My hibernation plan

[kyle123]

Hi this will be my first year hibernating my 7 year old marginated tortoise. I have kept him awake every year but this year he has been going outside to his new outside enclosure when the weather permits. I have made a plan for his hibernation from threads I have read on here and care sheets. The picture is the timing plan for how I intend to lower down the amount of light he has in the day and when I am going to stop feeding him. I plan on hibernating him for 4 weeks as I have read this is a good start for a tortoise his size. I am going to be hibernating him in his own firdge. I have brought two thermometer, one for the fridge and one for inside his box. The fridge will be set at 5 degrees. I am going to put him in a plastic tub with 50/50 play sand soil mix with some dry leaves on top for him to hide in. The next step I am still undecided on whether I should then place that box in a further cardboard box with newspaper in? I will be also putting bottled water in the fridge. I am planning on weighing him twice a week for my piece of mind. One question I do have is does anyone feed anything different to their tortoise before they stop feeding him or should I just stick to the watercress and weed diet hes on currently (I do also feed other foods for variation from time to time like Kale and Pee shoots). Any help would be appreciated,

 

[mark1]

don't know how you keep your tortoise , I assume it's a temperate species that does hibernate ? if you keep him outside and you get cold enough weather ? a pretty easy way to hibernate him is provide him with an adequate spot to hibernate in his outside enclosure , let him go down himself ….. when the weather gets too cold and the ground cold enough he'll stop coming out , dig him up and put him in the fridge ……… with that practice I have never worried about when to stop feeding them …it also lets me watch them for abnormal behavior ……... I offer them food until it's an obvious waste of time and food ….. they know when to stop eating and coming up or out ……… outside the temp , photo period and cessation of eating take care of themselves ……..

 

[kyle123]

Yeah that wouldn't work where I live on the east cost in the UK as it's getting down to 5 degrees some nights all ready so if I left him outside all day everyday he would be hibernating way too early. I've only been putting him outside when it's been over about 16 degrees for the past few weeks. If i put him outside in any kinda cold he will do nothing all day and hide till I bring him in at night and feed him under the lamp.

 

[JoesMum]

Yeah that wouldn't work where I live on the east cost in the UK as it's getting down to 5 degrees some nights all ready so if I left him outside all day everyday he would be hibernating way too early. I've only been putting him outside when it's been over about 16 degrees for the past few weeks. If i put him outside in any kinda cold he will do nothing all day and hide till I bring him in at night and feed him under the lamp.

Have you seen this thread I wrote about keeping a tort outside in the UK? I talk about the wind down to hibernation in it. We got Joe in 1970.

You certainly can make it work for hibernation later in the year. Joe's never anywhere near ready for hibernation until mid October at the earliest. The nights are cooling, but the days are too warm and a sunny spot in the garden will have temperatures way above the advertised air temperature for the day.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/outdoor-accommodation-in-a-colder-uk-climate.140866/

 

[kyle123]

Thanks that's very helpful. I'm just scared that if I were to leave my tortoise outside all of the time he would never get up and about. When I put him outside even on the hottest of days when it's getting up near 30 degrees he still isn't interested in eating outside. Even if I offer him food apart from the weeds in his enclosure he isn't interested. He waits till I bring him in at night because I guess he knows I'll feed him then. But I don't want to stop feeding him at night myself because i don't know if he'd eat at all then.

 

[JoesMum]

Thanks that's very helpful. I'm just scared that if I were to leave my tortoise outside all of the time he would never get up and about. When I put him outside even on the hottest of days when it's getting up near 30 degrees he still isn't interested in eating outside. Even if I offer him food apart from the weeds in his enclosure he isn't interested. He waits till I bring him in at night because I guess he knows I'll feed him then. But I don't want to stop feeding him at night myself because i don't know if he'd eat at all then.

On the hottest of days you will find that your tort still isn't doing much because he is too hot! Tortoises can do the opposite of hibernation, called aestivation, in extreme heat.

Above about 25C, Joe would head for the shade and stay there until it cooled down a little; sometimes only eating at dusk and daen. Remember temperature of 30C means the ground temperature in full sun is MUCH hotter... well over 40C!

The problem with feeding torts is that they can come to see you as the source of food and don't realise that food is all around them; they are not very clever. It's only when they get properly hungry that they start to experiment.

You should always place food at the start of the day and leave them to browse it when they are ready. They must bask to digest food, so an evening feed means that (the lights go off indoors and) food is likely to go regularly without being digested all night.. it's the regular bit that bothers me.

You monitor eating by weighing your tort. If he is not losing weight then he is eating. You don't need to weigh frequently... fortnightly is fine. Do it at roughly the same time of day each time for consistency... I suggest straight after a morning soak when it's likely your tort will have poopeed and peed.

 

[kyle123]

Thankyou I will start feeding him in the morning from now on then. You've been really helpful. I've just brought some scales a week ago aswell to weigh him. And I think you are right in saying my tortoise doesn't understand there is food around him. The only thing he sees as food is what on his slate. I'll start to feed him in the mornings outside then and see if I get anywhere. Thanks again