I need help with my baby desert tortoises

[Laleenie68]

I need help with my baby desert tortoises, They have been in hibernation since October. I may have gotten the wrong information on the Internet saying to wake them they give me different steps on warming them giving them sugars as in strawberries and tomatoes soaking them in warm water for 20 minutes two times a day. They have been active not a lot active but they wake up in the morning to eat and then go back to sleep for the entire night. Please help

 

[wellington]

If they were hibernate and you woke them then you now should keep their heat up and lights on and bright for at least 12 hours.
Maybe @Yvonne G can help more. I dont hibernate.

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't brumate my desert tortoise babies until they're three years old.

Now that you've disturbed them, I would set them up in an indoor enclosure with heat and lights (how old are they?) and keep them indoors. The temperature inside the enclosure should be 80-85F all over the whole enclosure, day and night (depending upon how old they are).

I've been taking care of desert tortoises for over 35 years and I've never heard of giving them sugary food when they wake out of brumation. Far as I'm concerned, desert tortoises should never be given fruit. I don't give hatchlings tomatoes, mainly because they shouldn't have fruit, and tomatoes are fruit, but also because tomatoes contain a lot of acid that babies shouldn't have.

Depending upon how old they are, sleep and eat is what babies do.

 

[Tom]

There is so much wrong information for this species circulating around out in the world. Its sad.

Like any other baby of any other species, they do best with stable warm indoor enclosures and good hydration. I raise baby DTs the same as Russians. Read these for how to set them up and care for them:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Feel free to ask for clarification on any of this.

 

[ascott]

I need help with my baby desert tortoises, They have been in hibernation since October. I may have gotten the wrong information on the Internet saying to wake them they give me different steps on warming them giving them sugars as in strawberries and tomatoes soaking them in warm water for 20 minutes two times a day. They have been active not a lot active but they wake up in the morning to eat and then go back to sleep for the entire night. Please help

Where is California are you? I am in S. Ca (the High Desert, Apple Valley) and the adult CDTs are still asleep in my closet.....

 

[Laleenie68]

I’m also in apple valley. This is the first hybernation and so I was looking on line to see when they come out and this one site said that if they have been asleep for 2 to 4 months then you might need to wake them. They are actually doing ok, today they stayed up and they ate pretty well. They are drinking l, eating , pooping and peeing. I have a heat lamp and a uvb light on them. I soak them twice a day in like warm water.

 

[Laleenie68]

There is so much wrong information for this species circulating around out in the world. Its sad.

Like any other baby of any other species, they do best with stable warm indoor enclosures and good hydration. I raise baby DTs the same as Russians. Read these for how to set them up and care for them:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Feel free to ask for clarification on any of this.

Yeah I gathered that’s why I came in here but I had already started the process of waking them. They are eating good and I’m want to do the very. Best for them!!

 

[puffinboots]

I need help with my baby desert tortoises, They have been in hibernation since October. I may have gotten the wrong information on the Internet saying to wake them they give me different steps on warming them giving them sugars as in strawberries and tomatoes soaking them in warm water for 20 minutes two times a day. They have been active not a lot active but they wake up in the morning to eat and then go back to sleep for the entire night. Please help

My babies never hibernate. They are fed on the green tops of romaine lettuce. Only occasionally on tomatoes & fruit . 10 minutes soak a Day is enough. Good luck !

 

[KarenSoCal]

My babies never hibernate. They are fed on the green tops of romaine lettuce.

What kind of babies are you talking about here? I hope you feed them more than romaine lettuce, which has almost no nutritional value.

Only occasionally on tomatoes & fruit .

If you are referring to desert tortoises here, they should never be fed tomatoes or fruit. DT's cannot process the sugars that are in them. This messes up their gut and digestive processes.

10 minutes soak a Day is enough. Good luck !

I've never kept a baby tort, but if I only soaked my 13 year old for 10 minutes a day, he would dehydrate. I only ever see him drink while he's in the soak. Hydration is extremely important for a baby to prevent kidney damage, as well as pyramiding and MBD.