Hey

[Maggie3fan]

I have never hibernated any of the many tortoises I've had. If you are not breeding, then there is no reason to hibernate...and I don'tn know about the breeding reason. When hibernation is so iffy, wouldn't you just have him up so you can watch him and play with him???

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

This is the guide you are looking for: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/toms-brumation-thread.201823/

 

[cavities]

This is the guide you are looking for: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/toms-brumation-thread.201823/

Thank you very much. I will take a look!

 

[cavities]

I have never hibernated any of the many tortoises I've had. If you are not breeding, then there is no reason to hibernate...and I don'tn know about the breeding reason. When hibernation is so iffy, wouldn't you just have him up so you can watch him and play with him???

Thank you for your take on this

 

[cavities]

Hello - I have a Hermanns tortoise who is now 24 years old, and he has never hibernated. The reason we didn't start was that he wasn't all that well when we got him (swollen eye, damaged shell, etc) and also very young, so we were afraid to risk it - and of course, this forum didn't exist, and we had no-one to advise us.
Anyway, he was fine, and in the end, we decided not to hibernate him in the future, either. He is healthy and strong. So if you would feel better not hibernating her,I think it would be ok - and personally, I would be inclined not to try after 10 years not doing so. I am not an expert, by any means, and maybe one who is would disagree.
Best wishes either way
Angie

Thank you very much for sharing this with me Angie

 

[Tom]

Hello, thank you. She's better than she was before. Her husbandry has been much improved, I hope. Thank you for your help and all the resources you provide here. They really helped her.

I have a question about hibernation. She's never hibernated before, originally because the person who sold her to my dad, who he trusted, said that she didn't need to and that it was fine to overwinter them. I believe that is incorrect, as the vet said so and as I've seen online. After I learnt this, the vet said she wasn't in good enough health to hibernate, so I overwintered her. But her health has been getting better, and this year, at her annual checkup, the vet gave the go-ahead to hibernate her.

I'm honestly terrified that I'll accidentally kill her if I try to hibernate her though since I've never done it before. I'm also still worried that her health may not be good enough even even though the vet said it should be, given her poor husbandry when she was little. Do you think it's safe or a good idea to hibernate her even if she hasn't before (she's 10 years old)? Would it be beneficial to her health? Is there a guide somewhere on the forum on how to hibernate Mediterranean tortoises or some resources that you find trustworthy? I'm finding some conflicting information on what to do, and it's concerning me.

Thank you for all your help.

I'm so glad that our info helped.

The brumation thing is a matter of opinion. Many opinions. Here is what I can tell you:
1. You do NOT have to brumate if you don't want to. Many people don't, and as far as we can tell, it does no harm to keep them up, though some tortoises will argue with you about this.
2. It is my opinion that species that wold brumate in the wild should also be brumated in captivity.
3. It is easy to do, natural, and when done correctly, it is not risky or scary at all. I've done it 100s of times with all sorts of tortoise, snakes and lizards. I do it every year.

It just so happens that I do have some info on that for you...

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[cavities]

I'm so glad that our info helped.

The brumation thing is a matter of opinion. Many opinions. Here is what I can tell you:
1. You do NOT have to brumate if you don't want to. Many people don't, and as far as we can tell, it does no harm to keep them up, though some tortoises will argue with you about this.
2. It is my opinion that species that wold brumate in the wild should also be brumated in captivity.
3. It is easy to do, natural, and when done correctly, it is not risky or scary at all. I've done it 100s of times with all sorts of tortoise, snakes and lizards. I do it every year.

It just so happens that I do have some info on that for you...

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you so much for this information, Tom! That's reassuring to hear in some sense since I've kept her up so far. I'll take a look at your thread now and try to make a decision on what to do next. I'm sure I'll post again in here if I have any more questions.

 

[zolasmum]

I'm so glad that our info helped.

