Told Not To Hibernate My Greek Tortoise

MaNaAk

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Hello Everyone I'm new.

I have two Greek tortoises and one of them is seeing the vet tomorrow to receive anti-inflammation medication for her paw. The vet also wants to see if there is a fracture. I live in a one bedroom flat with a communal garden and I was bringing the tortoises in at night as it is not safe to leave them outside. Anyway one of them is now hibernating and the injured tortoise was ready to hibernate but the vet said that she can't hibernate. He suggested that I get a UV lamp and a heater. I don't know much about these so please could someone advice me on the safest and cheapest ones to run. Also where can I get them from? Until I can get hold of this equipment (I don't drive) I have kept D____ warm and she is very active but not eating. I think she is active because she is trying to find a place to sleep. I don't have an aquarium and in the summer both J____ and D____ had to be brought in from the garden if I was out. I am looking to buy a flat with a garden but at the moment they are reasonably settled here.

MaNaAk
 

MaNaAk

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Joined
Nov 4, 2021
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Location (City and/or State)
Southend
Hello Everyone I'm new.

I have two Greek tortoises and one of them is seeing the vet tomorrow to receive anti-inflammation medication for her paw. The vet also wants to see if there is a fracture. I live in a one bedroom flat with a communal garden and I was bringing the tortoises in at night as it is not safe to leave them outside. Anyway one of them is now hibernating and the injured tortoise was ready to hibernate but the vet said that she can't hibernate. He suggested that I get a UV lamp and a heater. I don't know much about these so please could someone advice me on the safest and cheapest ones to run. Also where can I get them from? Until I can get hold of this equipment (I don't drive) I have kept D____ warm and she is very active but not eating. I think she is active because she is trying to find a place to sleep. I don't have an aquarium and in the summer both J____ and D____ had to be brought in from the garden if I was out. I am looking to buy a flat with a garden but at the moment they are reasonably settled here.

MaNaAk
Going to the vet today but any on the equipment would be appreciated so that I can make purchases suitable for D____ and my pocket. D____ used to spend all outside and hibernate outside in the winter.

MaNaAk
 

MaNaAk

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Going to the vet today but any on the equipment would be appreciated so that I can make purchases suitable for D____ and my pocket. D____ used to spend all outside and hibernate outside in the winter.

MaNaAk
Oh well I shall welcome myself to the forum. I suffer from anxiety and I only want the best that I can provide for my tortoises. If I am posting in the wrong place let me know.

Good bye

MaNaAk
 

Krista S

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Welcome to the forum @MaNaAk ?

I am sorry to hear that one of your tortoises is injured. Do you know how she was injured? It’s really important that the 2 tortoises are housed in separate spaces. When 2 tortoises are living in the same space, one will always be the dominant one and the other is usually stressed and bullied into sickness or death. I hope that isn’t the case here.

Here is a link to a thread with the best care information available.


Your tortoise who isn’t hibernating, depending on how bad she is injured might need a hospital tank initially, which is a smaller enclosure that allows you to more closely maintain heat and humidity. This would also limit her movement as she heals. Without knowing what’s wrong with her, I don’t know if this is what she requires. For a full grown Greek, the recommended indoor enclosure size is 4ft x 8ft. Here is a link to the UV fixture and bulb she will need.


A lot of our UK members use Swell, and have great success. Any of the screw in UV bulbs that would go into a dome fixture are not suitable for tortoises. In fact, most can be dangerous for tortoises so it’s important that the UV be provided from a T5 fluorescent tube. All of this and more is discussed in the care sheet I have linked above. The care sheet will also give guidance on heating that you’re asking about.
 

MaNaAk

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Feel more relieved because there are no breakages but waiting for bloods. Lots info to go through with regards to but these tortoises have been in the family for seventy-one years and seen me through the worst few years of my life so I will do what I can for them.

MaNaAk
 

Krista S

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Feel more relieved because there are no breakages but waiting for bloods. Lots info to go through with regards to but these tortoises have been in the family for seventy-one years and seen me through the worst few years of my life so I will do what I can for them.

MaNaAk
That’s incredible that they’ve been in your family for that many years!! We don’t get to hear that too often on the forum. I would LOVE to see pictures of them if you’re comfortable sharing. We see a lot of cute baby tortoise pictures on the forum, so it would be a real treat to see your tortoises! I understand feeling a strong bond with them and I think a lot of others on the forum can relate too. I feel a special connection with my little guy and he’s only 2 years old, so I can’t even imagine how precious the bond is that you have with your torts.

