I have a new best friend, Mr Brown. He is nearly two years old, i read lots on the internet before i purchesed him, but i dont know if he is eating enough, and i'm also confused about hibernation, Iv'e read that he's too young ans small to hibernate, but have just read somewhere else that he should hibernate, but just have a shorter hibernation period . I keep him in our conservetory, he has an open topped area with both kinds of lamps, lots of shredded paper and a water dish, it's open sided he comes and goes as he likes, he roams around and gets back under his lamp whenever he wants, but i've just read that it's not good for him to roam around the room like that, he can get between the conservetory and the kitchen and always seems to find his way back to his light, will he be ok.... can anyone advise me if this sounds ok.....many thanks 

Hi Debi, Before i go into everything can you tell me what kind of tortoise he is.

many thanks Elaine

Sorry Debi, I pressed the post button before I intended to. On the left hand side menu list click on "The Tortoise" and then there will be a list of species that come up for each individual species. There is also a link to the various methods of hibernation too. If you weight your tortoise nad measure him that would give us more to work on regarding hibernation (if he is a breed that does hibernate, not all do). How long have you had him and has he been healthy? The open top set up sounds fine, but we have found that tortoises thrive much better on a sand/soil mix as a substrate (this is covered in the care sheet). As for the free roaming it is not a good idea especially now that the weather has change. If you walk about bare footed then it would not be long before your feet felt cold, this is the tempreture that Mr Brown will be experiencing. My male Andy followed me around like a shadow, then he developed gastric enteritus (sorry about the spellings) and I would have giving anything not to see this; he was very ill. Try giving him a run round the garden once he has warmed up and then he should settle down providing the boundries are solid; if they can see out then they will want out. Hope this has helped a little, once we have more information from you regarding weights ect then we can advise more. PLEASE feel free to have a read of the information sheets and ask away.

kind regards Elaine 

Hi Debi, I was going to say the same as Elaine, in that the tortoise table is the best place for him, with a 50/50 sand/soil mix.  You could make it more interesting by adding logs and stones and hides for him.   I must stress that it is not ideal to allow him to free roam, I heard of a case only recently where the tort was loose in the house and a relative called and unknowingly trod on the tort, the poor tort didnt survive.

You can start reading our hibernation sheet as Elaine mentioned, here is the link

http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/78.asp. I look forward to receiving more details on your tort.

Vivienne

Hi Debi, I'm not experienced as the TPG people that have replied, but it is true that it's always colder at ground level and there are draughts.  I undertand your concern about hibernation - I find it terrifying!  You'll get still better advice here if you let us all know what species you have.  I know nothing about tropical tortoises except a lo of them don't hibernate. Jonathan

Thanks very much for the info, I know he is  a Hermans tortoise, We bought him at the end of July, so he's only been with us a short while, I will measure him and weigh him tonight and get back in touch then. He will be two years old in November.

I have read thru the sheets, they are very helpfull.

We will change shredded paper and straw to the mix recommended for the bottom of his cage, and will get some rocks etc.

Thanks once again. will be intouch soon. 

Many thanks for the help.

We will be making some changes to his home, have read thru the help sheets , there very usefull.

I'm gonna get his measurements and weight tonight and will send them thru to Elaine so i can get a bit more info on whether he needs to hibernate.

Once again amny thanks

Debi 

Hi Debi, just rereading and forgot to answere the question in the heading, doh... As a general guide if the food covers their shell that that should be enough. Having said that I feel it is more of a balance thing. If your tortoise has to walk and find his food then his energy will be used up so he can eat more. If on the other hand he is sat near a hot light nad being handed his food then the amount need to be less as he isn't working the calories off. Because they have a slow metobolic rate the weeds take weeks to go through their system and this is good as it allows the absorbtion of all the nutrients, shop bought stuff goes through much quicker and less goodnes is absorbed (if there was any there to begin with).

