Will not wake up, will not go to sleep

[NancKj]

Joxer, my problem child...Finally went into brumation in his outdoor hide, early this month. He had not eaten for close to a month. Put him in his insulated brumation box in garage. Last week, when I checked on him, he was wide awake. Temp in box 52 degrees. I mean he was wide awake. Ok. Brought him in house to see what he wanted to do. Room temp 67 degrees. He went to sleep. Waited 2 days. Still asleep. Put him back in garage. Next day, wide awake. Temp still 52. I decide to take him out of brumation entirely. He spent day outside in sun (74 degrees). I soaked him. He ate some greens and walked all around. At night, brougt him in as nighttime temps in 40s. Heated his room to 7O degrees for the night. In am, he stays in his house. Heat room to 85, basking light also on. He stays in house. 2 hours later, I take him out of house. Put under lamp. Check on him in a bit. He is back in his house. What the heck. Should I just let him be? Take him to vet AGAIN. Put him back in garage (but he ate a few greens a week ago) He has lost a little weight, perhaps 4 or 5%, since Dec 1....

 

[wellington]

Keep him up and get him set up in a proper enclosure with all the correct temps. Basking 95-100, all over 75-80 and night should not go below 70 because of trying to keep him up. Keep it brightly lit during the day. Soak him if you haven't

 

[NancKj]

Keep him up and get him set up in a proper enclosure with all the correct temps. Basking 95-100, all over 75-80 and night should not go below 70 because of trying to keep him up. Keep it brightly lit during the day. Soak him if you haven't

Keep him up and get him set up in a proper enclosure with all the correct temps. Basking 95-100, all over 75-80 and night should not go below 70 because of trying to keep him up. Keep it brightly lit during the day. Soak him if you haven't

Have done all of those things Wellington

Keep him up and get him set up in a proper enclosure with all the correct temps. Basking 95-100, all over 75-80 and night should not go below 70 because of trying to keep him up. Keep it brightly lit during the day. Soak him if you haven't

 

[Sarah2020]

Some years it does not work and this is one for you. Cease the brumation, gradually acclimatise the tort to your house temp and then provide correct food, water, heat and light and keep it going through the remainder of winter. Next year read the beumation threads and check the set up and hope it goes well.

 

[NancKj]

Have done all of those things Wellington

Having a hard time with this site moving around so much today! His conditions in his room are exactly as you suggest. Exactly. As we speak. And they have been. He seems to wake up when it is cold and wants to sleep when it is warm. Make zero sense. Any thoughts besides the obvious? What could be causing this unusual behavior?

 

[NancKj]

Some years it does not work and this is one for you. Cease the brumation, gradually acclimatise the tort to your house temp and then provide correct food, water, heat and light and keep it going through the remainder of winter. Next year read the beumation threads and check the set up and hope it goes well.

 

[NancKj]

Please guys.... I KNOW all of this....

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, they don't just go from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye. First they get too cold to do much moving around, but they're still wide awake. Then after being too cold to move for a while, like maybe a week or two, they slowly turn off and just lay there. But if you touch them they'll still move.

I suggest you leave the tortoise alone and quit checking on him so he can stop worrying about being messed with and brumate.

 

[wellington]

Please guys.... I KNOW all of this....

FYI, we don't know this!
We do have to make sure though for the benefit of the tortoise. Many say they have all the right temps, lights, etc, just to find out they got their info from another place and it's all wrong.

 

[Tom]

Now that you fed him, you need to warm him up to empty him out again. Don't let him go back to sleep with food in the gut. Other than that, I agree with Yvonne.

Also, 52 is just a little too warm, and his behavior confirms this. Get him down to 40-45.

There is nothing a vet can do for any of this, so no need for a visit.

Have you read this yet:

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

 

[wellington]

Now that you fed him, you need to warm him up to empty him out again. Don't let him go back to sleep with food in the gut. Other than that, I agree with Yvonne.

Also, 52 is just a little too warm, and his behavior confirms this. Get him down to 40-45.

There is nothing a vet can do for any of this, so no need for a visit.

Have you read this yet:

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

Why should this one be put back into brumation, but the other day, a very similar thing happened and you agreed with keeping it up?
The one the other day did not eat and was a different species.

This is the others thread.
Thread 'Out of hibernation already, help!' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/out-of-hibernation-already-help.209817/

 

[Tom]

Why should this one be put back into brumation, but the other day, a very similar thing happened and you agreed with keeping it up?
The one the other day did not eat and was a different species.

This is the others thread.
Thread 'Out of hibernation already, help!' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/out-of-hibernation-already-help.209817/

Because that one had already brumated for 8 weeks, and the person wasn't going to be able to get them back down the right way at this point in the season.

The one in this thread has had unseasonably warm sunny weather right up until the last few days here in Southern CA and has not been brumating at all at the given temperatures. This poster live 15 minutes from me.

Its dangerous for them to be down, fully brumating at the correct temps, wake up for a warm spell, and then go back down again. This is the sort of inconsistency that kills them and makes people fear brumation. The OP on this thread can still get the tortoise down and get at least a few weeks of good brumation, if they want to.

 

[wellington]

Because that one had already brumated for 8 weeks, and the person wasn't going to be able to get them back down the right way at this point in the season.

The one in this thread has had unseasonably warm sunny weather right up until the last few days here in Southern CA and has not been brumating at all at the given temperatures. This poster live 15 minutes from me.

Its dangerous for them to be down, fully brumating at the correct temps, wake up for a warm spell, and then go back down again. This is the sort of inconsistency that kills them and makes people fear brumation. The OP on this thread can still get the tortoise down and get at least a few weeks of good brumation, if they want to.

Thanks for explaining.