# Hibernate or not?



## way2gfy (Sep 2, 2009)

Hi everyone.

I have a question about if I should hibernate my DT or not this year?

Refresher note:
I found Squirt in a box in a closet in a house that we were cleaning out. I brought him home and he is in a very large glass tank that used to house a 3 foot Tegu Lizard. I have the lights and heat on him and the air shuts off in the day while we are at work and he has the coconut/sand mixture in there. He has a water dish and food dish and a hide he 'kinda' dug out himself. I slanted a cat litter box (never used) and buried it inside and on top and he did the decorating himself, LOL. He goes out for supervised walks in the backyard and eats up the weeds and grass now until I can construct a pen for him because of my dog and all the oleander bushes I have. His pen will be constructed this fall/winter so it will be ready for Spring. His measured his carpace the other day and he is 4 inches.

Now with all this that has happened and maybe being he is just a young'en, should I hibernate him this year or wait until next year?

Thanks everyone.


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## bettinge (Sep 2, 2009)

If you have reason to believe he is perfectly healthy, than hibernate.


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## Maggie Cummings (Sep 2, 2009)

You mean someone moved out of the house and left him in a box? People really amaze me. I say wait and hibernate him next year.


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## Yvonne G (Sep 2, 2009)

My vote would be, "no" and get him out of that aquarium! 

Yvonne


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## dmmj (Sep 2, 2009)

whenever you get a tort rescue it is always best to err on the side of caution and wait a year (if possible) before hibernating, that's what I do anyways.


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## way2gfy (Sep 3, 2009)

Thanks everyone.

I think I will wait to hibernate him until next year.


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## CGKeith (Sep 3, 2009)

Age and size don't always coincide with each other in the tortoise world. However, I have a couple of 3 year old DT's and they are just about 4" (they did hibernate last Winter). So depending on if this little guy has been kept warm during the Winter and has been eating well, my guess is he could be 2-3 yrs old, or if he was in the wild and hibernated he could be as old as 4 or 5. It would just be a guess either way.


You stated that you have lights on him and the air shuts off while you are at work. I don't know how hot your house gets but without the air on you won't be able to create a temperature range for him.

In a glass tank this is a recipe for disaster. You will end up cooking the little guy. 

Much has been mentioned on other posts about the problems with glass tanks. Not only the temperature problems, but the stress on the tortoises because they can see out and will want to get out.


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## way2gfy (Sep 3, 2009)

The air shuts off but the house stays at 82. The temp gauge in his tank says 85-90 during the day because I go home and check on my lunch. I am getting ready to start his pen outside so he shouldn't be in there too much longer. I might have to hibernate him this year if I take him out of the tank. Hmmm. Maybe I will just put some paper all around the outside if the tank so he can stay in there until Spring. I know what everyone says about the tank but I am not sure he should hibernate this year. I don't know, maybe I'll just put him in the garage for hibernation so I can still watch him and such. It took him a week after I got him before he even ate... I was so worried.


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## CGKeith (Sep 3, 2009)

Well, it is just very fortunate that you found it when you did. Sounds like it has a great new home.

If you do get your outdoor enclosure done soon and the little guy is healthy and eating well for you I would say let it stay outside. It may go off feed anyway, whether you want it to or not.

Keep a close eye on it and I am sure you will do fine.


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## tortoisenerd (Sep 3, 2009)

Is the temperature in the entire tank that high? If so, that's why we don't recommend those. You need a gradient. What about buying a cheap Rubbermaid plastic tub? I just got a 50 gallon at Target for $15 for example. You could re-use it for something else in the future when you get the outdoor pen set up. All the reasons you give point to not hibernating him. Frankly, it could kill him if you don't know what you are doing and he's not healthy for it. That said, I'm so glad this beautiful tort has a home. Outdoors will do him a lot of good! Any way you can speed that up? What preparation are you aware of to do to prepare the tort for hibernation? It's not as simple as cooling him down. He needs his system cleared out, etc. Something that you would need advice on. If you insist on going this route, please please at least do your research and preparation to reduce your risks of something going wrong. Some of the members experienced with hibernation will be able to give you pointers; start a new thread if needed as this one has pointed you in a direction in answer to your question of whether to hibernate or not (I see it pointing towards not).


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## way2gfy (Sep 4, 2009)

tortoisenerd said:


> Is the temperature in the entire tank that high? If so, that's why we don't recommend those. You need a gradient. What about buying a cheap Rubbermaid plastic tub? I just got a 50 gallon at Target for $15 for example. You could re-use it for something else in the future when you get the outdoor pen set up. All the reasons you give point to not hibernating him. Frankly, it could kill him if you don't know what you are doing and he's not healthy for it. That said, I'm so glad this beautiful tort has a home. Outdoors will do him a lot of good! Any way you can speed that up? What preparation are you aware of to do to prepare the tort for hibernation? It's not as simple as cooling him down. He needs his system cleared out, etc. Something that you would need advice on. If you insist on going this route, please please at least do your research and preparation to reduce your risks of something going wrong. Some of the members experienced with hibernation will be able to give you pointers; start a new thread if needed as this one has pointed you in a direction in answer to your question of whether to hibernate or not (I see it pointing towards not).



No that is not the temp in the whole tank. The thermometer is at the end with the heat light and pads. The other end stays at about 80 degrees.

I am probably going to start the pen in a couple weeks when it starts cooling off here. Sorry I can't go digging/working in 100+ temps, I get really sick. Plus we have desert landscaping (rocks) in the backyard that we are taking out so I can build the pen and run a sprinkler to the pen for an occassional rain fall. No floods though even though I like them because it is so dry here.

I will keep you posted on that as it starts.

And I will check the other posts on preparing for hibernation.

Thanks.


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