Technical Hibernation Question

[benwaddams]

Hi guys. I have had my original Greek tortoise for around 15 years. He has been in the family all his life, living outside in large gardens and was 'rescued' by my late grandmother from a London pet shop about 90 years ago. He is around 100 years of age.

All his life he has been hibernated/brunated using the straw in a box method and put in the shed. I have continued this practice with no problems.

HOWEVER last year I thought that, with very variable temperatures outside in the UK over winter - from 14 Celsius to - 10 , I decided to use the fridge method. It is a large, non food fridge, he was in a drawer with straw, which kept him stable at around 5 degrees Celsius. No problem last winter.

This year the temperatures have been fairly low in autumn and he retreated into his box in the last 10 days of October and did not come out for about 3 weeks. He then came out for about an hour (no food offered). He then went back in, stayed in for a few days and I then put him in the straw in the fridge.

These last 5 days I can hear him scratching in the fridge, his eyes are generally shut but open a little occasionally. I know they move a little when brumating, but I've never heard him this obviously before. So...

Do I move him to the shed and his old box?

Keep him in the fridge and ignore the moving around?

Or wake him and overwinter him - never done before!

Some expert advice would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you,

Ben

 

[wellington]

This is just my opinion, as I have a Russian and do not brumate him.
If I were you, I would keep doing the brumating the same way it's been done for years. It must have worked good as he's survived for many years.
It's likely that he did a lot of the same moving etc over those years, but being in a shed, would make it harder to hear/know?
If you think the temps are getting colder than normal, maybe double box him with a layer of straw in-between the boxes?

 

[Tom]

Hi guys. I have had my original Greek tortoise for around 15 years. He has been in the family all his life, living outside in large gardens and was 'rescued' by my late grandmother from a London pet shop about 90 years ago. He is around 100 years of age.

All his life he has been hibernated/brunated using the straw in a box method and put in the shed. I have continued this practice with no problems.

HOWEVER last year I thought that, with very variable temperatures outside in the UK over winter - from 14 Celsius to - 10 , I decided to use the fridge method. It is a large, non food fridge, he was in a drawer with straw, which kept him stable at around 5 degrees Celsius. No problem last winter.

This year the temperatures have been fairly low in autumn and he retreated into his box in the last 10 days of October and did not come out for about 3 weeks. He then came out for about an hour (no food offered). He then went back in, stayed in for a few days and I then put him in the straw in the fridge.

These last 5 days I can hear him scratching in the fridge, his eyes are generally shut but open a little occasionally. I know they move a little when brumating, but I've never heard him this obviously before. So...

Do I move him to the shed and his old box?

Keep him in the fridge and ignore the moving around?

Or wake him and overwinter him - never done before!

Some expert advice would be hugely appreciated.

There are too many variables here to emphatically tell you what to do one way or the other. Its very much a judgement call.

I think Wellington's point that there may have always been this much activity and you just didn't hear it or know about it because the tortoise was outside in a shed is very likely. Personally, if the temperatures is correct and all the lead in was done correctly, I'd leave him to settle in.

Another possibility is that 5C is a touch too cool, and he's trying to dig deeper into the earth. Alternatively, maybe 5C is just a little too warm and he's fussing as a result. I would carefully warm it to 6-7C and see if that stops the activity. If not, or if it gets worse, drop it to 3-4C and see what that does.

Another point is that messing with him and checking on him too much will stimulate more activity. I prefer to leave them alone in the dark for brumation. I mess with them very little once they are down.

If all else fails, and he refuses to stop fidgeting after another couple of weeks, you can gradually warm him up and keep him in a well lit, properly heated enclosure for the remainder of winter.

There may be some points in this thread that help you:

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

 

[benwaddams]

There are too many variables here to emphatically tell you what to do one way or the other. Its very much a judgement call.

I think Wellington's point that there may have always been this much activity and you just didn't hear it or know about it because the tortoise was outside in a shed is very likely. Personally, if the temperatures is correct and all the lead in was done correctly, I'd leave him to settle in.

Another possibility is that 5C is a touch too cool, and he's trying to dig deeper into the earth. Alternatively, maybe 5C is just a little too warm and he's fussing as a result. I would carefully warm it to 6-7C and see if that stops the activity. If not, or if it gets worse, drop it to 3-4C and see what that does.

Another point is that messing with him and checking on him too much will stimulate more activity. I prefer to leave them alone in the dark for brumation. I mess with them very little once they are down.

If all else fails, and he refuses to stop fidgeting after another couple of weeks, you can gradually warm him up and keep him in a well lit, properly heated enclosure for the remainder of winter.

There may be some points in this thread that help you:

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

That's really interesting and helpful Tom. Thank you. Could I ask you one more question please? In the event that, despite the temperature being about right, he has in fact woken after 3-4 weeks, could I get him out of brumation, hydrate a little, feed a little indoors and then try and return him to brumate in say, a month?

 

[Yvonne G]

If you want him to brumate, don't feed him.

 

[benwaddams]

If you want him to brumate, don't feed him.

I worry that, as he's been inactive, brumating for a month already, he may be in need of a little food and hydration if he's awoken? It's never happened before, that's why I'm unsure

 

[Tom]

In the event that, despite the temperature being about right, he has in fact woken after 3-4 weeks, could I get him out of brumation, hydrate a little, feed a little indoors and then try and return him to brumate in say, a month?

I wouldn't. Either leave him alone and let him settle in, or wake him and get him up and functioning again in a properly lit and heated enclosure.

 

[Yvonne G]

I worry that, as he's been inactive, brumating for a month already, he may be in need of a little food and hydration if he's awoken? It's never happened before, that's why I'm unsure

No. They can go a very long time without eating.