Think my tortoise has gone into hibernation

[Ninjabrian]

I think my tortoise mtght be hibernating

Hi guy and girls I have a little horse field who I've had for 6 months now and he seems fine but he has completely buried his self under the wooden hide which he does often but this time he has not emerged and its being well over a week i dont want disturb him,I decided not hibernate him as am in experienced in it,any thoughts on what I should do,
I feed him
Fresh weeds dried flowers and the odd pellets just to mix it up I have a sun/ heat lamp on the table the substrate is a mix of viv sand and herbifloor it's over 10cm deep as I was told that's best
Thanks for your time
Apologys admin if this is in wrong area

 

[Ninjabrian]

Think my tortoise has gone into hibernation

Hi am new to tortoises ownership had my little horsfield 6 months now his names Brian he lives in a table with a mix of viv sand and herbifloor substrate I feed him weeds dried flowers and pallets he is bathed regularly and buries his self quiet often but this time he's being burried for over 10 days now under the wooden cave thing I've got him, he's still alive as I hear him scratch now and then any ideas on what I should do or do I leave him be
Oh he has a sunlamps and uv light on timer so it always comes on
Thanks for reading and will look forward to you help thanks

 

[Kristina]

RE: I think my tortoise mtght be hibernating

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Your tortoise is not hibernating. It takes a very specific series of events to cause a tortoise to go into hibernation, one of them being a significant temperature drop. If all of these conditions are not meant, that means that a tortoise that is lethargic or not eating is in fact starving to death.

You do need to disturb him. Pull him out, give him a nice warm soak, and give him a meal of fresh greens. You can even use a little fruit this time to tempt him, as you need to get him eating.

I'm not sure how familiar you are with soaking, but to do it, use water that is warm to the touch but not hot (test on the skin on the inside of your wrist; if it is uncomfortably hot, make it cooler until it feels okay to you.) Use a container that is big enough to fit your whole tortoise in. The water should come about half way up the carapace (upper shell.) He may bury his head under water for several minutes to drink, this is okay, he will not drown, but make sure the water isn't so deep that he can't easily get his head above it.

Soak him until the water cools. You can use a heating pad or heat lamp to keep it warm longer, but 10-15 minutes is fine. Make sure to watch him so he doesn't flip or get into any other trouble.

Afterwards, place him and his food in the warm part of his enclosure. You may need to do this for several days.

How many hours a day do you run your lamps, and what are the temps in your enclosure?

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: Think my tortoise has gone into hibernation

Hi Ninjabrian:


Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

What would you like for us to call you?

Also, when we know approximately where you are, it helps us design our answers to better fit your problem.

It is sometimes hard to keep a wild caught Russian (Agrionemsy horsfieldii) tortoise awake during the winter. But if you just got the tortoise within the last year, its a good idea to not let him hibernate (brumate). If it were my tortoise, I would get him up every morning and give him a good soak in warm water then place him in front of the food.

 

[GBtortoises]

RE: Think my tortoise has gone into hibernation

Russian tortoises (as well as other species) do not hibernate at room temperature indoors under normal activity level conditions. What is the SCL (straight line carapace length ) of your tortoise? What are the dimensions of the enclosure that your tortoise is in? What wattage (and types) are the lights you mention? How many hours a day are they on? What are the daytime, night time and basking temperatures?

 

[ascott]

In my humble opinion....if you have a wild caught tortoise keeping his internal evolutionary clock from forcing him to try to brumate is going to be a task...but a task you should do ONLY since you have described having him for less than a full year of care, I believe it is beneficial for you to get to know the "normal" for your tortoise so you are able to pick up on if something begins to go wrong as well as you will not know if he has eaten and hydrated well before you began caring for him....I would also suggest that if someone is not well versed at setting up a successful brumation setting then first of all...research your options so you are familiar with this natural part of your tortoise species life cycle and what things you can do as part of your care all year leading up to the time your tortoise is naturally going to want to brumate.

Many folks have different opinions on the subject of brumation...therefore I would suggest you research alot on this subject in addition to reading folks comments and beliefs.

Also, in my observation --on this site as well as in person folks who house their Russian Torts indoors during winter months have largely reported their tortoise doing exactly the behavior you have described and yet they are providing warmth light soaking as well as food....so I would also suggest that if you are currently this winter not performing brumation for your tortoise..I too would suggest continue of your lights warmth soaking and offering food....make sure to gently and slowly uncover your tortoise for feeding each day and set him under basking light do help warm him up then I would soak him...as you are still offering food and therefore you want to promote him getting that food out so the food does not ferment in his gut over periods of days buried down in the coolness....again, in my humble opinion.

At this time of year it would not be unusual for this species of tortoise to have this evolutionary designed behavior....

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

You've been presented w/ excellent advice, Ninjabrian...leaving your pet "as is" is VERY dangerous to him/her!

Right now, your tortoise is starving itself...it thinks it should be sleeping, because the days are shorter, but it can't go into brumation at room temperature, so it's still burning calories and losing moisture.

 

[Ninjabrian]

You've been presented w/ excellent advice, Ninjabrian...leaving your pet "as is" is VERY dangerous to him/her!

Right now, your tortoise is starving itself...it thinks it should be sleeping, because the days are shorter, but it can't go into brumation at room temperature, so it's still burning calories and losing moisture.

Thank you all for your help and advise its nice to know there help and advice out there

 

[Ninjabrian]

ive woken the little guytoday and bathed him as advised hes had somefresh weeds and seems to be walking around once again i shall bath him everyday like advised, i was only bathing him once a week as advised by the local pet store
brian is approx 12cm in length from from front of shell to back, he has a 100watt heat and uv combo lamp his tortoise table is 100cm square with hiding places
thanks again for your help
wayne

 

[ascott]

Brian? What a fantastic name....

 

[Ninjabrian]

Just a quick up date on Brian he is doing very well eating as he should be thanks again for your advise

 

[ascott]

Fantastic!!

 

[Kristina]

Fantastic Keep up the good work!

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Pleased that things are going better for two of y'all.