Hibernation Nightmare!

[RosemaryDW]

Oh yes, and regarding fridge hibernation, I can't do it any other way.

T.G.

That is our problem. Not cold enough (we are near the ocean) and no space safe from flooding; last year the place where she likes to hibernate was flooded several times in our crazy big rains. And yeah, I like to weigh mine weekly but I only have the one.

Our humidity is also relatively high (again due to ocean proximity). I worry more about humidity outside than I do, or did, in the fridge. More to think about, thank you.

 

[creepy-crawler]

artificial hibernation is a tricky thing, too many things too often go wrong, it is not your fault even if you followed all the instructions, it is simply too hard to do artificially: in short - the intestines need to be free of food and poop before the animal falls into hibernation, if the guts are not emptied completely - the rot will begin killing the animal in its sleep. the problem with artificial hibernation is that you do not know if the guts have been emptied completely. the animal might show no signs of poop during long soaks for days making the owner assume the animal is emptied and ready, but in reality the animal is just a slow pooper and saved one for later, it is all it takes. in the nature the animal will not fall asleep unless the bowels are emptied and no one knows it better that itself, when that happens then it will go to sleep safely. signs of autumn signal the preparation, when the conditions are changed so is the behavior and the risks... i do not hibernate my beasts, so brumate all winter and others hibernate for 3 to 4 months, i feed all until they stop eating on their own, brumaters are fed when they come out, but i live in southern california, it is easy to do naturally but a long time ago when it came to first time hibernation decision i realised i have perfect conditions and no one does it better than nature. i know, it is of no consolation, but be strong, other torts need you

 

[ohio]

I feel it was my fault, she looked very dehydrated and the male took a little time to recover compared to my Russian and hermann torts. Will do better at my part next year because I feel hibernation is important. Obviously i didn't do my homework and i feel it's all my fault as her owner. On the other hand I am in complete amazement, when kicking around in my tortoise pens today I saw a little fresh looking hole. I started digging and found my missing Russian female. Not sure if I'm out of the water, but she is moving so I think she is still alive. Have her soaking and she is moving. She survived an Ohio winter outside!?!?! I'll let you know when I know more.

 

[ohio]

Amazing I can't believe it. In Ohio. Muddy clay. She's looking at me! Outside! Ohio amazing!!!!!!! Can't believe it!

 

[WithLisa]

She survived an Ohio winter outside!?!?!

Why not, Russians are tough and Ohio winters seem to be rather mild compared to some testudo habitats. But I'm glad for you!

 

[ohio]

Wet damp Ohio clays are not what Russian torts are used to dealing with. I'm still amazed! Don't know if I'm out of the water yet? Hibernation sickness? Not sure but her eyes are open and she's still alive!!!! She is still alive!☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺ I don't use emoji but I'm excited!

 

[ohio]

Kira! My dog attack rescue I still can't believe it!

 

[ohio]

Kira! My dog attack rescue! I still can't believe it!

 

[WithLisa]

What a beautiful girl!
In Austria it's not uncommon to let testudos hibernate outside, even Russians, and I think our winters are not only colder but also wetter than Ohio. I bet she's totally fine.

 

[creepy-crawler]

I feel it was my fault, she looked very dehydrated and the male took a little time to recover compared to my Russian and hermann torts. Will do better at my part next year because I feel hibernation is important. Obviously i didn't do my homework and i feel it's all my fault as her owner. On the other hand I am in complete amazement, when kicking around in my tortoise pens today I saw a little fresh looking hole. I started digging and found my missing Russian female. Not sure if I'm out of the water, but she is moving so I think she is still alive. Have her soaking and she is moving. She survived an Ohio winter outside!?!?! I'll let you know when I know more.

that's a spirit

 

[MountainFox]

What a wonderful update!! I’ve been following in hopes she’d turn around. Welcome back, Kira!

 

[ohio]

Been soaking her twice a day she still hasn't eaten anything yet but putting on a little weight. I think I'll take her to the vet on Monday, sounds like she might have a respiratory infection. I'm still amazed it was down in the teens for a couple weeks and I know the ground froze in spots. Tough little tortoise!

 

[ohio]

Gave Kira a good soak, she ate good today and is putting on weight. Got back from vet, parasite free! Slight RI so put her on anti-bionics. SMZ liquid form to give orally. Still can't believe she mad it over winter outdoors in Ohio...cold and very damp. Other then that she has a clean bill of health. Yeah for me and her.

