I'd suggest a Mediterranean species: Hermann's, Greek/ibera, marginated, Horsefield/Russian. With some basic DIY to create an outdoor heated box, and with the space you have, you could give it a wonderful home. Especially if you took in a rescue adult, which could go straight outside. There are...
Hello! I've read through your thread, lots of good advice in there for me too.
I was advised not to hibernate, given it was my first year with Sid, but he started winding himself down, so I reasoned that a brief hibernation, four weeks, would be a low risk middle ground.
He is an outside...
Ha not at all, pinch away, I pinched them in turn from others. The weather here can be a bit grim, but with a good south facing garden and some shelter, you can do it. It's all about microclimate...
Just an update...
I did hibernate Sid, only for four weeks. He seemed absolutely fine, settled quickly at 4-8 C in the fridge, lost about 1g in weight each week. He had a no food wind down period of about 5 weeks, and lost quite a bit of weight during that time.
I woke him up yesterday just...
Just to update this thread, I decided to hibernate Sid, and he went into the fridge four weeks ago today.
His peak weight pre-hibernation was 1070g, although it was more steadily around 1000-1020g, and it dropped to 989g during wind down.
I've weighed him each week in the fridge, and he's...
Thanks for the comprehensive reply RosemaryDW, that's really helpful.
I know it is perhaps a risk to hibernate in his first year with me, but I can mitigate this by keeping the hibernation brief this year. I guess if he loses more weight in the next few weeks during wind down, I can still...
Although I only got my rescue Hermanns this year, I was hoping to hibernate him, but now I'm concerned about his weight loss before he's even really started winding down. His weight peaked in October when he was eating well and soaking regularly, but it's tailed off over the last few weeks, even...
Hello
I don't know anything about leopard tortoises, but I do know that UV will not pass through glass or plastic, so if your UV lamp is sitting on top of your plexiglass lid, it will not be reaching the inside of the enclosure.
The visible light does obviously, which is why you can be...
Is it big enough to have part of it unshaded by the house? And a greenhouse will be tall, and therefore catch sun that won't hit the ground. Could you visit it at different times of day to see how the sun moves across it?
I thought some people might be interested in these snaps of some little torts I saw on my holiday a couple of years ago in Mallorca - one of the Balearic islands, part of Spain.
There were two of them living wild in and around the garden of the house I was staying in. I offered them some...
You know, I might just give it a go. You've given me some confidence. I can always wake him up again if starts losing weight and doesn't seem to be doing.
If it's what he's trying to do, I won't fight it.
@Koen those are really interesting points. I suppose I'm reluctant to hibernate him this year because we're new to each other, but actually if he starts to slow down, I could give him a brief sleep, just a few weeks, rather than a few months.
He is spending more time sleeping, and becoming a...
Hi
Have a look at the Tortoise Protection Group website, there's some good information on hibernation. How to wind-down your tortoise, fridge method vs box method, how to wake up again.
https://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/78.asp