Hello friends. Hope all is well. I have a question; Hunter (3 yr old male) really slows down in the winter months. His environment is kept at appropriate temperatures and he has plenty of lighting. My main concern is his diet. He does not eat much at all. Once a week approximately and sleeps a lot. In the past, warmer months, he is extremely active and eats daily. I soak him daily and he is awake and drinks just fine. Should I be concerned or is this just a mild, instinctive hybernation?

Is Hunter inside or outside in the summer? If he is eating and more active during the summer, but less active and eating rarely in the winter. The only conclusion I can come to is that he isn't warm enough during the winter to want to eat on a regular basis.
Most Leopard tortoises are from the center of their range where they wouldn't see great changes in temperature from season to season. Usually it's just either wet or dry.
Do you know what your temperatures are now? How long are your lights on for?

Danny

The lights are on all day. The temperature is always at least in the high sixties. He has two lights and a heating pad which he prefers to hang out on because it is under some foliage.

First off your Leopard is to cold. That temperature is fine for a night time temperature, but not during the day. Your day time temperatures should be 75F cool end, 85F warm end and 95 to 100F under the basking spot. Your lights should be on 12 to 14 hours a day also.
If you do this you will see a big change in your Leopard.

Danny

Hibernation is only instinctive when the conditions drop to unfavorable conditions. If the temperatures were correct for normal activity the tortoise would be active.

Throughout the leopard tortoises natural range it does go into a winter slow down which can be considered a hibernation (since there are no tortoises which truly hibernate) where it occurs in a low enough latitude or a high enough altitude.

If you are comfortable with this be very careful that it stays dry and you check on the tortoise once a week or so. Also... weekly soakings is not a bad idea. Also, make sure the tortoise is healthy to begin with.

If your tortoise is active, provide food and monitor the weight.

While I don't suggest you do this... I box up my leopards in Rubbermaid containers on aspen chips and place them in a room where the temperatures remain in the fifties throughout the winter.

The other option is to crank up the temperatures. Provide a heat mat or heat emitter at night and a basking lamp during the day. If you allow the average temperature to drop the tortoise will slow down. I suggest a minimum temperature of 70F at night and a daytime range of 75F to 100F. With that you should see and increase in activity.

Is it my understanding that this tortoise free roams the house, thus the heating pad under some foliage?

Ed all you have done is confused the issue with this statement.. (since there are no tortoises which truly hibernate) ! We have members here that have had their torts MAYBE 30 some weeks.. even 30 some DAYS!!! And you've managed to confuse them and haven't been here 30 some hours!

Please explain that statement for those that haven't been around for 30 some years like you and Danny and me.

Thank you...

Terry

This post was last modified: 01-10-2008 02:02 PM by Redfoot NERD.

Unfortunately the loudest person is heard regardless if they are right or wrong.

Tortoises do not hibernate as would a mammal. The only physiological change that occures is the result of a drop in temperature.

In the case of mammals there is an interaction of light cycle and temperature which leads to a physiological change in the metabolism which is not reversed until the end of the season(winter). Remember, mammals are homeotherms and reptiles are poikilotherms. The mammals metabolism is constant regardless of the outside environment. A reptiles metabolism is dependent on its environment.

So... when the temperature drops the tortoises metabolism slows down by design. This does not occur with mammals.

Instinctively a tortoise seems to sense this and hunts for a place that remains above freezing. Those that don't find that place... die... natural selection.

In the case of a reptile... if the average temperature climbs above that which is necessary for survival... it comes out of 'hibernation'.

This is not the case with a mammal unless that period is extensive enough to initiate that physiological change to bring it out and it is not based totally on temperature.

Redfoots 'hibernate' in the southern part of their range.

The point is that if you drop the temperature low enough on a reptile it will 'hibernate'.

To the newbie... be careful of any of this crap you find on the internet. It is usually one persons opinion.

The thing the new keeper needs to know right now is that a tortoise is a reptile and it needs heat to survive.

The particular person who posted this post seems to have keyed on to this fact.

...but then this can be a total line of BS... this is what I believe. It's up to the reader to either confirm it or believe it as is.

I've run into this before and I still don't turly understand the difference between reptile hiibernation and mammal hiberbation. My explaination covers how I understant it. Then I found this...
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~kmuldrew/cryo_co...p12_1.html
The key point is controlled decrease in internal temperature...
Look up 'Hibernation' and have fun.

The important point as far as tortoise keepers go is that if you drop the temperature on ANY tortoise it's metabolism will decrease.

I am going to have to supply him with another heating aperatous... a space heater of some sort since the two heat lamps and heating pad aren't doing the trick...