When to weight a RT for brumation?

Camade

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Mar 24, 2021
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Hi all!

I'm now going torwards my first brumation ever with an about 8-year-old russian tortoise male. He's been very active during the autumn, pooped and urinated regularly and seems all around healthy. His previous owner said that he's been self-starving for two winters, just walked into a corner in the house and stayed there for about a month (he was living on the floor in his previous home). So, this year I wanted to give him a proper chance to brumate in a more conscious and thought out manner.

However, I have a stupid question, if those exist: As I should monitor my tortoise's weight about weekly on brumation, what is the "starting weight"? Is it the weight before the fast and cooling of temperatures? Or the weight just before going to the brumation box? To my understanding, this weight is measured to make sure the tortoise doesn't dehydrate too much.

For reference, Tatling weighted 818g before fast, and now after almost two weeks of no feeding and soaks every other day he weights 789g
 

mark1

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personally i don't think weight is that important , health is the important factor ........they need and use very little energy at 35-40 F ..the more active they are (warmer they get ) , it's a main difference between hibernation and brumation , turtle do get active during their hibernation under natural conditions , the warmer they get the more energy they use ... they don't really seem to lose weight while hibernating ,although i've never weighed one before or after hibernating , they don't noticeably lose weight... i couldn't help you with the feeding question , i'd guess you just try to simulate what happens outdoors , which having watched many times , is pretty confusing as to when they actually stop eating ...when they do stop eating in the fall/earlywinter ... i have no experience in hibernating turtles or tortoises kept indoors ..... i have hibernated quite a few in refrigerators , but they were kept outside , allowed to naturally go into hibernation, gathered or dug up while torpid , and placed in a fridge ....... outdoors i feed them as long as they will eat , which varies by year and individual , how they tell is not clear to me ......... i take them out of the refrigerator in the spring and put them back where i got them from when the extreme winter is over and the water or ground temp is similar to the refrigerator temperature ....
 

Tom

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Hi all!

I'm now going torwards my first brumation ever with an about 8-year-old russian tortoise male. He's been very active during the autumn, pooped and urinated regularly and seems all around healthy. His previous owner said that he's been self-starving for two winters, just walked into a corner in the house and stayed there for about a month (he was living on the floor in his previous home). So, this year I wanted to give him a proper chance to brumate in a more conscious and thought out manner.

However, I have a stupid question, if those exist: As I should monitor my tortoise's weight about weekly on brumation, what is the "starting weight"? Is it the weight before the fast and cooling of temperatures? Or the weight just before going to the brumation box? To my understanding, this weight is measured to make sure the tortoise doesn't dehydrate too much.

For reference, Tatling weighted 818g before fast, and now after almost two weeks of no feeding and soaks every other day he weights 789g
I never weigh my animals during brumation either. I prefer to leave them alone. No harm in weighing before brumation and again when they come out, just for curiosity's sake.
 
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