Afternoon Every one.

I decided to over winter my two little spur thighs this year as I only became the proud owner of Daisey in Sept and Alfie in July. I wanted to ensure that they were both 100% healthy before hibernating them. They are both 15 months old.

However they have both done fabulously. They are putting on weight - approx 3 grammes a month and both poo and wee daily. They appear to be healthy and happy. Daisey weighs 68g and Alfie weighs 58g.

However Daisey has appeared to have really slowed down in the last few days. She spends most of her time sleeping under her lamp. Should I start the hibernation wind down now of is it too late?? I know it takes approx 4 weeks in total doesn't it.

Thank you

Julie

Hi Julie,

Its not too late to hibernate (I'm just starting to wind down my Hermanns tortoises this week). As long as you feel they are 100% healthy (and it sounds to me like they are doing well) theres no reason not to give them a short hibernation. I've hibernated youngsters for as little as 4 weeks before, I feel that even this does them some good. You can set a number of weeks at the start and if it goes well and the tortoises lose minimal weight to can extend it a week or two more.  How were you thinking of hibernating them, fridge or in a box somewhere cold?

I always recommend the TPG articles on wind down and hibernation to people , they are just about the most accurate and detailed I've found and have the distinction of differenciating the wind down routine for small tortoises.

The articles start here...

http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/78.asp

Brilliant, thank you. I have read the above article over and over again. I was thinking of using the fridge method. Just got to get my hands on a second hand fridge now that I can then put it the garage. What do you think of the fridge method??

Julie

I think the fridge is a great way to hibernate tortoises. I've used he fridge before and ill probably use it again this year for my young Horsfields. It offers a lot of control.

You need to get a fridge up and running for a couple of weeks to monitor temperatures before you put the tortoises in. The fridge can take a few days to settle a a temperature and a few more days if you have to then ajust the temperature

I personally think choice of substrate is important in fridge hibernation. The air in fridges is very dry so I use soil which retains a degree of moisture. I have it deep enough that the tortoises can dig down into it if they choose. This year I think I'll put the tortoises into their hibernation boxes a day or two before they are put into the fridge to give them the chance to dig in. I use various size of sandwich and storage boxes with a few holes drilled in the lid. These go onto a shelf in the fridge, the shelf is covered by a piece of cardboard so that the cold metal doesnt touch the boxes (overkill perhaps!) A good maximum/minimum thermometer is essential, I ty to have one in each box at substrate level, the temperature between the top and bottom of a fridge can vary a few degrees so I try and put them in the middle where I have the temperature set up at 5 degrees C.  I have the usual water bottles and other things packed in the fridge to help keep the temps stable.

I weigh them weekly for the first few weeks, takig them out for a brief time does not phaze them. If I have to dig them out I tend to cover them lighty when they go back in.

Julie,

just a quick one. Reading back over your original post you say that one of the tortoises is just spending the day under the lamp. As you are using the fridge you can control the timing of the whole hibernation. It may be worth keeping things at normal temperatures for a little while just to try to encourage the tortoise to eat and be active. Also dont let the night time temperatures get too low before the wind doen starts, make it summery conditions for them. Just to be on the safe side and make sure the tortoises behaviour is not because of something else. Its most likely a reaction to the changing season (colder nights, less day length) but tortoises have to be 100% to hibernate I'd just like to see the tortoises return to their recent eating habits before starting the wind down. Probably nothing to worry about but its nice to be reassured that they are 100%.