of the yard. After that she cools off under the front of her burrow and heads over to the small lawn to cool off in the sprinklers. I feed her almost an entire head of lettuce mid-day and then she heads into her burrow to sleep. If she hears me in the yard in the early evening she comes out and seems to want more to eat. I usually give her a tiny bit more if that's the case. Shes probably still trying to catch up for the late start this year, although it's total speculation.

I don't think she's a Sonoran Desert Totrtoise because those are the type I've been familiar with my entire life, and she's definitely got a much more vivid contrasting shell. The colors are a cross between a box turtle and desert tortoise, somewhat orange/brown/grey. She has a small notch on the edge of her shell from some type of incident from before I found her. I can only speculate what she is doing her or why she was where I found her. My guess is maybe she was someone's pet and she went missing. It's possible she was trapped under the rubble of the building for a long while before enough of it was cleared and she could free herself to have the encounter with me.

She lays fully stretched out almost like a dog sometimes - quite amusing.

 

[lynnedit]

This might be a helpful site for your area:

http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/tortoise/diet.shtml

http://www.desertmuseum.org/programs/tap_tortcare.php#diet

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Well GBTortoises does it again. Excellent explanation for all of us. Thank you so much!
And Pokey is darling. That stretched out leisure world picture is as cute as can be. Love that pic.
You are so lucky to have Pokey and Pokey is lucky to have you. Pokey is a treasure. Wish I was a pet psychic and could know the whole story of her journey to you. Found in rubble is an amazing thing. Meant for you two to be together. Glad you found TFO, too. Amazing people always ready to help out. Woo hoo!

 

[Kate2013]

Love the happy ending and great info!!

 

[Pokey]

Yes indeed, and thanks again so much for the helpful advice. She's doing great, and I've even changed her diet up a bit as well (per the recommendations) – she especially loves the Spinach

 

[Arnold_rules]

Yes indeed, and thanks again so much for the helpful advice. She's doing great, and I've even changed her diet up a bit as well (per the recommendations) – she especially loves the Spinach

Spinach is not good for them, it binds calcium.

 

[Pokey]

Interesting, according to this guide it's recommended:

http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/tortoise/diet.shtml

maybe someone should inform them?

quoted text:

"Commercial produce is generally less nutritious for tortoises than native plants because they have a higher water content and lower fiber. However, produce can be given as a supplemental food source or on a daily basis if an enclosure lacks established plants for browsing. Dark greens are rich in minerals and vitamins, and they can be offered as a short-term alternative or as a supplement to grasses. They include collard, kale, mustard greens, beet greens, turnip greens, cilantro, spinach, and parsley. When dark greens and acceptable produce are offered, they should be clean, fresh, and chopped into pieces small enough for a tortoise to eat. Lettuce provides little nutrition and should be avoided entirely. Tortoises should not eat dog or cat food, or any food that contains more than 15 percent protein. These foods will cause liver and kidney damage, as well as deformed shell growth."

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Variety is the spice of life when it comes to tortoise diet. Spinach is fine as long as it's not just spinach every day, all day, 24/7, 365. Just like in the old days people would do lettuce like that. Poor old timey tortoises, lettuce day in and day out. The desert does not have one type of eating so captive tortoises should never be subjected to one type of eating. Imagine us eating the same thing day in and day out. (However, I could do that. Hmmm, chocolate comes to mind, LOL!)

People need a variety of foods to be healthy and so do our little shelled wonders. In order to get all the micro nutrients and all our vitamins .... vaaaa-riety!

My farmer grandpop who lived to be 107 said it always, "You must eat a rainbow or two a day." Red beets, an orange, yellow peppers, green greens, blueberries, grapes ... you get the picture. For our tortoises I would probably say many shades of green everyday. Yay!