Please help!

Just put Queenie in the fridge for her big sleep. After all the help the TPG has given me to get my fridge sorted I thought everything would go smoothly!!. What a fool I was. When I went to the fridge to take out her box I checked the thermometre reading which read 5.1c so I was happy. I don't know whether I've knocked the thermometre by accident when putting her back in but once back in the fridge and set up again it read 1.2c and dramatically dropped to -0.3c. What do I do, take her out or leave it to see if it goes back up. I know this is far to cold but it can't be the fridge surely.

Hi Winnie,

It probably isn't, but best not to take the risk I'd remove her imediately and place her somewhere cool, then check the fridge temparature. Have you another thermometer?

Hi Darren, I've taken her out and put her back in her table where she had dug down before she was put in the fridge. The thermometre reading has started to come up as soon as I took it out of the fridge. The worry is that I have found ice on the back of the fridge. I've turned the dial up to no2 to try and bring the temp up a little but I don't know what to do for the best now and moving her around surely isn't going to do Queenie any good.

Hi Winnie,

You can sometimes get a bit of ice even in a larder fridge, i line the back of my fridge with thin polysteyrene sheets to stop the ice touching the boxs. Have you tried adjusting your temps in the fridge at all?

Ali

Hi Ali, I've turned it to no2 now and it's reading 3.7c which is funny coz before I put her in the temps were to high when it was on this. I'm more worried about putting her in then going to bed, if the temps go to low I won't be there to notice, saying that, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep as my stomach is churning. Don't know when it was the last time I felt this stressed!.

Just thought though, the one thing I have done different is I've put the probe to the back of the fridge were as before the side of the box it was taped to was at the front. Would this make a difference?

Hi Winnie,

You need the probe end placed in the box where the tortoise will be hibernating. The actual thermometer can be placed wherever, its the probe reading thats important. I wouldnt put her back in the fridge now as temps are always cooler in the mornings, my fridge used to drop quite a bit so id just leave the door open for a minute but this only happened when it was really cold outside.  When anything is added to a fridge the temps will fluctuate quite abit and will need time to settle, i would put her back in tomorrow if i were you.

Ali

OK will do that. I've pinched your idea and put some polystyrene at the back. would it be ok to put her in the fridge with a temp at the higher end then slowly turn it down. Also could I be having probs coz it's in my kitchen as it gets mega cold in there as there's no heating. At the end of the day I've only got myself to blame as I left it to late getting the fridge but trust me it's a lesson well learnt!

I personally wouldnt touch the temps, you need to put her in then try and stabilise them,  if the fridge is full then it shouldnt fluctuate too much and if it does drop considerably when you put her in then it might be the fridge. I have my fridge in the utility room that gets pretty cold at night but the temps are ok. The last thing you want to do is put a fridge in a warm place.

Ali

Thanks. Will try again tommorrow. I'll shut up now and bid you a good night.

Hi Winnie

I tape a piece of bubble wrap to the back of the hibernation box that is facing the back of the fridge to stop it getting too cold, it worked well for me last year. It is my turn in 2 wks time and I can bet I will be panicking about something

Good luck
Jane, Keya Molly

Sorry, it's me again, just a few more questions then I promise I'll leave you all alone (well, for a while anyway). Fridge has had a steady temp of 5.3c so I put Queenie in last night. Since she has been in the temps have been up and down again but nothing the seems to be a huge drop or rise and I remember being told that the fridge will do this until it gets used to the extra mass which would be Queenie. Can I just check the temps for hibernating a horsfield. I was planning to keep her temps around 5c, with a little either way but on the hibernation sheets I have noticed that they need the lower end between 3-4c (must of missed this when read earlier on). Is 5c ok?. Also how long does it take for them to go to sleep as when I opened her door earlier on to waft in some fresh air she was sitting on top of her substrate awake. Last but not least how much weight is safe for her to lose per week roughly (could I have it in grams) and how long do I leave her in hibernation, is it 12 weeks?

LOL - that's what the forum is for Winnie - ask as many questions as you wish:-)

Horsfields do sometimes take longer to settle at 5deg as they are more accustomed to the colder weather. You're quite right the extra body mass of Queenie will unbalance the temperatures, but once she has cooled down the fridge will settle too.

