Vivarium or not

[tishtash]

Hi I am new to looking after tortoises, and have introduced myself on the welcome thread.

I have been researching on the web but find so much conflicting advice, so thought best place to ask is with people that actually own them.

I have a Herman and a spur-thighed tortoise both are around 30 years old. What i wanted to know is, now that its getting colder, i was going to bring them in, in the evenings and put in the vivarium, and then for colder days in october, keep them in their for the whole day, and then wind them down to hibernate sometime in November, so it will give thm a chance to eat some more before hibernating, as according to the paperwork i have with them, when they were checked post hibernation, their weights were lower than the previous year post hibernation weight. Would this be a good idea or as they are not used to a vivarium would this be stressful them?

 

[Yvonne G]

Please explain what you mean by "vivarium." To me that word indicates an aquarium of some sort. Two 30 year old tortoises of a smallish to medium size would definitely be unhappy and stressed out in an aquarium. They need to be in a larger habitat. An old book case without the shelves and laying on its back would be good. And, again depending upon their size, the book case might not be large enough. And they require exercise. Before you got them, were they kept outside? What is the Autumn weather like where you live. Here I just leave the hibernating tortoises outside until the nights are consistently below 50 degrees. Then I box them up to hibernate. If you bring them in and keep them warm, how are they going to know they should start slowing down and cleaning out their systems? I admit, I don' t know what your weather or circumstances are where you live, so I may be all wet in my thinking. Also, I'm unsure what you are calling a vivarium.

Yvonne

 

[Crazy1]

Tishtash, if I am not mistaken you live in Milton Keynes which is a large town in South East England, about 45 miles (72 km) north-west of London. And the tortoises you speak of are a Hermanni and Medeteranian Spur thigh (Testudo g. ibera ?) as if a Spur thigh (Sulcata) was 30 years old I dought you would be trying to place him in a vivarium. But I agree with Yvonne we need to know what you mean by vivarium (the size and what it is made of or a picture might help). Perhaps Kelly (Stells) can help with how she works her torts as she also lives across the waters. lol.

 

[stells]

Mine come in when its starts to get cooler at night, and spend there time in good sized tortoise tables with a combined heat/UV lamp. This years summer has been particularly dreadful and mine will be coming in in the next week or so, once they comein my adults have seperate tortoise tables to cut down on the amount of stress that being with others seems to cause in a more enclosed space also i keep all species and subspecies seperate.

 

[tishtash]

Hi, well i have not seen the vivarium yet, but from what i have been told, its glass and has sliding doors at the front and is 6ft, but seeing how much walking they do in the garden i suppose that is too small then, it was just to try and make her eat for longer so she can put on some weight as she has not been at her highest weight from what i can see for 2 years. It was just to try and give them/her longer to eat. How i was going to wind them or her down was to reduce the lightning gradually and watch to see that their/her have not been eating.

They have both been leaving outside and hibernate in October.

What is the minimum size for 1 and for 2 torts. Their sizes are 21cm and 17.5cm ?

Im totally new to this and am learning all the time, so hopefully i do not ask too many dumb questions.

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, we (here at the Rescue) usually don't recommend that you allow a new (to you) tortoise to hibernate the first year. Its a good idea to keep them up and eating so that you are SURE they are healthy and have enough body fat to carry them through next winter's hibernation. Your 6' vivarium probably isn't big enough for a permanent habitat, but I think it would work ok for the winter. You can always take them out on sunny days just to give them a break from the viv.

Yvonne

 

[tishtash]

So keep them up all winter,... what if i took them to a vet to check them and weigh them. The guy that had them, had kept torts. for years and have always been fine.

 

[Crazy1]

eat for longer so she can put on some weight as she has not been at her highest weight from what i can see for 2 years.
How i was going to wind them or her down was to reduce the lightning gradually and watch to see that their/her have not been eating.

Im totally new to this and am learning all the time, so hopefully i do not ask too many dumb questions.

Yvonne’s right and been doing this for some time. It is best not to hibernate a tort that is underweight, ill or new to you. It will not hurt them (or her) not to hibernate this year. If the temps are kept up they will not hibernate. Turning down or off the light will do nothing unless you are using a Mercury Vapor Bulb. It’s the temps that dictates when they go to sleep for the winter. So no drop in temp keeps them up. And for a winter the viv should be fine. Hibernating an underweight, sick or possibly ill tort (one you do not know) can potentially cause the tort to expire during hibernation. What worked for him and the torts may not work for you and the torts. My motto better safe than sorry, but this is your call. Oh, and in my book there are no questions asked that are dumb ones so ask away.

 

[tishtash]

Thanks for your replies,

Ok, so now thinking along the lines of keeping them up in the winter, have thought of a room downstairs where my boiler is, just gets used to dump loads of rubbish. I thought, i could clear it all out, the floor is tiled, so then turn that into a indoor enclosure, it will be larger than the vivarium. Is that a better idea?

Also, as we knew the guy we got them off and he has had the two that we kept, for 3 and the other for 8 years, and he has had no real probs, and knows alot about torts (it was just me looking at the paperwork - that relized her weight has dropped over the past 2 years) that maybe with a weight check and they have been fine, mean maybe i should just do what they want?

I dont mind either way, just worried about not having an enclosure ready.