My Sulcata is starting to brumate

[AslInterpreter]

Hello everyone! Well, I thought I did a good job of getting our 6 year old Sulcatas indoor enclosure ready, but it turned out that I could not keep the temps up high enough. He started eating less and less...then starting hiding in his borrow almost all the time. If i got him out and put him in a warm place for a bit, he would eat, then go right back to the borrow. We are moving him today to a friends huge indoor tort enclosure that has the right specs.


is there anything we need to do to bring him out of the brumation, or will the right temps just do that naturally? If so, how long will this normally take? Or would it be better to just let him stay in the brumation state till spring rolls around?

thanks in advance for the help, and we are already planning on wat to do next winter....I wish that involved moving out of Kansas City!!!!

 

[Mick.Ire]

What temps were you reaching in your indoor enclosure, both day and night? Brumation or aestivation is no harm for a few weeks and common with African species.
We have a adult female leopard that insists on it annually while our Sullys won't as often.
You might find that another factor could be it getting used to it's new enclosure, and it feels more secure in the hide. Some sullys can be sensitive so too many moves can do more bad than good.

 

[ascott]

Or would it be better to just let him stay in the brumation state till

This species of tortoise does not "brumate"...if the temps are not kept at the correct numbers...the tort will become lethargic, not brumate.....so please be sure to get this tort an area that he can properly warm up so that he can digest, spark an appetite and gain the desire to exercise...

 

[dmarcus]

I agree with Angela, you need to find a way to keep your Sulcata warm because they do not brumate!

 

[shellysmom]

My sullies slow down a bit in the winter, too. During the day it's mostly in the 70s here in FL, and they have access to a couple of basking spots to warm up, but they still stay in their burrows most of the time. Even when I bring them in if the temps drop below 55 at night, and they can warm up well during the day, they are still very slow and eat much less this time of year. In Africa, it's not uncommon for them to slow down and burrow for periods of time during extreme heat and dryness, so it makes sense that the same thing would happen during periods of colder weather and shorter days, even though they don't encounter it in their natural surroundings. As long as your sully seems otherwise healthy, I definitely wouldn't worry about a little bit of a slow down...

 

[AslInterpreter]

Thanks everyone for the help. He is now in the new enclosure at our friends place. The warmer temps really helped, but so did seeing the other torts there. He has been by himself for 6 years and seeing the other sulcatas really helped get him going.

Again, thanks for the help!

 

[jaizei]

Or would it be better to just let him stay in the brumation state till

This species of tortoise does not "brumate"...if the temps are not kept at the correct numbers...the tort will become lethargic, not brumate.....so please be sure to get this tort an area that he can properly warm up so that he can digest, spark an appetite and gain the desire to exercise...

I agree with Angela, you need to find a way to keep your Sulcata warm because they do not brumate!

To say that sulcatas do not brumate is not entirely correct. Like many other species that do not brumate regularly in the wild, they still have the ability to do so when presented with conditions that necessitate it.

 

[dmarcus]

Or would it be better to just let him stay in the brumation state till

This species of tortoise does not "brumate"...if the temps are not kept at the correct numbers...the tort will become lethargic, not brumate.....so please be sure to get this tort an area that he can properly warm up so that he can digest, spark an appetite and gain the desire to exercise...

I agree with Angela, you need to find a way to keep your Sulcata warm because they do not brumate!

To say that sulcatas do not brumate is not entirely correct. Like many other species that do not brumate regularly in the wild, they still have the ability to do so when presented with conditions that necessitate it.

They can tolerate lower temps and may slow down when it gets cold, but I will stick with my statement that they don't and should not be put in a situation where the could be forced into it because the outcome may not be so good...