Are you hibernating your tort for the first time?

[16 shells]

Originally Posted by Pies mam

This might sound daft but how can it breathe in a fridge????? scary to me can l just put mine in a box and keep him in the house? I see people putting them in garages etc why???

I use box method, they are in soil dug down in a box with air holes, inside another box insulated against extreme cold, in the garage. The fridge method is easier for first timer's who are not confident to put them away in an out building, the box method is ok, but you have to be more vigilant i think, and keep ahead of the weather temp's high's and lows, have managed to keep a 4c to 6c variation temp, in the garage. An unheated porch or the likes can be used for hibernation box method, this can be a couple of degree's higher than outside.
Fridge method, the fridge has to be indoor's not in an out building, to work to the 5c steady temp in winter.

[shaz]

Originally Posted by jamestaylor18

i actually dont think it is ya no! Think of it like this:

1) Dont feed em, give em daily baths
2) After 2 weeks turn the temps down & reduce the lights down by 40-50%
3) 4th week turn the lot off, continue daily baths
4) Bung em in the fridge!

Simples! Im being all confident now but come december ill be brickin it! ha ha
i plan to hibernate mine in january (2nd). Wanna ave xmas an new year with em! lol

Sounds easy, bet it wont be thou.

One thing i dont understand is why do we starve them. Any other animal eats loads before they do.... well im thinking of bears, they fat themselves up first

[jamestaylor18]

any undigested food will rot in their gut while they are asleep! Bears etc are warm blooded so can continue to digest while they are asleep where as torts need heat of the sun to digest. any signs of poo or wee means you are gonna ave to wake your tort up. forgot to mention that. they also need weighing monthly an should not be loosing more than 1% of their pre-hibernation weight. eg 100g tort should only loose 1g per month, if more eg 10g per month they need waking up really, or they will die of starvation

[jamestaylor18]

if you do plenty of reading around hibernation you will be fine, and obviously this is a fab place to raise any concerns you have to get almost immediate advice! never hibernated before either so im in the same boat as a few of you guys. just got my knowledge from reading around on different sites and ppl on here. it will be fine, together we will all be fine! (hopefully)

[shaz]

Think i got some reading to do before i do it. How long do you leave them sleeping for?

Makes sence now about the starving bit What bout water. if still doing baths on week four wont they need to wee!!!

[jamestaylor18]

well tbh the length of hibernation is a difficult question. nobody gives a definate answer. i think it goes off age of the tort, in the wild horsefields only spend 4 months awake! lol
im gonna give mind 4-6 weeks given its there first time, if all is well, they have not lost too much weight and they aint wee'd or poo's i mite try for a bit longer, maybe 8 or 10 weeks. just gonna see how it goes really. ill be happy with 4 weeks, anythin more is a bonus. im gonna miss em so bad tho :0(

[shaz]

Yeah but its the best thing for them i think. Its what they would do if we wernt around.

4 months awake, thats not bad it is lol. Wish i could do that lol.

Have to see how they go and if all well to do it and go from there. do some reading before and make sure i know what im doing.
Thanks for answering my questions thou.

[jamestaylor18]

cheers for the friend request shaz! your my first friend! lol
yea thats what im gonna do, go with the flow an see how they go on!
hopefully all will be fine. iv heard they are totally different when they wake up, like a new tort, full of life etc. cant wait for that! bless em

[TortBabe]

This is a great thread I'm a first timer this year and I'm worried too! My question is would you need to have the tort in a cooler room while you do the wind down? My horsfield is 3 and I'm hoping for 6 weeks, or maybe 8 if he's not lost too much weight.
My other torts that I have only got this year will be overwintered on the advice of my reptile vet, when i'm totally sure of their health next year into the fridge they will go!

[EJ]

To be clear... most experts do not state hibernation is necessary. Those that truely understand the biology of chelonians will admit that it is not necessary to hibernate chelonians for basic survival and quality of life.

Originally Posted by rosshan

Yes, unfortunately we do. Its a important part of a torts life, and most experts will say its nessisary(sp?) for their health.

But we'll get through it. Together.