# To brumate or not to brumate, that is the question.



## ShadowyPaper (May 26, 2020)

Do I have to burmate my tortoise, or can I provide it with the same conditions all year round?
There seems to be a difference of opinion, some believe burmation to be essential as its natural for certain species, whereas others seem to have never bothered with their tortoises and don't seem to have had any issues.

It seems to me that tortoises burmate in the wild because food is scarce and the temperature drop and sunlight hours lessen
If the environment never does this surely the tortoise will never have need to burmate.
My tort is a Western Herman, so any specific information would be welcome, but I'd like to hear peoples different opinions on this apparent controversy.


----------



## Blastoise (May 27, 2020)

Well, there are some really good opinions on this in multiple threads. You can search the forum for "hibernation". I've read most of the threads and its almost a 50/50 split, and this includes many long term tortoise folks. They will be fine without hibernation, but it is part of their natural life cycle. Here is one paper I read recently with an opinion about it, as well a lot of other info on keeping Russian tortoises. I'll just post the part about hibernation.

Long hibernation
A long hibernation is essential for this species. It is important that the temperature 
remains constantly low, just like in the well-insulated burrows under natural 
conditions. Besides of this, the environment should be only mildly humid, since the 
tortoises are sensitive to dampness. The conditions for successful hibernation have 
been described repeatedly in different papers by experienced keepers. For further 
reading we refer the reader to the article by WILMS(2000). 

Specimens that are kept under constantly warm conditions all year round generally do not live long. 
Unfortunately, a widespread opinion, even among breeders, is that juveniles should 
not hibernate at all in their first or second winters. There is no logical reason for 
this, because the tortoises are neither too small nor too weak, and in the wild, there 
is nobody to keep them awake and warm! If not allowed to hibernate, the natural 
biorhythm is disturbed and in most cases, growth problems will appear. Specimens 
that have been kept awake all year round often grow too fast and normally will not 
have a stabilized metabolism. 

Mostly, they pay for their breeder’s ambition with their health or even with 
their life. The early maturity attained by these speeded-up specimens cannot be 
used as a favourable argument, because their offspring are sometimes sickly, even 
when properly and carefully raised. If someone decides to acquire young steppe 
tortoises, an adequate hibernation facility should be available from the beginning 
on.

Some steppe tortoises also retire into their burrow and temporarily cease feeding 
and activity under European outdoor conditions in early July. This corresponds to 
the natural aestivation period. The tendency for aestivation is very prominent in 
some specimens imported as adults and mostly diminishes in captivity with passing 
years.


----------



## Tom (May 27, 2020)

ShadowyPaper said:


> Do I have to burmate my tortoise, or can I provide it with the same conditions all year round?
> There seems to be a difference of opinion, some believe burmation to be essential as its natural for certain species, whereas others seem to have never bothered with their tortoises and don't seem to have had any issues.
> 
> It seems to me that tortoises burmate in the wild because food is scarce and the temperature drop and sunlight hours lessen
> ...


I don't know of any long term studies done to see if there are any negative side effects from not hibernating. Anecdotally, members here have said their's were fine without hibernating.

My opinion: If a species hibernates in the wild, then we should also hibernate them, correctly, in captivity, but you don't have to if you don't want to.


----------



## GBtortoises (May 28, 2020)

If you can provide adequate indoor accommodations to keep your tortoise active and healthy through the winter months why would you brumate? Tortoises do so in the wild because they have to in order to escape long periods of colder temperatures, diminished sunlight and lack of food. Tortoises in captivity would only be exposed to these conditions if the keeper allowed it. If pre-brumation conditioning is not done correctly and something goes wrong, it can be fatal for the tortoise. Even in the wild not all tortoises survive brumation for any number of reasons. 
So again, why would you? 
There are essentially two reasons to brumate in captivity. One, breeders often do so because it will generally "cycle" the tortoises to more effectively breed in the spring. I myself find that to be true with my tortoises. Second, keepers who have large numbers of animals will brumate to take some of the work load and expense off of caring for so many through the winter months. I personally don't necessarily agree with the second reason to brumate but that's a keepers choice.


----------



## Toddrickfl1 (May 28, 2020)

If someone is breeding specific torts I could see it useful in those situations. For pet torts I don't really think it's necessary. I never would, that's just my opinion. I've seen too many threads of people losing their torts in brumation.


----------



## LasTortugasNinja (May 28, 2020)

I've never hibernated a pet, and never had an issue. I remember a zoo keeper I talked to years ago, when I saw the zoo's grizzly bear running around in December and playing in the snow. She said, "We don't try to hibernate our animals, because they don't live in wild conditions requiring hibernation. They get warm dens, steady supply of food, and routine health care. They might sleep for a week or two, but typically, bears in captivity don't hibernate because it's not necessary. And it's not shown to harm the bears. In fact, they seem to have fun playing in the snow."

I realize torts aren't bears, but it seems to make sense. I know a lot of reptile species need a drop in temp and increased humidity to trigger the urge to breed, but that can be achieved without shutting down the metabolism.


----------



## Ink (May 28, 2020)

I have never hibernated any of my tortoises. I have a Leopard , western Hermann and I will not hibernate my (new to me) eastern hermann. I also don't breed them, they are my pets.


----------



## Petrolped 2 (Sep 3, 2020)

I adopted 2 ‘hermans’ last year As the owner didn’t want them anymore they are approx 5 years old and have always lived together. One is almost double the size of the other but I have researched and they are both females and look like Herman’s. Apparently they have never hibernated and always lived their life in A Tortoise table in a conservatory however they live in my utility room now so it won’t be as warm for them by comparison This year they are acting strange inasmuch as they both are trying to go to sleep, last week they slept for 2 days and it scared. me to death to think they could die so I got them out and bathed them. I’m keeping their basking light 100watt on all day and night Including a night light to stop them going into hibernation or brumation And their normal uv light on during the day but I guess this isn’t the right thing to do. I’ve stopped feeding them for 2 days but have bathed them to prepare them for brumation but really it scares me to let them go for it. What should I do as I don’t know whether to start feeding them again and allow them to do what they want to do. If anyone is still reading this please can you help.


----------



## Golden Greek Tortoise 567 (Sep 3, 2020)

Petrolped 2 said:


> I adopted 2 ‘hermans’ last year As the owner didn’t want them anymore they are approx 5 years old and have always lived together. One is almost double the size of the other but I have researched and they are both females and look like Herman’s. Apparently they have never hibernated and always lived their life in A Tortoise table in a conservatory however they live in my utility room now so it won’t be as warm for them by comparison This year they are acting strange inasmuch as they both are trying to go to sleep, last week they slept for 2 days and it scared. me to death to think they could die so I got them out and bathed them. I’m keeping their basking light 100watt on all day and night Including a night light to stop them going into hibernation or brumation And their normal uv light on during the day but I guess this isn’t the right thing to do. I’ve stopped feeding them for 2 days but have bathed them to prepare them for brumation but really it scares me to let them go for it. What should I do as I don’t know whether to start feeding them again and allow them to do what they want to do. If anyone is still reading this please can you help.


The rule of thumb is not to brumate tortoises until you’ve had them at least a year. I’d say the bigger one is bullying the smaller one, I would separate them. What we think of as affection, is actually bullying. Sleeping together is crowding, eating together is taking charge of the best food, and following is chasing.


----------



## Golden Greek Tortoise 567 (Sep 3, 2020)

Convincing a tortoise to not brumate takes a good amount of work. Raise their temps and put food out daily.


----------

