tortoisetrustforum.org

hi i feel a bit bad as i havent been on for ages and then come on here with lots to ask about. but my first thing is hybernation!
i have 3 horsefields that are just over a year old. (bearing in mind my scales although normally very good only go up in even numbers!) their weights going into the fridge were 52g, 52g and 54g. today they weighed 54g, 54g and 52g. i have no idea how that happened but all of them have gained 2g just once at some point while in the fridge (maybe loosing 2g before or after) the rest of the time they have stayed the same each week.
none of them have weed or pooed while in there and they all seem ok. it will be 8 weeks tomorow. due to their age do i wake them up??

secondly i have a blind 3'ish year old horsefield in the fridge, her weight before was 162g but is now 160g. she went in the same day as the babies. i read today that a sign of dehydration is if her eyes are sunken in, because she has no eyes hers are always slightly sunken, im not sure if they are any more than usual or not. i tried to gently pinch her skin on her legs and it doesnt go back down straight away. i cant do this with the others in the fridge as i cant get to their skin as easy. would it be slightly slower if they are cold in the fridge or should it be as fast as an awake and warm tortoise?

lastly on this subject, how do i go about a healthy wake up/ warm up? do i put them straight under a lamp? do i give them a bath first? do i make the water the same temp as usual or start off a little bit cooler and get warmer with each bath? how many baths should i give them, esp if stevie is a bit dehydrated? once they have warmed up with the lamps and bath would they usually want to eat that first day or do they take a day or two to come round?

sorry but i was that worried about getting through the hybernating part i didnt think that much about the wake up bit!

sarah

Sarah I would not put the torts under their basking lamp straight away. At the end of hibernation I take my tortoise in the boxes out of the fridge at night and leave them in a coolish room. The following morning I give them a warm soak and place them on the floor in their shed. I have the basking light on but leave the tortoise to walk to it themselves . This works for me but I am sure others will give their opinions
Brenda

thankyou brenda
can i ask how old yours is and how long do you hybernate them? would you think 8 weeks is long enough for the babies and stevie? i have another one in the fridge a bit bigger than stevie but he seems ok so far, no health probs etc

sarah

Hi Sarah,

I know how you feel, Myself and Maisy (5yrs) are both first time hibernators this year. As much as I am looking forward to getting her up, im also really worried that she could have problems. She is almost up to 11 weeks. One more and thats it.
You might like to read this:
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/wakingup.htm

I have no experience so will duck out of advising you, sure you understand, others will be along im sure

Although I would have thought that as the little ones are so small, 8 weeks would be a max.
I'll be interested in what the others say too.

Sarah I am sorry I have no experience hibernating babies but would have thought 8 weeks is long enough. Both of mine are rehomed so I don't know their exact age but they are old.
I hibernate them from mid October to early March.
Brenda

Brenda, my little ones hopefully will be having longer than 8 weeks this year and they are 2.5 years old. In the last two years they both came out at 8 weeks after losing 2 gms in the first few weeks and nothing after that.

I take the boxes out of the fridge early morning and leave them in a room at normal house temps still they start to stir. They then have a nice long warm bath, normal temps, and under the basking lamp with weeds available.

i am so relieved! i took then out of the fridge on thurs dinner time and left them in a box in a warm room till tea time. then i gave them a bath and put them in there indoor table with lights and food. they basked for a while but werent really that bothered about food. one of the babies picked at just a couple of bits and that was it, i also tried to feed stevie by opening her mouth and putting the food in like i used to have to. she wasnt all that bothered either so i stopped after a couple of bits and left them to warm some more under the spot light. later on i turned off the light for bed time.
.... but as of the next day they just havent stopped! i cant believe it. i am feeding twice a day at the mo and they are goin mad for it. the babies always had a good appetite but stevie is like a completely tortoise! she is eating so much and although i assist in where the food is she is doing a lot of it by herself! i am so excited! if we carry on like this the weight she lost last year will be back on in a couple of weeks! lol

just thought i would share that with other tortoise minded people as everyone hereis sick of hearing about it! haha

sarah

Wonderful news Sara

Sarah that's great news. Your earlier worries just show how much you care. I hope the torts continue to do well.
Brenda

This is why carrying out a hibernation under controlled temps is soooooooooooo important and why it is important to hibernate fit tortoises. Obviously if you have a sick tortoise then you need to take professional advice.

It makes all the difference to a tortoises life and the improvement over the years is wonderfull.
Congratulations and I wish your torts many years of life.