I am glad to hear there were no broken bones. Keep us posted on how she’s doing.
 

MaNaAk

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Are you "Southend" as in the UK? Beautiful torts!!
Yes that's the one and we are now a city. D knew I was giving her medicine and kept retreating into her shell. I had to then administer it by turning her on her back and putting it in her mouth. J, D and our old pet rabbits became masters of avoiding medicine!!!

MaNaAk
 

MaNaAk

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Over the years J and D have got on with rabbits, cats and most wildlife with the exception of last year's fox. They've also moved with us five times and they are also very persistent especially D! They also love it during gardening times.

MaNaAk

PS: They are usually fed together except when I give them strawberries and D has a tendency to gobble everything!
 

Lyn W

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Hi and welcome,
Yes torts shouldn't be hibernated unless they are healthy so very wise to keep her awake.
Do you know how she injured her leg?
She could be active because she is is stressed or looking for a basking spot - do you keep them in an enclosure when you bring them?
Many of us with non hibernating torts use T5HO tube and fittings for uvb (which she will need overwinter to help her absorb calcium and other nutrients etc, from her food,) a flood basking bulb, and Ceramic heat emitter (CHE) run through a thermostat to stop it over heating and keep the temps even for night heat and extra heat when needed. You may be OK with just the CHE/thermostat and tube for UVB, but they do like to bask.
I use Arcadia tubes and flood basking bulbs because spots are too intense. You can get everything online - best to shop around, but I bought a CHE and a thermostat from The Range for about £50 - they also deliver if you can't get to a store.
 

MaNaAk

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Dear @LynW,

Thankyou for the advice and I can only guess about how she injured herself. She normally hibernates after J and emerges before J. I have heated up my room and brought her in there and she has become more active as the room heats up. I have just settled for the night but J has just emerged. J was just poking her head out and probably just wants to take a stroll before proper hibernation.

MaNaAk
 

MaNaAk

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At 3.40 pm J peeped out of the pet carrier so I brought her and let walk round the lounge so she is not in full hibernation yet!

I just love them

MaNaAk
 

Lyn W

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At 3.40 pm J peeped out of the pet carrier so I brought her and let walk round the lounge so she is not in full hibernation yet!

I just love them

MaNaAk
Make sure she doesn't eat, because if she goes back into hibernation and the food rots in her gut it could kill her.
If you use the search facility there are lots of threads on the safest ways to hibernate torts.
 

Yvonne G

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Oh well I shall welcome myself to the forum. I suffer from anxiety and I only want the best that I can provide for my tortoises. If I am posting in the wrong place let me know.

Good bye

MaNaAk
lol! lol! I don't know what happened to all of us, I can only speak for myself. I skipped your thread, not realizing it was your first post, but mainly because I'm not a Greek tortoise person.

I got a chuckle out of you welcoming yourself. But because I don't want you to feel left out, here's my most sincere WELCOME!!! to the Forum!!

Yes, we tell folks that tortoises under a vet's care should not allow them to brumate.

The light I use is a T5 tube type UVB from lightyourreptiles.com, with a reflector hood. Then for heat I use either a radiant heat panel (RHP) or a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) and whichever you use I set it up on a thermostat. For an indoor enclosure I've had good luck using the Christmas Tree Storage Bin mfg'd by Iris, and orchid bark for the bedding (substrate).

Once you get her indoor living arrangement set up, don't allow her to brumate. Get her out of the hiding place whenever you walk by and set her in front of the food. . . or wrap a paper towell around her bottom and carry her around with you, talking to her and scritching her behind her ear every so often.

Anything else I can help you with, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll pay attention, I promise!??
 
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MaNaAk

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Hello Everyone!

D's still taking her meds like a good girl and I have been round some pet shops getting a good idea of heaters, lights and so on although I am still deciding on a run and house and so on. Bought calcium but Pets At Home seemed to suggest that I need heat for the hibernating tortoise!

Can't wait for Wednesday when we get the blood test results. I live on my own so my tortoises mean everything.

MaNaAk

PS: Up until April when I moved they lived outside for seventy-one years.
 

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