What to do if > 7c and less than 20c and one month to go

[SimonUK]

I'm living in the UK (South) and even though it is February, my tortoise has woken up and is starting to move around the greenhouse. To be honest he doesn't really hibernate, just sleeps through the winter. He sleeps in a small earth trench with a canvas sheet he likes and a propagator lid with several thermometers to check temperature. We put a anti frost bulb that goes under cars in the green house this year too.

Anyway he looks fine but its going to be a month where its not hot enough to eat and not cold enough to sleep during the day. It would help if I knew what species his is and how long he can go without food and water considering it is now 12c in the green house. He has been in there since October but eats a huge amount during the summer as he has a big garden to roam around with lots of different plants, plus he eats tomato's, pear, red grapes, broccoli etc. that we leave for him. His is male because he is always trying to mate with a roll of string covered in brown tape some one left lying around. He is 7 inches long and weighed about 900 to 1000g.

If anyone could tell me his species, how long he can last without food and water and just generally any advice I would be grateful. We will give him a luke warm bath when the temp gets up to a point where he will eat. He has followed this procedure for years and is about 40 I think as we got him in 1976. The more I read on line the more I worry about him urinating and not having enough liquid for his kidneys etc, although some one said moist but not damp earth is better and more natural than cardboard, wood or paper.

 

[Moozillion]

RE: What to do if > 7c and less than 20c and one month to go

I don't know what kind he is, but I do know that ANY tortoise that is awake and moving needs free access to clean water that he can easily reach. Let's see what other more experienced people have to say.

 

[SimonUK]

The thing is he never drinks in the summer. I have read tortoises will not drink unless they are sitting in water. People have also said they take big gulps when given a luke warm bath, but my one just seems more interested in washing his beak. Last year it we had a warm February, but the weather this UK in the UK is hopeless for tortoises. One week warm, the next week freezing, then warm again. We used to bring him in and put him by the radiator, but he still would not eat.

In some ways we have tried to allow him to live as natural life as possible, rather than being too interventionist, just substituting the green house for the garden in the winter months and supplementing the plentiful plant food in the garden. We used to let him sleep where he wanted too, but a fox attacked him, fortunately he only had a few scratches on his shell and now we are forced to pick him up and put him in a box where he is safe, if he does not go there on his own. Tortoises don't seem to learn from their mistakes like sleeping in the open under a bush.