Hibernation
 

Is there any info on hibernating on the forums I can't find any, my 2 will be 1yr next month and , if I,m right, I believe I don,t need to worry untill they are about 2, they are hermans and my first, they are doing fine but I would love some info on hibernating , they are out now but will come in the house when the weather changes I had planned on making this a permanent arrangement and not hibernating for a few years.

Yes try here great hibernation info
http://www.thetortoisehouse.com/
Darren

Not sure where you got your info on not too hibernate until two years. As nobody has told the
ones in the wild who do so from the first year<g>.
As long as your tortoise is healthy then they can hibernate from year one.
Just type in hibernation, I am sure you will come up with lots of sites with the info.
www.thetortoisehouse.com
www.tortoises,net

Hi madmax, there is a possibility you may have misunderstood our conversation regarding hibernation, I cannot imagine me misinforming you as to what age one should hibernate their tort, I do remember saying that a lot of new keepers certainly feel hibernating a tort under the age of two, slightly daunting. I too have some torts the same age as yours, and although it is early days to start a thread on the dreaded "hibernation", I was thinking of a possible step by step hibernation thread (including photos) by the more experienced keepers, so we could all show clearly, just how our own hibernation methods work, because some use the box method, whilst others use the fridge method...I may use both methods myself this year though...If you have any doubts, just pm me, or you could always phone me...but hopefully, when the the hibernation thread is started, it will become much clearer for all, especially those "first timers" :wink: ...T.T. 8)

A step by step thread would be much appreciated by myself at least.

I think hibernating for the first time is better than waiting a year- it makes you more nervous doing it after one y ear not hibernating, I found out the hard way, because i hibernated my torts in the box method- and we had a warm spell too weeks in to hibernation, I wasn't nervous putting them into hibernation, but the second time round I was!
They had a nice long hibernation this year, and i can see the difference in them now!
I reccomend to just do it! (not the nike slogan though :roll: )

TT , I have perhaps misunderstood your care sheet which says torts under 2 yrs should not be hibernated but given a cooling down period, I am not sure on the difference, I want to do the best by my babies and thought, probably wrong, or read somewhere that if you keep them in the house over the winter months that you don,t have to hibernate, that hibernation in the wild is determined by the climate cooling and the days getting shorter, if you keep them in the house where the temp is constant and the light available that it is ok to not hibernate, and that some people have torts that have never hibernated. Incidentely they are doing fine and come to me when they here me comming they love hiding in the weed bed I have growing in their house although the weeds are getting to tall for them to reach. I don't know how to write to people privately so hope you don,t mind me posting this. I for one would love to read a thread on hibernation.

it is possible to over-winter a tortoise, but i only reccomend it for sick tortoises.
Yes, hibernation is caused by shorter days and a cooler climate, but it isn't the reason why they do it.
when they hibernate its a time where they don't eat (obviously) so helps give them a smooth growth.
If you tortoise is eating everyday of the year (or even just 5 days a week) it won't have a break from eating and growing in the winter.
This leads to fast growth, which is bad. I would never over-winter a completely healthy tortoise, because it goes against their natural instincts.
It can be worrying at first, but its best to do it straight away.
Josh

Hi madmax, I have sent you a pm, go to the top of the page, and it should say you have 1 new message, highlight that and you are away to pm.ing, so to speak, you should also receive an email, and a box should also appear on the left hand side of your screen :wink: ...T.T. 8)

A step by step thread would be much appreciated by myself at least.[/quote]

HI

A very simple guide to hibernation www.thetortoisehouse.com and click on hibernation.

Written with the newest keepers in mind.