Tortoises During Heatwaves

[Gillian M]

Hi everyone. Jordan is being effected by a heatwave like never before since decades. temperature reaches 43 degrees C in Amman during the day. (That's 109.4 degrees F). Boiling hot weather. Moreover, the Govt has declared a state of emergency due to weather conditions.

I'd like to ask: if tortoises are cold-blooded they should not be so "frustrated"- so as to say - by such hot weather. However, I have recently noticed that Oli has become extremely inactive during Summer, and I would like to ask WHY? He remains in deep sleep till I wake him up, give him a nice warm soak, after which he eats. Once he finishes eating, he falls asleep till the next day. At times I wake him up again so as to give him a second soak.

The matter has been worrying me a lot.

I would appreciate your help/advice.

Thank you.

 

[wellington]

Tortoise hide in the hottest parts of the day. With temps like what you are having and many states here in the USA are having, they are going to hide a lot more
Zeropilot, on another thread, talks about is RF in Florida, staying inside their hides from about 8 a m. To 7p.m. Temps there is around 100 with about 100% humidity, yikes.

 

[EricW]

Tortoises can also go into torpor in summer heat/dry conditions called estivation, also spelled aestivation. It is the summer version of brumation. Estivation is to summer as brumation is to winter.

 

[Markw84]

This is why the term "cold blooded" is so inappropriate and confusing. They are not "cold" blooded. They are simply ectotherms. Also now more known as poikilotherms by scientific nerds.

They lack any internal mechansim to produce heat to regulate their body temperatures. They still need heat to metabolize properly and get this by regulating their exposure to external heat (or cool) sources. Both cold and heat are dangerous in extremes. In fact too much heat can kill a tortoise quicker than the cold.

Tortoises bask, burrow, seek shade, soak in puddles, push under plant cover, etc, etc all as means to regulate their body temperature. Optimum temperature for an active tortoise is normally in the 86°-90° range. If lower, they will seek warmth to heat their body. Too much cooler they will seek cover or cooler, deeper ground to moderate the harsh cold. If too cold, they will shut down as metabolic activity cannot be sustained, and most gut flora will die off with the colder body temperature. With temperate species they sense this and stop eating to empty their gut and thus can brumate with this shut down and survive until warmer times return. Tropical species will die if this remains too long. Food in their gut will rot and lead to enteritis and other infections as their microbiome becomes inactive.

Too much heat is very dangerous. At a core body temperature of around 104° most tortoises will die. On a hot day in the sun this can happen very quickly. As their body temperature rises close to 100° they will seek shade, puddles, deep cover, a burrow - anything to moderate their temperature. Watering eyes and panting is their only very minor way to create some cooling themselves. So when temperatures are hot for any extended time, they will seek the best cover they can find and shut down. This aestivation allows them to simply wait out hotter times until cooler temperatures return where they can find way to again keep their body temperature in a more optimal range.

Here at my place when temperatures are hot I run sprinklers on the tortoises for several hours to cool and create monsoon conditions as well as shade cover until the trees We've planted grow more!



@Gillian M - Oli is telling you he is too hot! Shutting down just like he was preparing to burmate is his only way of coping.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Its in the upper 90s here. (Upper 30c?)
I can go days without seeing any of my currently four tortoises.
They simply avoid the heat by staying in the shade.
Luckily it rains here just about every afternoon. So they get a break from the heat for a while.
Maybe he'd appreciate a little spray of cool water?
Do your best to provide Oli with shade. And be especially careful about him sitting on top of cement or flat stones that are exposed to the sun. Because those areas will be especially hot.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

This is why the term "cold blooded" is so inappropriate and confusing. They are not "cold" blooded. They are simply ectotherms. Also now more known as poikilotherms by scientific nerds.

They lack any internal mechansim to produce heat to regulate their body temperatures. They still need heat to metabolize properly and get this by regulating their exposure to external heat (or cool) sources. Both cold and heat are dangerous in extremes. In fact too much heat can kill a tortoise quicker than the cold.

Tortoises bask, burrow, seek shade, soak in puddles, push under plant cover, etc, etc all as means to regulate their body temperature. Optimum temperature for an active tortoise is normally in the 86°-90° range. If lower, they will seek warmth to heat their body. Too much cooler they will seek cover or cooler, deeper ground to moderate the harsh cold. If too cold, they will shut down as metabolic activity cannot be sustained, and most gut flora will die off with the colder body temperature. With temperate species they sense this and stop eating to empty their gut and thus can brumate with this shut down and survive until warmer times return. Tropical species will die if this remains too long. Food in their gut will rot and lead to enteritis and other infections as their microbiome becomes inactive.

