To hibernate or not

[Sarah1150]

for the whole time I have had tortoises, 4 years, I have always hibernated them. However, I now have a set up where they have heated quarters in the shed with insulated roof and sides with room to wander at will. I have wondered lately about hibernating now that I have accommodation for them where they could be over wintered.
I wondered if anyone had any thoughts on whether I should still hibernate or keep them going through the winter now that I have a set up which would allow this.
Any advise would be welcomed.

Sarah

[EJ]

It's up to you. It is not a necessity. Is it worth the risk?

Originally Posted by Sarah1150

for the whole time I have had tortoises, 4 years, I have always hibernated them. However, I now have a set up where they have heated quarters in the shed with insulated roof and sides with room to wander at will. I have wondered lately about hibernating now that I have accommodation for them where they could be over wintered.
I wondered if anyone had any thoughts on whether I should still hibernate or keep them going through the winter now that I have a set up which would allow this.
Any advise would be welcomed.

Sarah

[Shelled Lady]

Certain camps think it is a risk. Can you keep the tortoises living and feeding as they would in the summer? Can you keep the shed temps up all winter? Can you afford to? Are you intending to breed the tortoises? If you are, it is best to hibernate to keep the natural spring breeding cycle in operation. I like to think my animals know exactly what time of year it is, whether they are kept in sheds, vivs, or the house!

[Alan1]

Originally Posted by Sarah1150

for the whole time I have had tortoises, 4 years, I have always hibernated them. However, I now have a set up where they have heated quarters in the shed with insulated roof and sides with room to wander at will. I have wondered lately about hibernating now that I have accommodation for them where they could be over wintered.
I wondered if anyone had any thoughts on whether I should still hibernate or keep them going through the winter now that I have a set up which would allow this.
Any advise would be welcomed.

Sarah

Lots of people keep torts in a heated shed over winter and there are lots of people who who have heated sheds but still hibernate their torts. It's your choice really

I might be inclined to see if the winter temps affect the temps in the shed this year though, they certainly affect the temps in my house

[Suze65]

Hibernation is what they are designed to do, why break their natural cycle if there is no reason to, nature designed them this way for when food is not available , so surely their shell growth is designed for this down time.

[Pussygalore]

if your torts have been hibernated in the past you may find that despite offering the best conditions they will still slow down, stop eating, comming out and try to hibernate. If you are going to try to overwinter then you will need to 'fool' the torts into thinking its still summer and that needs to start now, with plenty of light and heat and the same length as summer conditions. I would however be prepared with hibernation facilities in case it doesn't work I know I couldn't have kept my adult Ibera awake and eating etc without having to force them and even then I doubt they'd have come through a non hibernating winter very well.

[Herpard]

I don't hibernate my lot (the leopard wouldn't in the wild anyway)

I just do the same as any other time, light on for 12 hours a day and they get fed a mix of weeds,shop bought food and pellets, it's really easy even in winter to grow weeds indoors.

They don't even slow down much either, the only thing that's different when over wintering them is that they don't go outside but they don't really seem to notice.

[Herpard]

Personally I find that it's cruel to shove an animal in a fridge for months when theres no need really?

When someone can prove not hibernating a tortoise will kill them then I'll consider it but to me hibernating is just too much of a risk, I read countless posts each year about a tortoise dying whilst hibernating but not read one single post about a tortoise dying because it didn't get hibernated.

[EJ]

They are not designed to hibernate. They are reptiles. When conditions become unfavorable they adapt to accomodate those unfavorable conditions. Given the choice they most likely would not hibernate.

Originally Posted by mediterraneansuze

Hibernation is what they are designed to do, why break their natural cycle if there is no reason to, nature designed them this way for when food is not available , so surely their shell growth is designed for this down time.

[EJ]

You bring up an interesting point... hibernating can kill a tortoise... I haven't seen any evidence to support the idea that not hibernating a tortoise can kill it.

Originally Posted by Herpard

I don't hibernate my lot (the leopard wouldn't in the wild anyway)

I just do the same as any other time, light on for 12 hours a day and they get fed a mix of weeds,shop bought food and pellets, it's really easy even in winter to grow weeds indoors.

They don't even slow down much either, the only thing that's different when over wintering them is that they don't go outside but they don't really seem to notice.