Hi all, I have had a horsefield tortoise for 6 months he is about 4 years old and he as not been hibernated before. I keep him in his table with heat and sun lights. I read that I have not to feed him for 4 weeks yet make sure he as plenty of water to drink, I love my tort to bits and want to get his first long sleep right, do I keep his lights on, do I still bath him but not feed him, any info is most appreciated. Thanks Sam
Hibernation first time
- Thread starter oldsam
- Start date
- Status
If you have only had him for 6 months....I would not brumate him yet..you should take at least a year to let him settle in as well as give yourself this time to get to know what his normal behavior is as well as to assure he is healthy enough for brumation...
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2012
- Messages
- 2,238
Why not keep him up all winter? It's a good idea to have your tortoise for a year (a healthy year) before hibernating. Hibernation can be dangerous or fatal if you don't prepare properly and know what you're doing.
You will want to use a heating bulb, or regular bulb to generate heat during the day...you can use a mat to generate night warmth (but I would hesitate to use the heating mat during day hours as you want your tort to move about during the day and I would be worried he would have a tendency to remain above the pad all of the time...
Do you use heating bulb and such right now?
Do you use heating bulb and such right now?
oldsam said:
No, your tort does not need heating during the night unless it gets really cold in your house during the winter (less than 50F). Horfields actually perfer cool nights.
Hibernation is not nessesary. Why risk it??
- Status
