Gandalf the Turtle
New Member
Hello everyone,
I've had my Hermanns tortoise for roughly a year now, making her around 2 years old.
Last year I was not able to hibernate her as I did not meet those requirements at the time. This year I was planning on putting her in hibernation around mid-December, but after a doctor's appointment two weeks ago I was told she has worms. I've given her the medication and will have to do so again in just over a week.
The current situation is that she's got roughly 3-4 hours of light (I've been decreasing it by one hour each week), doesn't eat almost anything (probably because of the light-no light ratio) and is at a temperature of 10-12 degrees during night time.
I know Hermanns tortoises have to go into hibernation every year, but I don't know if I can do it this year. The vet told me to increase her "day time" to around 6 hours, but I don't have 6 weeks after giving her the second round of medication to reduce it to 1 hour as I'm going on holiday shortly before Christmas, which was when she was supposed to be hibernating. I have everything else prepared: a fridge, a shoe box, etc.
I hate doing this, but I fear the only thing I can do is to increase the amount of day time she gets back to 12 hours. I am afraid that she hasn't eaten enough to survive the planned two-week hibernation or that the parasites get the best of her while she's in her slumber.
I am in panic and do not know what to do. I am the only person I know who owns a tortoise, and fear for her life. Please help me, give me some advice. I do not know what to do!
Thank you to anyone who answers. I really need some advice; I don't want her to die
I've had my Hermanns tortoise for roughly a year now, making her around 2 years old.
Last year I was not able to hibernate her as I did not meet those requirements at the time. This year I was planning on putting her in hibernation around mid-December, but after a doctor's appointment two weeks ago I was told she has worms. I've given her the medication and will have to do so again in just over a week.
The current situation is that she's got roughly 3-4 hours of light (I've been decreasing it by one hour each week), doesn't eat almost anything (probably because of the light-no light ratio) and is at a temperature of 10-12 degrees during night time.
I know Hermanns tortoises have to go into hibernation every year, but I don't know if I can do it this year. The vet told me to increase her "day time" to around 6 hours, but I don't have 6 weeks after giving her the second round of medication to reduce it to 1 hour as I'm going on holiday shortly before Christmas, which was when she was supposed to be hibernating. I have everything else prepared: a fridge, a shoe box, etc.
I hate doing this, but I fear the only thing I can do is to increase the amount of day time she gets back to 12 hours. I am afraid that she hasn't eaten enough to survive the planned two-week hibernation or that the parasites get the best of her while she's in her slumber.
I am in panic and do not know what to do. I am the only person I know who owns a tortoise, and fear for her life. Please help me, give me some advice. I do not know what to do!
Thank you to anyone who answers. I really need some advice; I don't want her to die