The ideal hibernation temperature is 4-5deg, horsfields tend to settle quicker when the temperatures are at the cooler end of the scale, even down to 3 deg or cooler. The problem with hibernating a tortoise at the cooler end is you are nearing freezing temps if there is any fluctuation. If she doesn't settle, then try turning the thermostat down very slightly.


Glad the fridge has stabilised. Please feel free to ask any further questions. You'll be an expert at this by next year:-)

TC
Darren

In that case, roll on next year

Just to clarify for myself how many weeks should I hibernate her for and roughly in grams what weight is she safe to lose per week?

Just in case I forget to mention later, you guys have been great. No way could I have done this without you.

Hi Winnie,

It's generally accepted that the acceptable weight loss over the whole hibenation period is anything up to 10%. My experience with fridge hibernation suggests it would usually be far less than this. You will probably notice they tend to lose the larger part of their weight within the first week of hibernation. How's Queenie doing - has she settled down a bit more now?

TC
Darren

Nope!, she's still awake and the temps are playing up again. I wasn't going to bore you with my ranting but since you ask...

Before I put her in the temp stayed stable at 5.3c but since she was put in they've fluttered. I wasn't to bothered at first as the differences weren't that bad (still staying in the 5 range) but now they're out of that and into the 6 range, honestly, I give up. Can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Have bought 2 new thermometres today. Have put one in the fridge part only and upto now that's reading 11.4c but it's only been in about 30 mins, was thinking about putting the other in her box so I would get two readings from it but this would mean I'd have to take out her box and I'm very reluctant to mess with the frige. I read notes from someone who only keeps Horsfields and they state that although the best temp is 5c so long as it stays between 3c-8c it's ok, is this right?. I really don't know what else to do.

Am really sorry to pester-starting to feel like a stalker!

It's OK Winnie,

Horsfields can be a pain when it comes to hibernation. Her body mass will interfere with the temps until she cools down. Have you 3 thermostats in there atm?

Hi Darren, I've got two in at the mo. 1 in the box and 1 in the fridge. The other is still in the pack as I wasn't to sure if it was ok to take out her box so I could put another in there with her. I pinched Ali's idea of putting polystyrene at the back of the fridge but if I've used a piece that's to thick would this make the fridge to warm or am I grasping at straws?

Hi Winnie,

I've pm'd you - would you please give me a call?

TC
Darren

How are things going Winnie?

Hi Darren, fridge seems to be stabilising now and I'm happy with the temps. I had to give it a bit of a tweak at the start as it was going below 3c but since then fine. The temps were ranging between 3.3-4.1c at first, it's now up to 4.8c but I would prefer to keep it around the 4 mark as she's still not completely down so was hoping the lower temp would help with this. Was wondering though, can I leave her for 2 weeks before I do her first weigh in due to her taking a while to settle as I don't wan't to wake her even more. Many thanx for the phone chat, you were right, it's so much easier to take in when you can talk it through rather then type.

Yep, I'd be inclined to see how things go. Disturbing her will have adverse affects on her going into hibernation anyway.

Fingesr crossed she'll settle down soon

TC
Darren

A really stupid question but how long do they have to be asleep before they're classed as in hibernation or is it as soon as they settle and how long do I give her to settle before I call it a day and take her out. When I checked on her yesterday she was still wide awake but tonight she seems sleepier but is still scratching about.

Not a stupid question at all winnie. I'd say they are in hibernation once they settle down properly and this can sometimes take a while, they also stratch about until they settle. A minimum of 8 weeks, i tend to leave my juveniles longer each time i hibernate, last year i left them for 12 weeks before i got them up and they were fine.

Ali

How long do you think I should leave Queenie in hibernation for?. She went into the fridge on the 11th and is just settling down now (hopefully). Does it go on weight lose?

It basically goes on size in general (age) and weight loss during hibernation. Remind me how old and big is Queenie please?

Ali

Queenie is 6+ years. She is just over 12cm and she weighed 347g when she went into the fridge.

She seems a good size i would leave her for as long as shes ok :-)

Ali