 

[kellygirl64]

Gave Kira a good soak, she ate good today and is putting on weight. Got back from vet, parasite free! Slight RI so put her on anti-bionics. SMZ liquid form to give orally. Still can't believe she mad it over winter outdoors in Ohio...cold and very damp. Other then that she has a clean bill of health. Yeah for me and her.

Yay !!

 

[Lucypup]

Hi my little horsfield decided after weeks of battling to hibernate I did not want him to but he was determined it was a little late but am not sure when to wake him or just wait till he appears I have just rescued a female to be a companion so I will need to keep her separate for now

 

[Kristy1970]

Yay !!

YAY!

 

[RosemaryDW]

Hi my little horsfield decided after weeks of battling to hibernate I did not want him to but he was determined it was a little late but am not sure when to wake him or just wait till he appears I have just rescued a female to be a companion so I will need to keep her separate for now

@Lucypup you should post your own thread about your tortoise; it will get more attention that way.

 

[MountainFox]

@ohio, how is Kira doing?

 

[izzzzzz6]

Hi Guys.

Wow sad to loose one very sad indeed but what a great story to find the missing one!
I am by no means an expert but perhaps a few tips here for some newbies or someone trying hibernation for the 1st time.
The starvation period is important but initially temps should be kept up so the digestion process can continue and then after a few weeks you can start to lower the temps.
Also i was advised not to hibernate very young tortoises so this might be a good tip to some people considering hibernation, perhaps wait a few years till the 1st hibernation.
I was worried about humidity but i was worried i had made it too damp. Luckily we avoided respiratory infections but i think the extra substrate i added was too wet. Basically at wake up time i was a little busy and i had put off waking our tortoises for around one extra week than i had wanted to. Plus i don't think i had added sufficient air holes (they were small enough to avoid mice entering) The box i made had been cracked open for a while but not all of the time, i had been over worried about rodents getting in, we don't have mice in our house but you never know. I assume rats are more of an issue and we defiantly don't have those in our house. The mice have never caused an issue in our outdoor enclosure (but i had read that they can attack sleeping tortoises), i even saw one mouse go to die behind a tile in the outdoor tortoise house after the neighbours cat must had mauled it a little.
Anyway next time i will add bigger air holes and staple metal gauze over them incase of rodents.
Basically our larger tortoise had white spots over it's hind legs after coming out of hibernation, i had weighed her around 10 to 12 days earlier and everything was fine. This must have been a type of mould but luckily it disappeared as soon as i got them under the heat lamp (after a day).
I was really worried as our tortoises had caught a respiratory infection after we first got them a few years ago. Their table was too cold at the time. We had to administer medication via an atomiser spray, we tented and sprayed them twice a day i think and when they recovered we avoided hibernation that winter.
I wanted to avoid the fridge technique especially because of the dehydration issue. We live at 1000M above sea level and winters are cold, our house is not well insulated so i kept them downstairs near the north side then i sectioned off part of that room so it would be colder and they were close to the back (garage style wooden door). I added extra insulation all around the box. I had a digital temperature probe down in the substrate and i had another one on the outside of the box. I basically made an identical sized tortoise table and used that as a lid to the original one making the hibernation box all pine and to be around 5ft by 2.5ft and around 14" high. The substrate was around 15-20% plain soil mixed with coconut shell chips (some dry and some damp).
the substrate was around 9" deep and they had around 4" of air above that. I am glad that our two greeks seem to be doing very well after their first hibernation. But defiantly worth monitoring humidity, i guess this can effect temperature levels too, well i know i feel much colder when it's damp but i guess tortoises need some moisture but also either not too much or plenty of ventilation.
I have also heard that it has been known that some suppliers have been suppling tortoises with parasites, i am not sure how you would check for this but i think if something doesn't seem right with a tortoise this might be a sign. If there were parasites present then this would not be a suitable hibernation condition and and in such cases hibernation must be substituted for overwintering and medication.
Really sorry to learn of your loss.

 

[Moozillion]

Amazing I can't believe it. In Ohio. Muddy clay. She's looking at me! Outside! Ohio amazing!!!!!!! Can't believe it!

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!! [emoji2][emoji2][emoji2][emoji2][emoji2]