Look forward to the weigh in . This is also a good indicator of health, i always weight new torts weekly, then monthly once quaritine has finished. Any rapid drops can often be the beginning of ill health, huge increases could be a gravid female or just over eating. But a good practice to get into.

HTH

Elaine

Don't worry Jonathan, it is a 'terrifying' time for us all, but the more 'hibernations' that you do your confidence will grow. I must admit my first fridge hibernation was a bit scarry but the sence behind it made for a regulated hibernation and the torts all awoke with a spring in their step! Well worth the worry.

TC

Elaine

Hi Elaine,

Ive just measured Mr Brown and he is 8cm and weighs 4.5oz.

I would like to thank every one for the replies i have received, i tried to post back to all those who took the time to help, but i seemed to go wrong after i i did the first couple, me and computers are not the best of friends !!!

Mr Brown seems healthy, he is quite alert, shiny eyes and a dry nose, but he seems so small to go into hibernation, if he dosn't go into hibernation because he's too small, is there any thing different i have to do to keep him healthy over the winter.

I cant believe how attached we have gotten to him in such a short space of time, and i'm terrified i will do it wrong if he has to go to sleep for any length of time.

So hoping to hear from you soon,

and once again a big thank you to every one for there help.

Kind regards

Debi   

Hi Debi,

How small is he?

Unless there has been a problem, I always hibernate mine here from 35grams.

How heavy is your tortoise?

The first hibernation, as Elaine has said, is always very worrying. If you do hibernate, have you any thoughts on which method you'll use?

TC
Darren

Hi Darren,

I think Debi said he weighed 4.5 ounces, which is 127.6 grams.

Nina

Hi Debi,

You've been given some excellent advice but can I just add that where you purchased your tortoise from, might help us advise on the best course of action regarding hibernation.

I'll let you why I ask this .............. at this time of year, particularly given the awful summer we've had, a lot of tortoises may start to wind down naturally and due to the short length of time you have had it, I tend to lean towards over-wintering as it can be difficult to get an accurate overall view of their health.  Pet shop tortoises are notorious for having worms (not that I'm saying yours has of course) and can suffer from stress.  Sometimes they can take a while to settle in and I think it's a good idea to 'know' your tortoises behaviour before you hibernate them.

If you bought from a reputable breeder, and they are uk captive bred, there should be no reason not to hibernate as you can always discuss your fears and concerns with the breeder and you know they are in good health.

Jo

Hi Darren, he is 8cm and weighs 4.5oz, if he does need hibernating i will have to use the box method, it still seems confusing, how do you know when to start the full process, i.e reducung light and food etc, i have read lots of info but am still not sure, and how long should he sleep for, some places say Nov thru to Jan, others say Dec to Jan, my lack of confidence is getting worse the more i read...

Thanks for taking time to look at my query

Kind regards

Debi 

Hi Debi,

He does seem a little light. When you measured him did you do it straight from front to back please?

http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/77.asp

TC

Darren

Yes, i put him on a measure with his bottom against a wall and measured up to where his little head pops out, but it was tucked in when i did the measure.

Cheers

Debi

Hi Debi,

You didnt measure over his shell did you?

Ali

No just length from tip to toe, with head tucked in.

Debi

Hi all. Elaine, what did you mean when you said the food should cover his shell?
Graham

Hi Graham,

Not sure if Elaine is around this morning, but what she meant by that is it's just a sort of notional amount to feed a tortoise each day -- enough leaves/flowers to make a little blanket to cover his shell. It's just to give an idea of the amount. Some people use other ideas -- all that he can eata in 20 minutes, once a day; all that he can eat in an hour, every other day; some people feed only six days a week. It all depends on your tortoise, but what you are basically aiming for is for your tortoise to gain between 1g - 3g per month. So if he is gaining more than that every month then cut down, but if that is the amount he is gaining then you're doing things right! If he is gaining less, then maybe increase the food. There aren't any hard and fast rules, but does that make sense?

Nina