Woken from Brumation too early?

[Polli]

Hi everyone, I have a 4 yr old Hermann who has been sleeping outside in the enclosure since October, we live in the South of France, on the Mediterranean close to the Spanish Border.
Yesterday my Taco came to the entrance of his ‘bedroom’ to have a bask in the Sun, 21 degrees in the shade - much warmer in the Sun obviously.
My question is, now that he’s awake, should i keep him indoors, bathe him? Is it safe to let him do whatever he feels like?
As he is a Mediterranean Tortoise, he lives outside all year, but due to unexpected warmer temperatures I’m unsure what to do now!
I’ve read that it’s unsafe to let them go back into Brumation, is this correct?

 

[Yvonne G]

His body is acclimated to your weather conditions. If you bring him indoors, you'll have to keep him indoors until the weather is as warm as the indoor enclosure. You can leave him outside, but make sure he's protected in case it rains or turns exceptionally cool. I would also make sure he's in his shelter every night.

 

[Polli]

His body is acclimated to your weather conditions. If you bring him indoors, you'll have to keep him indoors until the weather is as warm as the indoor enclosure. You can leave him outside, but make sure he's protected in case it rains or turns exceptionally cool. I would also make sure he's in his shelter every night.

Thank you Yvonne. This is really helpful to me, I have left him outside, and I’ve only brought him in at night if the temperature is forecast to be low. He’s had a few warm soaks, he did a “lovely” long pee afterwards, and he’s done a poo ( proud Mum ?)
He always snuggles into his “bedroom” sheltered area when the Sun leaves his area, so he seems to be adapting quite well thank goodness.
Thanks again for your reply and I’ll let you know if there are any other issues, but hopefully not ???

 

[Polli]

Taco making the most of the Sun ☀️

 

[Markw84]

When reptiles brumate, they will go through periods of various levels of activity. That is one of the main things that differentiates brumation from hibernation. It is what we have heard about hibernation that confuses us about brumation. A hibernating mammal will sleep deeply though the winter and will not wake up even in warmer spells. It is a comatose-like state that keeps them out until spring.

A brumating reptile often goes in and out of "sleep". In fact, most need an occasional drink to prevent dehydration during brumation in the wild. If weather warms, they will come out and bask and become semi-active. They normally will show no interest in food during these periods as they are "prepared" to go back to sleep when cooler weather returns. With prolonged warmth, they will begin to feed and then they are ready to be up and active for the rest of the warm season that year.

 

[Polli]

When reptiles brumate, they will go through periods of various levels of activity. That is one of the main things that differentiates brumation from hibernation. It is what we have heard about hibernation that confuses us about brumation. A hibernating mammal will sleep deeply though the winter and will not wake up even in warmer spells. It is a comatose-like state that keeps them out until spring.

A brumating reptile often goes in and out of "sleep". In fact, most need an occasional drink to prevent dehydration during brumation in the wild. If weather warms, they will come out and bask and become semi-active. They normally will show no interest in food during these periods as they are "prepared" to go back to sleep when cooler weather returns. With prolonged warmth, they will begin to feed and then they are ready to be up and active for the rest of the warm season that year.

Thank you SO much for this extra information! This has been really helpful to me! I appreciate you taking the time to let me know this ???