Little Tort Hibernation Worry! Posted: 11/11/2016 by annamilbo
Hello I'm worried about my little tortoise, Herbie. He's only 2 years old, and hasn't hibernated before but it seems as if he's trying to go into hibernation. He's been fast asleep as far as I can gather for over a week (I'm not here in the day so I can't tell for sure that he hasn't got up and wandered around but the food hasn't been touched as far as I can seen, and he's been in the same sleeping position). He is only 71g - he didn't put on weight as rapidly as he was supposed to this year, so I was thinking perhaps I ought not to hibernate him. I bought his sibling for my sister at the same time last year, and hers has grown very decently and has an enormous appetite, whereas Herbie never did have - was the runt, really, but I couldn't resist him as he clambered onto my hand and looked at me so beseechingly!! Anyway what should I do for the best? Wake him up and bathe him in Reptoboost and feed him and keep him going, or assume he's winding down and is ok to hibernate? He seems otherwise heathy in terms of pink mouth, no discharge, he will rouse if I warm him up,etc. he's in a table with a lamp which keeps the hot area at the recommended temp or possibly 5 degrees warmer. I guess our house has become colder than usual at night though, which may account for his sleepiss and makes me wonder whether we should just put him under his lamp every morning ouselves to warm up and make sure he's waking up.It feels a bit mean though! As I write he has woken up (on account of me picking him up to check he looked healthy)so I put him under the lamp, and he's currently looking interested in a piece of aloe vera and dandelion leaves. But I think his long sleeps will stuill be the case so the question still stands: shall I get him ready for hibernation? Or rouse him all the time by putting him daily under his lamp and bathing weekly? Advice gratefully received! Thank you very much. Anna
Torts don't all grow at the same rate. It is too small to 'sex'.
Can you provide it's wt records pls ?
Which species is it ?
You state "the hot area is at the rec' temp' or poss' 5deg more" this makes no sense.
What is the exact temp at tort level at the "hot spot" ?
Can you post photos of your setup ?
Put the heat/light on a time clock 1hr b4 you arrive home [off at 1am] so you can observe what is going on - rather than guess.
Let me know please.
Tom
Re: Little Tort Hibernation Worry! Posted: 14/11/2016 by annamilbo
Hi Tom
Thanks for answering.
Apologies for confusion. The tortoise is a Russian.
I mean the hot area is the recommended temperature of 30 degrees (celcius) - or 5 degrees warmer so 35 degrees celcius. I've attached a pic of the tortoise table we have him in.
I have attempted to attach two pics - one of the table and one of him (tucked into his shell) on my hand. At least you can see his shell, if not the state of anything else in the latter photo.
I'm at work at the moment so don't have its weight record on me, but I can follow that up later.
I will try changing the times of the lamp to observe him and make a closer note of his routine.
Many thanks. Anna
ps. I know my tortoise is too young to sex. I would just rather say 'him' than 'it' in the meantime. I'll change pronoun if it turns out to be a girl!
What I meant was, if xC is "recommended" why have the temp at x+5C ?
Temp readings must be accurate & in precise areas.
You need a reflector dome for the bulb.
Does it sleep in the covered part ?
Bathe daily rather than weekly.
Tom
Re: Little Tort Hibernation Worry! Posted: 15/11/2016 by annamilbo
Hi Tom The bulb is Arcadia SMA D3 Uv basking lamp - 100 Watt. Herbie does sleep in the covered part mostly, semi-buried in a corner of substrate (half sand, half soil - from a bought bag of tortoise substrate). Sometimes he naps in the light part in a corner, with his head buried and mostly his bottom sticking up. I will start to bathe daily - is this recommended for juveniles and adults or just juveniles? I asked whether I should be waking him up and putting him under the lamp daily - the same question now applies to the bathing. If he's not up, should I just get him out and bathe him?? I wasn't sure about interrupting his chosen cycle. Thanks Anna
Re: Little Tort Hibernation Worry! Posted: 15/11/2016 by annamilbo
Hi
In addition to the above info, my tort measures 68mm length, 66mm width, 33mm height, and weighs only 65g . According McIntyre ratio that is very underweight so I am thinking best to overwinter and try to feed him up rather than hibernate? He was 38g when we got him September 2015.
I'd remove the covered part of your table Anna, they serve little purpose other than to help justify the high prices charged by the pet trade.They waste up to a third of the area of tables, tort's do not function in the dark. They also prevent the flow of warm air from the heat source, hence tort's can become stranded [depending on the ambient temp..] This is a common problem.
Daily bathing [or every other day] helps prevent dehydration & stimulates feeding in small torts. They must be at optimum temp' before entering. It's not necessary for adults, if fresh water is available.
I'd hope that without the 'cave' you will not need to wake it.
It was 71gm in your 1st email. Depending on it's progress you may be able to give it a 3 or 4wk hibe' in March.
32.5C if fine.
Tom
ps Was it outside as much as poss' in the summer ?
Re: Little Tort Hibernation Worry! Posted: 17/11/2016 by annamilbo
Thanks for your help Tom. Yes my tort was outside as much as possible, but that wasn't as much as I'd have liked. I'm in the process of building him an outdoor enclosure so he can spend all summer out next year. Reading up on everything and planning how to do it. I have a large cold frame that I'm going to incorporate into a fenced area (buried fence to prevent digging under etc)... About the hibernation, would you say if he gained 2g a month from now until Feb then he should hibernate in March? Or could I try him in Feb? (It's normally getting warmer again in March?!)
