Advice on hibernating our Greek Tort....starting to panic a bit!

woodsa

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Oct 21, 2015
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Firstly, hello!

I've recently taken ownership of our family Greek spur thighed tortoise (this summer) she's been in our family about 60 years. My grandad, probably like most older generation owners have kept her hibernated in the shed in box full of straw. So far she's survived.
Since taking ownership I've been reading about safe modes of hibernating a garden tortoise. I understand that they are not to have food for at least 2-3 weeks prior to hibernation and that a safer way of hibernating is to use two boxes, one insulated and the second filled with a mixture of earth and sand, slightly damp.

My current worry, is that she had stopped eating 4 weeks ago now. She started naturally digging, so I prepped the hibernation box. Unfortunatley the temprature has risen slightly (daytime temp12-14 c) which means she's still awake yet hasn't eaten.
I'm worried that if the temprature doesn't drop and she continues to stay awake, she'll be under-nourished and won't survive hibernation. My question is, at this amount of time without eating; should I get her under a lamp, feed up her for another month and then steadily let her go into hidernation after two weeks of not eating?

Any answers would be gratefully recieved, Thankyou for reading.
 

Gillian M

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Firstly, a very warm welcome to the forum!:tort:

Please post pics of your tort as well as its enclosure. (By the way I too have a Greek tort I :<3: LOVE!)

Hibernation, is not an issue- don't panic. ;) As for your tort not eating, well, torts do tend to lose appetite in Winter/cold weather, and they resist hunger.

Please read the "Beginners Mistake Thread" and the different care sheets. And keep asking questions. Good luck!:)
 

Tom

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Our weather here is unreliably sporadic. I can't rely on it to get cold enough and stay cold enough here for hibernation. I use a fridge.

One detail I did not hear you discuss was soaks. Hydration is a very important aspect of hibernation.
 

woodsa

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Oct 21, 2015
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Thankyou for replying so quickly. I have been soaking her, in warm water for 5-10. She begins to get bored and tries to get out if in any longer.

So it'd be wrong to get her under a basking lamp after not eating for 4 weeks?
I don't have a fridge that I could deicate to her. however, I'm currently waiting for a call back from a local wildlife centre. I've asked, if they have a big chill room for the hibernating species; whether or not I could include mine there....for a donation to the centre.
 
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