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floridakat85

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The last time I posted, Karloff hadn't eaten in a few weeks and was extremely inactive. After taking him to the vet and determining that because of this unseasonably cold weather in Florida, he was probably attempting to hibernate, I did what the vet suggested and just left him alone. I turned his lights on and off at the appropriate times, offered him food daily, but stopped trying to unbury him from his substrate and just let him be. After about a week of not seeing him at all, when the weather warmed up - thus the house warmed - he suddenly emerged from the dirt and ate everything in his enclosure.

After that, and for the past two weeks now, he's been eating daily and gaining weight almost on a weekly basis - his shell is showing a lot of new growth, too. In fact, if I'm late to putting his food out, he's sitting on top of the plate it normally gets served on and looks around expectantly.

Even though the weather has turned cold again, he's still out and eating and active every single day. When the weather warms up permanently, I have plans to change the garden in front of my house into an outdoor turtle pen, and will post pictures of that and ask for advice in the coming weeks.

Thanks for all the advice, attached is a pic of Karloff vociferously chowing down on green baby leaf lettuce and spring mix. :)
 

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Stephanie Logan

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AAawww, big Russian B. Karloff loves his lettuce leaves...such a cute guy! :D

I know you probably are already doing this, but do you give him a variety of leafy greens in addition to the lettuce in the picture? :p

Hope he stays wide awake and frisky for you. ;)
 

terracolson

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That week was good for him.... I really think every one should hibernate at least a week or two..

if they are supposed to
 

goodsmeagol

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Hijack

Can I hijack this thread,
My Russian slowed down and is acting half asleep for a few days.
My apartment did cool down a little, I did not really think about hibernation as a potential cause.
Can you describe in more detail how yours acted before you let him goto sleep?
Mine keeps its eyes half closed, and acts rather lethargic...
Eats when food is placed in front of him, but will not walk far to get it...
Tuesday - lazy
Wednesday - did not wake up/come out
Thursday - took him out, kept his eyes half closed, ate and basked until I went to work.

Thanks

Thanks
 

Stephanie Logan

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Was he allowed to hibernate with his previous owner? I have read here that tortoises do not HAVE to hibernate, and that they most likely WON"T try to hibernate if their lighting, food and temp routines are maintained through the winter. :cool:

I've also read that for some animals, the change in the sun outside and the feel of the air can generate hibernating behaviors and more dormant activity patterns. So Karloff may be "feeling" the winter even if you have kept up all the "summer" patterns. :p
 

Candy

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I think you've got yourself a good vet there. It didn't sound like he tried to sell you anything that you didn't need and knew the kind of tortoise that you have. A keeper. I'm glad to hear that everything went well and that he's doing great. Always like when that happens. :D
 

floridakat85

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Stephanie Logan said:
AAawww, big Russian B. Karloff loves his lettuce leaves...such a cute guy! :D

I know you probably are already doing this, but do you give him a variety of leafy greens in addition to the lettuce in the picture? :p

Hope he stays wide awake and frisky for you. ;)

Yes, his constant is spring mix but I supplement it with endive, escarole (which he doesn't seem to like much), butter leaf lettuce mix, experimented with cabbage which he didn't like, turnip and mustard greens (which are his favorite). I was wondering though about things like broccoli or herb leaves like basil or thyme? Could I feed him those occasionally?

goodsmeagol said:
Can I hijack this thread,
My Russian slowed down and is acting half asleep for a few days.
My apartment did cool down a little, I did not really think about hibernation as a potential cause.
Can you describe in more detail how yours acted before you let him goto sleep?
Mine keeps its eyes half closed, and acts rather lethargic...
Eats when food is placed in front of him, but will not walk far to get it...
Tuesday - lazy
Wednesday - did not wake up/come out
Thursday - took him out, kept his eyes half closed, ate and basked until I went to work.

Thanks

Thanks

He got really sluggish and refused to eat, was burying more frequently into his substrate rather than basking, didn't put on weight - didn't lose weight either, just sort of maintained for a few weeks. I rarely saw him move at all. Its been a completely turnaround. Right now as I type this he's got all four legs sprawled out in the basking spot, he's watching me watch him (I think he knows I'm talking about him :) ) and even stationary, he's aware and active in a way that he wasn't before. I don't really know how else to describe it. But he just hibernated I suppose for about a week and a half or so, and he emerged a totally fresh and new tortoise.
 
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