Curtis is healthy and warm, and nothing has happened to either of my tortoises. This is just to have on hand if I need it. I realize that half the time I post it's because something has happened, and I don't want to scare anyone, lol.
Some of you may remember the scare I had with Curtis two years ago. I am happy to report that nothing like that has happened since, and it doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. However, I am back at college and will be for the foreseeable future, so I am currently unable to watch over him myself, and Texas is having some very low temperatures right now. Curtis even got some snow yesterday, though he remained nice and toasty in his night box instead of venturing out.
It occurred to me that, while I am confident I know what to do if the heating fails, my parents are not, so I wrote up some instructions for them in case it happens again. My hope is that this post may also be helpful to anyone who finds themself in a similar situation in the future, or just stumbles upon it. Most of this is probably obvious or common sense, but you never know.
My parents are diligently checking on him at least twice a day, often more, so it is virtually impossible that anything will happen to the degree it did two years ago. He has lights plugged into the same outlets as his heating to let us know if there's an outage, but it's not visible during the day, and sometimes heat will fail even if there's power. Unfortunately, I recently discovered that only about a fifth of his $200 Kane heat mat is working, and though his oil heater and what's left of the mat still keep his night box at 80 degrees with the door closed in sub 20 weather, it's best to keep an eye on it. Ideally, I should have a Wi-Fi thermometer or the lights on a thermostat.
The below is what I sent them. It assumes that temperatures outside are below freezing, the water heater is working, and that the house has power.
Is anything not quite right, especially about the method in which you gradually warm them? I also said there's no exact science to the rate at which you warm them, but for all I know, there could be. Anything very important that I've missed? This also does not cover what to do if he does not fully recover, like if RI sets in or frostbite happens. It's just meant to be direct steps to take in an emergency to keep the tortoise alive and stable until you can seek out a vet or more advice if something is still wrong. If all goes well, my parents won't have to do any of this, but someone might.
Curtis has also been exceedingly lucky and I'm pretty sure he has plot armor, and it was written with him in mind, so it's possible I am greatly underestimating the damage freezing temperatures can do to a sulcata or other non-hibernating species in a limited amount of time. Feel free to call me on this if there are definitely more immediate steps that should be taken after finding your ice cold tortoise.
Also feel free to share any tips that could be helpful for me or other people in this situation.
Some of you may remember the scare I had with Curtis two years ago. I am happy to report that nothing like that has happened since, and it doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. However, I am back at college and will be for the foreseeable future, so I am currently unable to watch over him myself, and Texas is having some very low temperatures right now. Curtis even got some snow yesterday, though he remained nice and toasty in his night box instead of venturing out.
It occurred to me that, while I am confident I know what to do if the heating fails, my parents are not, so I wrote up some instructions for them in case it happens again. My hope is that this post may also be helpful to anyone who finds themself in a similar situation in the future, or just stumbles upon it. Most of this is probably obvious or common sense, but you never know.
My parents are diligently checking on him at least twice a day, often more, so it is virtually impossible that anything will happen to the degree it did two years ago. He has lights plugged into the same outlets as his heating to let us know if there's an outage, but it's not visible during the day, and sometimes heat will fail even if there's power. Unfortunately, I recently discovered that only about a fifth of his $200 Kane heat mat is working, and though his oil heater and what's left of the mat still keep his night box at 80 degrees with the door closed in sub 20 weather, it's best to keep an eye on it. Ideally, I should have a Wi-Fi thermometer or the lights on a thermostat.
The below is what I sent them. It assumes that temperatures outside are below freezing, the water heater is working, and that the house has power.
If Curtis is responsive and his body is still warmer than his surroundings (meaning the heat hasn’t been off for long), try to get his heat working. If it starts working, he’s fine with no other action other than making sure the heat doesn't fail again. If you cannot get his heat working and it's been more than 5-15 minutes, take him inside and set him up in the bathtub with a space heater until it's working again. Give him a good soak while you're at it.
If Curtis is slightly responsive (reacts at all to stimulus or audibly breathing even if slow) but very cold, move him inside to the bathtub, let him sit in room temperature for a few minutes, and begin filling the bathtub with warm water up to about his chin. Keep him in the tub while it fills up so that the change is gradual. You may need to periodically drain/add more warm water so it stays warm. Once he is sufficiently warm and more responsive, bonus points if he poops (very good sign, they can’t digest or poop if they’re cold so it means bodily functions are working), you can drain the tub and keep him in the bathtub with a space heater in the room until his outdoor heat is working again.
If Curtis is totally unresponsive and doesn’t seem to be breathing, appearing totally dead like he did when this happened a few years ago, and as cold as the air around him, bring him inside and begin filling the tub with room temperature water. Gradually warm that water up until it is warm by leaving the drain partially open and running the water at higher temperatures so that the colder, draining water is replaced by the warm. The final temperature should be around 90 degrees F. There’s no exact science to the rate at which you warm it up, just use your best judgement. The goal is to not shock him with drastically different temperatures, just like you wouldn’t dump freezing water on someone experiencing heat stroke. Once he has absorbed the heat and his shell is warm, you can either keep soaking him in warm water, replacing it as it cools down to keep it warm, or drain the water and leave a space heater inside or blowing into the tub depending on the length of the cord, aiming to keep the temperature in the tub between 80 and 90 degrees. With luck, he’ll eventually reboot. Make sure he poops at least once and accepts food (He loves those mazuri pellets) before putting him back outside after fixing his heat. I would wait to put him back out until temperatures are above freezing if possible to keep an eye on him.
That last one should never happen to a severe degree as long as you check on him at least twice a day, in the morning and evening. Large tortoises are very hardy and good at retaining heat, and Curtis is healthy, so he’s not likely to be in any danger of dying unless he gets super unlucky with when his heat stops working, like right after you check on him the last time and staying off all night, which he should be able to come back from even then. In an emergency where you cannot tell if he is responsive, pull on one of his legs. If he pulls it back even slightly, he’s responsive. If not, lightly depress the top of one of his eyes. If he does not react or it causes liquid to come out of his nose, he is unresponsive and it’s time to get him in the tub. If he reacts but very slowly, it’s also time to get him in the tub, but he’s probably in less danger.
Is anything not quite right, especially about the method in which you gradually warm them? I also said there's no exact science to the rate at which you warm them, but for all I know, there could be. Anything very important that I've missed? This also does not cover what to do if he does not fully recover, like if RI sets in or frostbite happens. It's just meant to be direct steps to take in an emergency to keep the tortoise alive and stable until you can seek out a vet or more advice if something is still wrong. If all goes well, my parents won't have to do any of this, but someone might.
Curtis has also been exceedingly lucky and I'm pretty sure he has plot armor, and it was written with him in mind, so it's possible I am greatly underestimating the damage freezing temperatures can do to a sulcata or other non-hibernating species in a limited amount of time. Feel free to call me on this if there are definitely more immediate steps that should be taken after finding your ice cold tortoise.
Also feel free to share any tips that could be helpful for me or other people in this situation.
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