The brumation thing is a matter of opinion. Many opinions. Here is what I can tell you:
1. You do NOT have to brumate if you don't want to. Many people don't, and as far as we can tell, it does no harm to keep them up, though some tortoises will argue with you about this.
2. It is my opinion that species that wold brumate in the wild should also be brumated in captivity.
3. It is easy to do, natural, and when done correctly, it is not risky or scary at all. I've done it 100s of times with all sorts of tortoise, snakes and lizards. I do it every year.

It just so happens that I do have some info on that for you...

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

Hello, Tom -I was wondering if brumation lengthens the life of a tortoise - has any research ever been done on this ?
Angie

 

[Tinyhigg]

though some tortoises will argue with you about this.

Not trying to be pedantic here; I'd genuinely love to have some tortoises come to argue with me about if I should brumate them or not <3 lol

 

[Tom]

Hello, Tom -I was wondering if brumation lengthens the life of a tortoise - has any research ever been done on this ?
Angie

No research that I have heard of, but that seems plausible. Keeping them up does have an effect on the hormones and endocrine system, but to what extent is not well studied or known. Like most things tortoise, we are left with our collective anecdotal captive observations over the years. Here is what I have observed:
1. We have many members here who keep their tortoises up over winter and report no issues. We had one member who was going on 22 years with many Testudo tortoises of several species staying up every winter, and his tortoises bred and produced babies, and he reported no problems.
2. I have kept them up over winter, and my personal observation is that they seem more vigorous and healthy in general when brumated. This is very subjective.
3. As far as studying tortoise longevity, we humans really don't live long enough to complete any study like this. There really wasn't much captive breeding taking place before 1990 ish, so most of the tortoises in captive hands were wild caught adults that could be 5 years old or 500. Its an unknowable variable. When we started captive breeding decades ago, most breeders were starting babies all wrong, and most breeders today are still doing it all wrong. Only in the last 10 years or so have we been keeping babies of some species well hydrated and humid, and feeding them better. Exceptions abound in all these broad generalities I bring up, but the point is that we don't know how long tortoises of any species live, and trying to study that subject and down any sort of conclusion is very difficult. The brumation/non-brumation issue is just one of many variables in the equation.

 

[Tom]

Not trying to be pedantic here; I'd genuinely love to have some tortoises come to argue with me about if I should brumate them or not <3 lol

Oh they argue, but most people don't know how to "hear" them. Animals in general speak volumes if you know how to "listen".

 

[Tinyhigg]

Oh they argue, but most people don't know how to "hear" them. Animals in general speak volumes if you know how to "listen".

oh I know this, Grunt tells me "off" (trying to keep it pg here) every time I enter to his room!

 

[zolasmum]

No research that I have heard of, but that seems plausible. Keeping them up does have an effect on the hormones and endocrine system, but to what extent is not well studied or known. Like most things tortoise, we are left with our collective anecdotal captive observations over the years. Here is what I have observed:
1. We have many members here who keep their tortoises up over winter and report no issues. We had one member who was going on 22 years with many Testudo tortoises of several species staying up every winter, and his tortoises bred and produced babies, and he reported no problems.
2. I have kept them up over winter, and my personal observation is that they seem more vigorous and healthy in general when brumated. This is very subjective.
3. As far as studying tortoise longevity, we humans really don't live long enough to complete any study like this. There really wasn't much captive breeding taking place before 1990 ish, so most of the tortoises in captive hands were wild caught adults that could be 5 years old or 500. Its an unknowable variable. When we started captive breeding decades ago, most breeders were starting babies all wrong, and most breeders today are still doing it all wrong. Only in the last 10 years or so have we been keeping babies of some species well hydrated and humid, and feeding them better. Exceptions abound in all these broad generalities I bring up, but the point is that we don't know how long tortoises of any species live, and trying to study that subject and down any sort of conclusion is very difficult. The brumation/non-brumation issue is just one of many variables in the equation.

Thanks Tom for this very interesting information - I had wondered if the months of brumation might sort of add on to the rest of their life-span, but now I see it is much more complicated than that.
Angie