First hibernation success :-)

[ben2684]

So Terence came out of hibernation a little over a week ago and has now started eating, so relieved!! He has a vet check on Wednesday just to double check all is well! So pleased he made it.. And his new tortoise table is almost ready. Just wanted to know if there is anything in particular I need to look out for, his eyes and nose look clear and no obvious signs of anything on his shell, and his weight loss whilst in hibernation was minimal. This is a first for me so any thoughts/advice would be great

 

[Tortoise]

As long as Terence is eating soon and acting normally all should be fine.You could give extra soaks in warm water to help him rehydrate too.
Weight loss should be no more than 10% body weight ideally.

 

[wellington]

Just wanted to say congrats. Glad it worked out.

 

[ben2684]

It was so stressful! He's eating almost normally, he's being a bit fussy (not like him at all!!!) but I'm sure he'll get back to normal, I was agog at how quickly he was up and running again, such amazing animals! He's getting daily warm baths which he's loving, and his new table is nearly finished he lost about 6% of his weight so I'm guessing all is good, just wanted a vet to double check everything as he's my first tortoise and I worry!!!

 

[Tortoise]

Sounds like you are doing great and a very caring owner-lucky Terence!

 

[lynnedit]

Sounds like he is doing well! It can take them awhile to build an appetite after hibernation, so just keep him hydrated.
How did you choose to hibernate him?

 

[ben2684]

I hibernated him in a small fridge, I set it up a week or so before I planned to hibernate him so I knew the temperature was steady at 5 degrees. It was a hard choice as my local reptile store advised against hibernation and I'd only had him since August, but he was so intent on finding somewhere cool and dark and refused to eat anything, I had to give him what he wanted. every day was stressful, it took him a few days to settle down and I weighed him weekly, just so pleased he's come through! BIG sigh of relief

 

[lynnedit]

You did what you had to do. I had the same issue with my male Russian. He burrowed down and had not eaten for a month, and not well prior to that, even though his enclosure conditions were fine.
So I used a small Costco wine cooler that we had, and cooled him off gradually, then he was in there for 6 weeks. He lost very little weight, perhaps 15gm, during that time.
Now he is up, hydrated and eating some weeds, seems active.
Each tortoise is different!

 

[clintdowns]

Did you say 5 degrees. Is this right. I am thinking of getting some Russians. I am just trying to read up on them.

 

[ben2684]

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/newhibernation.html

This article really helped 😃 ignore the bit about measuring as this applies to Hermanns only

 

[lynnedit]

And make sure you pay attention to C or F. 5-8dC, or 42 to 46F (approx). Mine was set at 45f, but had a +/- of 2-3d. You need to keep it comfortably above freezing. And I opened the door to the cooler every day to other day to allow for air circulation. Checked and weighed him weekly.
Russians don't have to hibernate, as far as we know. But if they won't eat, and your indoor enclosure conditions are OK, then they are better off hibernating as they will lose less weight at a lower temperature.

 

[Tortoise]

Did you say 5 degrees. Is this right. I am thinking of getting some Russians. I am just trying to read up on them.

This article may help too
http://www.dght.de/ag_schildkroeten/pdf/ehorsfield.pdf