# Desert Tort Hibernation/Health/Housing issues



## HighDesertTortKeeper (Feb 13, 2015)

Hi,
I'm trying this forum thing for the first time. I grew up in California in a family that raised/bred desert tortoises for the state's rescue society. We also kept them as pets. A few years ago we moved to Idaho, Boise area, high desert valley. The summers are perfect for the tortoises but the much harsher winters have been difficult to adjust to. We are now only keeping one tortoise, a pet, that I personally hatched 25 years ago, his name is Sandy. He is very dear to me. He was having some slight breathing problems this autumn and (since he came out of hibernation last year with a cold) we decided not to put him into hibernation. I've kept him warm and well fed and hydrated, but he has never rid himself of his breathing issue. And now the poor guy is just frustrated because he is in too small of a container to be kept inside awake, he needs more moving room. Does anyone have a suggestion of what to give him as a temporary indoor enclosure, easy to clean, until spring is warm enough for him to go back outside during the day?


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## ascott (Feb 13, 2015)

HighDesertTortKeeper said:


> Hi,
> I'm trying this forum thing for the first time. I grew up in California in a family that raised/bred desert tortoises for the state's rescue society. We also kept them as pets. A few years ago we moved to Idaho, Boise area, high desert valley. The summers are perfect for the tortoises but the much harsher winters have been difficult to adjust to. We are now only keeping one tortoise, a pet, that I personally hatched 25 years ago, his name is Sandy. He is very dear to me. He was having some slight breathing problems this autumn and (since he came out of hibernation last year with a cold) we decided not to put him into hibernation. I've kept him warm and well fed and hydrated, but he has never rid himself of his breathing issue. And now the poor guy is just frustrated because he is in too small of a container to be kept inside awake, he needs more moving room. Does anyone have a suggestion of what to give him as a temporary indoor enclosure, easy to clean, until spring is warm enough for him to go back outside during the day?




That is rough...you will need to set up a space that is large enough for the tort to pace, as they do....and yet to keep proper micro climates to allow the best health of the tort (this is going to be an ongoing task for you)....has the tort showed any sign of mucus or gooey ick from the nose? What is the descriptive for "breathing issue"?


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## HighDesertTortKeeper (Feb 13, 2015)

ascott said:


> That is rough...you will need to set up a space that is large enough for the tort to pace, as they do....and yet to keep proper micro climates to allow the best health of the tort (this is going to be an ongoing task for you)....has the tort showed any sign of mucus or gooey ick from the nose? What is the descriptive for "breathing issue"?



He does not have any mucus from the mouth or nose, he is not blowing bubbles. He did that when he first came out of hibernation last spring but it cleared up quickly and he had a great summer. But when I brought him indoors this autumn to prep him for hibernation, and ever since, occasionally throughout the day you can hear him "croak" like a frog, no kidding. It's not wheezing. But it's definitely not anything I've heard in 36 years from a desert tortoise. There are no vets here that specialize in these animals, we have always had a vet in California that worked with us, gave meds etc, we did our own injections etc. But this is just weird and I dont know what to do and I've never had to keep the adults indoors awake, so I'm not set up for that. I have a heat lamp at one end of his tub and a uva/avb lamp on him for the day cycle. But I'm feeling like a lost and incompetent tortoise mommy right now.


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## ascott (Feb 14, 2015)

HighDesertTortKeeper said:


> He does not have any mucus from the mouth or nose, he is not blowing bubbles. He did that when he first came out of hibernation last spring but it cleared up quickly and he had a great summer. But when I brought him indoors this autumn to prep him for hibernation, and ever since, occasionally throughout the day you can hear him "croak" like a frog, no kidding. It's not wheezing. But it's definitely not anything I've heard in 36 years from a desert tortoise. There are no vets here that specialize in these animals, we have always had a vet in California that worked with us, gave meds etc, we did our own injections etc. But this is just weird and I dont know what to do and I've never had to keep the adults indoors awake, so I'm not set up for that. I have a heat lamp at one end of his tub and a uva/avb lamp on him for the day cycle. But I'm feeling like a lost and incompetent tortoise mommy right now.




http://www.quijano.net/tq/turtlesounds.html

I wonder if you are hearing "normal" sounds that you would not have otherwise heard due to you having the tortoise indoors now vs outdoors an Under stressful conditions to the tort (since outdoors is the normal for this tortoise)???


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## HighDesertTortKeeper (Feb 14, 2015)

That is possible. My concerns come from this year's history of respiratory issues, including wheezing as recently as December. Mostly i just want to make a happy healthy indoor home for him until he can return to his normal routine. Can anyone give me hints on how they have housed adult desert tortoises inside without building an expensive permanent enclosure.?


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## ascott (Feb 15, 2015)

HighDesertTortKeeper said:


> That is possible. My concerns come from this year's history of respiratory issues, including wheezing as recently as December. Mostly i just want to make a happy healthy indoor home for him until he can return to his normal routine. Can anyone give me hints on how they have housed adult desert tortoises inside without building an expensive permanent enclosure.?



I know that in the past when I had the old man tortoise here indoors due to sand impaction and then later due to abscess removal (these health issues came with him when he came to live here at our property) he had free run of my bedroom (due to I could set up a heating station and have no carpeting throughout the house...)..he trucked around indoors as he did when he was outdoors but was in a controlled environment--while he was not pleased with the idea of being indoors (as he is only indoors when brumating and outdoors all of the rest of the year)...

I also remember someone else here that put together some of those indoor dog play pen fencing things together above a tarp laid on the floor then covered all with substrate and added a few hides/plants/heating station and uv ray station.....so, you can likely do something similar...keep in mind that the old man tortoise here is an adult and the other person I mentioned also had an adult....


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## the_newzie (Feb 19, 2015)

If you're looking for suggestions for easy indoor pens, I'd suggest you scour craigslist or local classifieds for a large entertainment center/bookcase that has a back. Lay it over on it's back, water proof it with some tarp or something similar and add your substrate. That'll at least give some walking around space. To supplement that space and add a bit of variety, I've set up multiple rows of planter boxes side by side so they get sun from the windows (in addition to a grow light) and have them planted solid with weeds and grass. I had to put up a small wood barrier around the planter boxes to prevent escape attempts but so far, as long as I move him from one to the other at least once or twice a day, my tort seems to be tolerating being kept awake this winter. If you find everything second hand/being thrown away, it's a pretty cheap, easy set up. Foil can be used to create a cover/lid to help regulate temps and humidity levels.


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