Hi all, currently hibernating 13 year old hermann called Pebble. He has been in the fridge for 5 and a half weeks now. Last night due to a bottle of water falling over in the fridge the door was knocked open, not wide open but enough to affect the temps, one thermometer that is hanging in the air was reading 13 degrees, the other probe which is laid on the sand/soil substrate read 10 degrees. This happened over a two hour period. When checking pebble last night I noticed he had done a poo, and had moved, but he still appeared to be asleep, limbs moving ok when lightly touched, I weighed him today and he has lost 13g in the 5 and a half weeks. Since I weighed him on Thursday he has lost 9g, having only lost 4g over the previous weeks, I know him pooing will have affected his weight loss. I followed the wind down procedure to the book, fridge temps have been kept at the correct temps ( between 5.5 and 6.5) pebble hasn't urinated whilst hibernating. Should I take him out of the fridge?? I will ring my vet tomorrow ( he specialises in torts) but was just wondering if any of you guys can give me any advice 😀

Hello,

thanks Tom, it's all quite a worry!

That's ok, it will be fine 'til the end of March, but you can, of course, end  it earlier if you wish.

I hope he will be ok, he does have a secure outdoor area, this is the first time I've hibernated him, he's my partners tortoise (mine now 😀) he lived with his ex wife and older children but they have got a couple of dogs now so we felt it was safer for him to come and live with us. He's previously been hibernated in a garage, again we thought it a safer method using a fridge. So I was quite upset with myself about the door popping open. Also is it quite normal for them to poo during this period? His weight on hibernation day was 530g, I hope that the loss starts to even out. He has free run in a safe and secure outdoor area, with a little wooden house, and I have planted on lots of different things for him to eat for next spring. Am I the only one that's worrying or does everyone get a little panicky around hibernation time. I'm starting to feel a little neurotic 😀

Yes most people worry the 1st time.

Yes I'm not sure what his diet has been like previously, I've only had him since April and he has put on quite a good amount of weight since then, hopefully will continue to do so when awake again.            Thanks for the advice, always appreciated.

Hey Moots,

Just read your posts. Can totally empathise with your worries and neuroses! We inherited our 50 - 60 year old tortoise in the middle of hibernation January 2015 and we have been panicking about her care ever since. You are not alone! Having said that she is a delight and she has become a real member of the family. We miss  her lots now she is hibernating and can't wait to get her up and have her around again. She's doing well and seems happy enough (actually she's totally spoilt!) so I think we are doing ok thanks to sites like this one. Am sure you're doing fine too.

Hi Lancashire Lass, I can't believe how worried I was, Pebble has now finished his hibernation and is doing really well, my vet advised me to hibernation him for 12 weeks max. Ill feel a lot more confident this year. Phew thank goodness its over. How is your tort doing? What's her name? Can't wait for spring to arrive, so he can finally get outside 😀