idcowden
Member
Hi All,
Our spur thigh Tortoises (Testudo graeca) have been happily living in an outdoor enclosure I built for them. It's a nice size (I think) being about 8ft x 5ft, and safe from foxes etc with a chickenwire mesh lid that I can remove in panels. They have a cold frame (2ft x 2ft) with a ceramic heater, which is run from a thermostatic control to ensure that the temperature never drops below 20c during the day or about 6c at night (on the coldest nights I put a tarp over to keep in heat). The tortoises are 3 years old. Oh - and I am in South East England so temperature wise it seldom gets extremely cold.
Anyway - I have never tried to hibernate them, but my theory was that as they can choose whether to be inside the cold frame or out then they could choose whether or not to hibernate.
Coco decided to hibernate herself at the end of November when the weather was quite cold. She dug herself down outside the cold frame and happily stayed there for 4 weeks. I did dig her up to check on her and she moved herself closer to the cold frame. When we had a big freeze, I did move her inside the cold frame where she dug herself back down. Now at the beginning of Feb when I checked at her her eyes were open and she was moving a little - seems like she is ready to finish.
Esio on the other hand continued to eat and pop in and out all the way through December until mid Jan. She didn't dig down and cover herself, but found a corner of the cold frame and dug a little trench to sit in. She remains, at this stage resolutely hibernating with her head firmly inside her shell and limbs across like closed doors.
I'm assuming that this approach is fine? They both seem happy. I gave Coco a bath today to warm her up and see if she wants to eat yet. I'm going to give Esio a little more time yet...
Am I doing the right thing? Any opinions gratefully received.
*yes I know there should be at least 3 of them. I'm working on a second enclosure or a divider for the existing one. Although they generally seem to get on with one another
Our spur thigh Tortoises (Testudo graeca) have been happily living in an outdoor enclosure I built for them. It's a nice size (I think) being about 8ft x 5ft, and safe from foxes etc with a chickenwire mesh lid that I can remove in panels. They have a cold frame (2ft x 2ft) with a ceramic heater, which is run from a thermostatic control to ensure that the temperature never drops below 20c during the day or about 6c at night (on the coldest nights I put a tarp over to keep in heat). The tortoises are 3 years old. Oh - and I am in South East England so temperature wise it seldom gets extremely cold.
Anyway - I have never tried to hibernate them, but my theory was that as they can choose whether to be inside the cold frame or out then they could choose whether or not to hibernate.
Coco decided to hibernate herself at the end of November when the weather was quite cold. She dug herself down outside the cold frame and happily stayed there for 4 weeks. I did dig her up to check on her and she moved herself closer to the cold frame. When we had a big freeze, I did move her inside the cold frame where she dug herself back down. Now at the beginning of Feb when I checked at her her eyes were open and she was moving a little - seems like she is ready to finish.
Esio on the other hand continued to eat and pop in and out all the way through December until mid Jan. She didn't dig down and cover herself, but found a corner of the cold frame and dug a little trench to sit in. She remains, at this stage resolutely hibernating with her head firmly inside her shell and limbs across like closed doors.
I'm assuming that this approach is fine? They both seem happy. I gave Coco a bath today to warm her up and see if she wants to eat yet. I'm going to give Esio a little more time yet...
Am I doing the right thing? Any opinions gratefully received.
*yes I know there should be at least 3 of them. I'm working on a second enclosure or a divider for the existing one. Although they generally seem to get on with one another