Too much heat is very dangerous. At a core body temperature of around 104° most tortoises will die. On a hot day in the sun this can happen very quickly. As their body temperature rises close to 100° they will seek shade, puddles, deep cover, a burrow - anything to moderate their temperature. Watering eyes and panting is their only very minor way to create some cooling themselves. So when temperatures are hot for any extended time, they will seek the best cover they can find and shut down. This aestivation allows them to simply wait out hotter times until cooler temperatures return where they can find way to again keep their body temperature in a more optimal range.

Here at my place when temperatures are hot I run sprinklers on the tortoises for several hours to cool and create monsoon conditions as well as shade cover until the trees We've planted grow more!

View attachment 360338

@Gillian M - Oli is telling you he is too hot! Shutting down just like he was preparing to burmate is his only way of coping.

Excellent stuff, there!

 

[Gillian M]

This is why the term "cold blooded" is so inappropriate and confusing. They are not "cold" blooded. They are simply ectotherms. Also now more known as poikilotherms by scientific nerds.

They lack any internal mechansim to produce heat to regulate their body temperatures. They still need heat to metabolize properly and get this by regulating their exposure to external heat (or cool) sources. Both cold and heat are dangerous in extremes. In fact too much heat can kill a tortoise quicker than the cold.

Tortoises bask, burrow, seek shade, soak in puddles, push under plant cover, etc, etc all as means to regulate their body temperature. Optimum temperature for an active tortoise is normally in the 86°-90° range. If lower, they will seek warmth to heat their body. Too much cooler they will seek cover or cooler, deeper ground to moderate the harsh cold. If too cold, they will shut down as metabolic activity cannot be sustained, and most gut flora will die off with the colder body temperature. With temperate species they sense this and stop eating to empty their gut and thus can brumate with this shut down and survive until warmer times return. Tropical species will die if this remains too long. Food in their gut will rot and lead to enteritis and other infections as their microbiome becomes inactive.

Too much heat is very dangerous. At a core body temperature of around 104° most tortoises will die. On a hot day in the sun this can happen very quickly. As their body temperature rises close to 100° they will seek shade, puddles, deep cover, a burrow - anything to moderate their temperature. Watering eyes and panting is their only very minor way to create some cooling themselves. So when temperatures are hot for any extended time, they will seek the best cover they can find and shut down. This aestivation allows them to simply wait out hotter times until cooler temperatures return where they can find way to again keep their body temperature in a more optimal range.

Here at my place when temperatures are hot I run sprinklers on the tortoises for several hours to cool and create monsoon conditions as well as shade cover until the trees We've planted grow more!

View attachment 360338

@Gillian M - Oli is telling you he is too hot! Shutting down just like he was preparing to burmate is his only way of coping.

Many thanks your answer which I appreciate.
Oli is in an enclosure as I live in a flat.
You are lucky to have all that space.

Tortoises can also go into torpor in summer heat/dry conditions called estivation, also spelled aestivation. It is the summer version of brumation. Estivation is to summer as brumation is to winter.

 

[Gillian M]

Many thanks your answer which I appreciate.
Oli is in an enclosure as I live in a flat.
You are lucky to have all that space.

Fair enough, but Oli has never been so inactive in Summer, no matter how hot it gets.

 

[Gillian M]

Its in the upper 90s here. (Upper 30c?)
I can go days without seeing any of my currently four tortoises.
They simply avoid the heat by staying in the shade.
Luckily it rains here just about every afternoon. So they get a break from the heat for a while.
Maybe he'd appreciate a little spray of cool water?
Do your best to provide Oli with shade. And be especially careful about him sitting on top of cement or flat stones that are exposed to the sun. Because those areas will be especially hot.

Many thanks your help, Ed. Appreciate it.
Yes, more or less.
I spray Oli and his enclosure with cool water each and every day. Furthermore, I've been giving him a soak TWICE a day since the heatwave.
Oli's enclosure is inside my flat, where there is NO sun at all.

 

[Gillian M]

Oli has finally decided to wake up, thank God. And he is now roaming around in his enclosure, allowing me to calm down at last.

This confirms that the heat was the issue, as the sun has set and temperature has dropped a little:
it is now 31 degrees C (87.8 degrees F), and there's a bit of air. During the day it exceeds 40 degrees C (104 degrees F).

 

[EricW]

Oli has finally decided to wake up, thank God. And he is now roaming around in his enclosure, allowing me to calm down at last.

This confirms that the heat was the issue, as the sun has set and temperature has dropped a little:
it is now 31 degrees C (87.8 degrees F), and there's a bit of air. During the day it exceeds 40 degrees C (104 degrees F).

Glad to hear it! We are hitting a high of 40-41 degrees C (104-106F) where I live and only dropping to 27-28 degrees C (81-82F) at night. My outside tortoises are only active for 30min-1hr in the morning and about the same in the evening. Otherwise, they are in burrows or deep shade all day. I am ready for the heat to be over.