Quick brumation and bedding query

[jasmin1]

Hi all.
I have a couple of.."scratchy" questions!
They are the sort of easy answer questions that scratch and naw away in your head and won't go away. (well in my head anyway!)
I can't find a definitive answer with Google.

Here they are.

1.. maximum 10% weight loss during brumation.....
Is this taken from
A..the weight they are before the 3/6 week wind down..or..
B..from when you pop them in the fridge?
Bearing in mind that if ..A.. their metabolism will be faster in the first 2.. warm weeks.. before slowing down to their brumation maintenance speed.
(So a reasonable amount of weight loss would happen in this period, ..before the fridge.
Potentially they could go from a good weight to underweight in this period?)

Or

Is it B.
From when they pop in the fridge?

2..reptibark... used by many.
It's red, and I saw a video by a breeder saying that red reptibark can be toxic to tortoises and terrabark which is light brown should be the choice.

There you go... please someone help stop these scratchy questions😁

 

[TammyJ]

Hi all.
I have a couple of.."scratchy" questions!
They are the sort of easy answer questions that scratch and naw away in your head and won't go away. (well in my head anyway!)
I can't find a definitive answer with Google.

Here they are.

1.. maximum 10% weight loss during brumation.....
Is this taken from
A..the weight they are before the 3/6 week wind down..or..
B..from when you pop them in the fridge?
Bearing in mind that if ..A.. their metabolism will be faster in the first 2.. warm weeks.. before slowing down to their brumation maintenance speed.
(So a reasonable amount of weight loss would happen in this period, ..before the fridge.
Potentially they could go from a good weight to underweight in this period?)

Or

Is it B.
From when they pop in the fridge?

2..reptibark... used by many.
It's red, and I saw a video by a breeder saying that red reptibark can be toxic to tortoises and terrabark which is light brown should be the choice.

There you go... please someone help stop these scratchy questions😁

@Tom

 

[Tom]

Hi all.
I have a couple of.."scratchy" questions!
They are the sort of easy answer questions that scratch and naw away in your head and won't go away. (well in my head anyway!)
I can't find a definitive answer with Google.

Here they are.

1.. maximum 10% weight loss during brumation.....
Is this taken from
A..the weight they are before the 3/6 week wind down..or..
B..from when you pop them in the fridge?
Bearing in mind that if ..A.. their metabolism will be faster in the first 2.. warm weeks.. before slowing down to their brumation maintenance speed.
(So a reasonable amount of weight loss would happen in this period, ..before the fridge.
Potentially they could go from a good weight to underweight in this period?)

Or

Is it B.
From when they pop in the fridge?

2..reptibark... used by many.
It's red, and I saw a video by a breeder saying that red reptibark can be toxic to tortoises and terrabark which is light brown should be the choice.

There you go... please someone help stop these scratchy questions😁

1. I've never paid any attention to their weight going in or coming out of brumation. I do the right things and don't worry about the weight. Here are the right things:

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

2. Repti-bark is not colored. Its just natural bark from a fir tree. Its not toxic and I've used it as substrate for thousands of brand new hatchlings of a dozen species, and I've used it for brumation for decades. Either you are confused about what this breeder was talking about, or this breeder is confused about reality. From what I've seen around the world, I'm leaning toward the latter.

I don't know what "Terra Bark" is. There is an Exo Terra Bark sold that is also fir bark. If that is what you are referring to, its all the same stuff and likely from the same sources.

 

[jasmin1]

Thanks Tom
Yes Terra bark is there same as the one you said I think. Just a different color. I won't worry about her weight either now.
I think it's just the way my brain works...I have to try to understand everything... gets tiring sometimes!
There is so much confusing info out there but I always feel better after being on this forum.
Ok that's cleared things up, great.
Here's to the next question 😁
Many thanks again

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

The "red" bark could be the pine bark (some garden stores sell it, it is darker in color and has distinct pine smell). And yes, it can cause irritation and all sorts of issues, especially in closed space.

 

[Tom]

Thanks Tom
Yes Terra bark is there same as the one you said I think. Just a different color. I won't worry about her weight either now.
I think it's just the way my brain works...I have to try to understand everything... gets tiring sometimes!
There is so much confusing info out there but I always feel better after being on this forum.
Ok that's cleared things up, great.
Here's to the next question 😁
Many thanks again

There is nothing wrong with recording details, weighing the tortoise, and keeping a close eye on things. You will learn from that, and it may help prevent problems.

After doing this for so many years, a person gains a "feel" for it, and I don't scrutinize every detail as I used to. I know how its all going to go because I've done it so many times with so many different species of lizards, snakes, and tortoises. When anything aberrant pops up, I recognize it instantly and know what action to take for it because of making mistakes in the past and learning from those mistakes, as well as learning from the mistakes of others.

By all means, feel free to weigh your tortoise and keep detailed notes. Then compare your notes to the behavior and activity that you see. Compare this year's notes with next year's notes to see if you are still on track, or if an adjustment is needed, or if a previous adjustment had the desired results. I certainly did all of that sort of thing in years past, and sometimes still do, but its a lot more work when caring for dozens or hundreds of them. Now I tend to skip the details as a function of daily efficiency, but I encourage newer keepers with fewer animals to keep track of every detail that interests you.

 

[jasmin1]

The "red" bark could be the pine bark (some garden stores sell it, it is darker in color and has distinct pine smell). And yes, it can cause irritation and all sorts of issues, especially in closed space.

Hi Alex.
Yes it is a darkish red colour pine bark
Every bag of reptibark I have seen is this colour.
The pet store has babies on this and a lighter beige colored one.
I just wanted to check it was ok for the fridge box.
I know lots of people have used it with no problems
As a new owner I just wanted to check.
Many thanks

 

[jasmin1]

Hi again.
Just a quickie.
On the final 2 weeks cool down now, winding down the hours of basking lamp.
What should I be aiming at for the few days before the fridge.
Cheers

 

[Sarah2020]

Assuming no food etc and that prep is in progress
This is what I did......

Week before plan the box, insulation, etc.....
Last 36 hours prepare the box , location and temperature checks and light off in the enclosure
24 hours before last soak, back in the enclosure turn off heat and let the enclosure naturally level with your room temp
The day.... pick up tort, weigh and place in box, in the fridge and daily open fridge and check temps your aiming for 5 Celsius.
Read Tom's guide #3 in earlier thread to also help you.

 

[jasmin1]

Thanks Sarah.
I've got the fridge set at 7 so I will drop it to 5.
Box ready, with reptibark, slightly dampened a bit b4 she goes in it.
Will weigh weekly as it's all new to me and I will want to keep a close eye.
So basically last bath and lights out the day before so she can adjust.
She's not feeling the love much at the mo.. she's desperate to get on with it and go to sleep.
She looks at me with disbelief in the mornings when I put the lamp on and at bath time.
I think she wonders where she went wrong🤣