Passing solids in first week if hibernation...

[HelloBella]

Bella is a 7 year old Russian and this is her FIRST year of hibernation. Her previous owner kept her indoors year round so did not see a need for her to hibernate. I have gone through the hibernation process before with Lulah who was my Greek Spur-Thigh but she was a 54 year old veteran who had slept through the winter period every year of her life without any problems. I've been a bit more apprehensive with Bella with it being her first time. She has gone through 3 weeks of starvation with plenty of watering before I put her in the shed for hibernation last week. She had not passed anything for about 5 days prior to me putting her away. Going in she was a little underweight at 885g if you go by the weight:length ratio but she has consistently been at this weight throughout the two years I've had her and always been active and healthy.

I have been in to check on her today and she has dropped in weight to 876g and also passed some solids which she must have been holding in! I am a little bit concerned and considering waking her up for fear she's just going to plummet in weight. I know the usual is if in any doubt, wake them up, but am I being overly cautious? Advice please!


P.S. I don't know if it's worth adding, I remember Lulah went into complete shut down during hibernation wih legs and head tucked right in and it took quite a lot to disturb her. Bella still has her legs and head quite out and responds slowly to handling.

 

[Yvonne G]

I've had hibernating-type tortoises for over 25 years and I've never seen feces in their hibernating boxes. My gut feeling is that you should get this tortoise up and set him up in an indoor habitat.

 

[HelloBella]

Thanks Yvonne, I have her tortoise table on standby. Guess it's a case of there's no harm to come of waking her up but I could be endangering her by leaving her in hibernation.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, that's my take on it too.

She'll probably think its spring time.

 

[Tom]

What is the temperature in the hibernation box?

You said "plenty of watering". What does that mean? Did you soak the tortoise, or do you mean you offered a water bowl to drink from is she wanted?

 

[HelloBella]

The temperature is around 3-5 degrees. By watering I mean sitting her in luke warm water for 15-20mins every other day.

 

[Tom]

The temperature is around 3-5 degrees. By watering I mean sitting her in luke warm water for 15-20mins every other day.

Sounds perfect.

During the 3 week fasting period, what was the temperature and light cycle routine?

 

[HelloBella]

The temperature was usually around 12-13 with some fluctuations up to 16. I didn't change the light cycle at all, so just usual day light hours.

 

[Tom]

The temperature was usually around 12-13 with some fluctuations up to 16. I didn't change the light cycle at all, so just usual day light hours.

They need it warm and they need a basking spot during the fasting period in order to pass the food. Their digestive system cannot function and pass food at 12-16 degrees C.

I leave them at normal temps and basking temps for a few days after their last meal, and then begin to cool them and reduce the light cycle gradually. They don't get as low as 16 until shortly before they begin actual hibernation. This is usually about a three week process for me.

 

[HelloBella]

Thanks Tom, this is where I've gone wrong from the sounds of it. Thought I did make her fast for 3 weeks before putting her away and during that time she was still quite active. I'll know for next year!

Until Bella I'd never tried bringing an indoor tortoise to hibernation. It was a bit different with Lulah who was predominantly outdoors so the process was a bit more natural.

I've now woken Bella up and it took her no time at all to come around. She's now hungrily tucking into some greens.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[Tom]

I think you made the right choice waking her and bringing her temps and lighting back up to normal levels. And the little mini-hibernation actually might still have done the trick anyhow.

 

[Yvonne G]

I agree. Usually my hibernating tortoises don't eat for several days, and sometimes a week or more. It sounds like Bella wasn't asleep. You might have lost her if you left her.

 

[THBfriend]

Speaking for Hermann's tortoises: it is neither unusual nor dangerous when a tortoises defecates during the first weeks of hibernation. I've seen it happen with mine personally, and other people did as well. It's normally no cause for concern and no reason to abort hibernation.

 

[biochemnerd808]

Glad to hear you got her up, and she's doing fine.
Glad she passed the solids, too... because if they had stayed inside, and she had hibernated, she could have been in grave danger.

I stop feeding mine a month before hibernation starts. For 2 weeks I leave the basking spot on, and soak every other day. They bask, and they poop. Towards the end of those 2 weeks, I turn off the UVB, which makes the light dimmer. They still bask, and a few of them still eliminate during the soak. Then for the final week, I still soak every other day, but I turn off the basking light. They start hiding most of the time, except for the random one who expectantly sits in the feeding area every morning. Then I pack them into a big bin and move them to the garage (about 50 degrees F / 10degrees C out there) for 2-3 days, and then I put them in the hibernation fridge after weighing and soaking. Each gets its own bin, with old T-shirts to dig into. This way I can see if anyone eliminates, and nobody can scratch the other torts etc. - some go right to sleep. Others still move around a little. Some sleep inside their shells, some splay all 4 straight out. Probably just preference. One tortoise (Jill) still looks right at me every day when I open the fridge to let air in. She's too cold to move, but her little eyes follow me as I move. Yesterday was the first day she didn't.
I briefly touch each tortoise's leg every day to make sure they are responsive. They will slowly pull it away a tiny bit. I weigh once every 2 weeks. Last year I got 2 of them up early for different reasons, the rest slept for 12 weeks.

I hope this helps a little for next year!