Hibernating/winter warming advice
 

Hi

My tortoise is about 9-9.5cm long and weighs 231g. Using the Jackson scale she has never been in the range to hibernate before and I was planning on doing it next year.

However, I have recently moved house and my new house seems much colder even with the heating on. So now it’s cold, she is sleeping all day and not eating (though is active when I get her out she just wonders around)

I checked the temps and it is too cold! The “cold side” is on average 15 and he “warm “ side is on average 24. But this can be much colder at night when the lights/heating go off.

I have tried moving her home around the house to Warmer spots but it doesn’t make a difference.

So now I’m thinking, should I just hibernate her or should I increase her heat by buying extra mats and additional heat sources etc.?

I need advice either way! I am willing to invest in equipment for hibernating rather then the traditional way to make it safer etc. :)

Thanks in advance for your help

Hi there

yes I agree that you need to do something!

It's a personal decision to hibernate a tortoise or not and I think you could still go either way.

If you decide to keep this tortoise up you only need one room (which could be small) heated to about 20C during the day. A 100 watt halogen lamp will then heat the hotspot to 32C .

Probably you can get this tortoise moving again but it would take sustained light and heat without the option of avoiding it.

Right now your tortoise is part-prepared for hibernation and if you decide to go ahead with hibernation you need to take into account that she has already done some fasting. The temperatures you have been providing recently are not enough for digestion at the normal rate so there will be part digested food matter in the tortoise.

If you decide to hibernate I recommend a fridge where you can control the temperature very accurately. I tried a beer fridge and found the temp wasn't stable enough.

Stand by for other opinions!

Thanks for the reply! I am already using the bulb you quoted. Maybe I need to get a new one then? I think if I can get the temps back up I will do that, but next year I will hibernate as this is more natural. I think I’d invest in a specialist fridge too just to be on the safe side!

What species are we talking about please?
Whatever you do dont put a heat mat under a tortoise, as this can be very dangerous.

It’s a Hermann :)

My tortoise table has a section to put a heat mat on the lid of the hide but I have never used it

A heat mat really should only be used if temps are likely to drop below 5c, as the heat of a normal house should be fine over night. As long as they get normal heat around 32c next morning.
My hatchlings never had extra heat at night even on the coldest night. And I dont have CH on at night.
Just to say the JR is only a guide for hibernation. If your tortoise has been eating normally through out the year and has a clear nose and bright eyes. Then he/she should be fine to hibernate.
Its a scary thing for the keeper, but oh so natural for the tortoise:0)

Amy welcome to the site. You can always keep her up for a bit and then wind down after Xmas or over Xmas, just need to decide otherwise it'll be extra stress for the tort. is it spring is it winter....yes no heat mats - very bad thing even on a lid - tortoise only able to thermoregulate which means putting them anywhere near a external heat source such as a mat can be like sitting them on the electric hob and they wont know as their shell is not thermo regulated and they wont 'heat' up they will burn out. -ambient temps are needed to thero regulate not direct heat source onto a surface. Good luck, keep us posted, CB

My issue is then, if I’m deciding not to hibernate what can I do to make it warmer? I’m thinking of getting a new bulb to replace existing in case it’s faulty, but apart from that what else can I do? In the past, I’ve never had an issue with it being too cold.

Also, before, her Home was on top of my snake tank, so elevated off the ground but now she is on the floor (laminate) could this be causing an issue?

Hi again. Yes its much colder at ground level and there is often a draft. This possibly explains your problem. You didn't plan to hibernate this tortoise. To be honest my advice is to use a table or something, get the tort up off the floor and provide plenty of heat and light.

If the background temperature is 20c then you will have no problem getting a hotspot of 32c under a halogen bulb.

Low temps overnight and feeble daytime temperatures are telling your tortoise it will be winter soon.

It's just my opinion but I think hibernation by accident is risky. I like to have complete control over temperature and daylenght.

Thanks again for the reply. Okay, so I’ll lift her off the ground and buy a new bulb see if that works. I do want to try hibernating but was waiting till she was comfortable on the Jackson scale haha she is only 9.5cm and 230g