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Old 26-01-2019, 06:46 PM   #1
Gordon
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Default Short hibernation

Well I have just been out to have a listen in the garage as there was some noise in the hibernating box and someone is definitely awake so looks like I will be getting one or more up tomorrow.
Unless anyone has any thoughts.
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Old 26-01-2019, 07:49 PM   #2
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Well I have just been out to have a listen in the garage as there was some noise in the hibernating box and someone is definitely awake so looks like I will be getting one or more up tomorrow.
Unless anyone has any thoughts.

Do you think its big movement or just adjusting to temps?
You must have had some warmer days there:0)
I keep checking my ibera, as they did start to move the soil. But since the cold snap it has stopped:0)
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Old 26-01-2019, 07:56 PM   #3
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There is a lot of noise I did have a look at the temp earlier and it was 10 degrees and last week I did take a peep in their box and a couple were sat there looking at me.
The trouble is like you say it's been warm then cold all the time.
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Old 27-01-2019, 07:05 PM   #4
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It's been a very warm winter here (Central California) too. I hibernate my Russians in a disconnected chest-type freezer, and the temperature inside stays pretty steady. But I DO anticipate seeing them wake up earlier than usual this year because of the weather. I guess "they" weren't lying about global warming!
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Old 27-01-2019, 07:27 PM   #5
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Well it's been cold again today so had a peek in their box and all is quiet so I'm going to leave them but have another look in a few days.
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Old 27-01-2019, 07:53 PM   #6
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Forecast looks set to get colder...
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Old 27-01-2019, 08:36 PM   #7
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Well it's been cold again today so had a peek in their box and all is quiet so I'm going to leave them but have another look in a few days.
Thats what I would do Gordon, as its few weeks to go before temps really start to rise:0)
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Old 28-01-2019, 02:01 PM   #8
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This is one of those captive hibernation situations that would bother me.
It's clear that tortoises would emerge in the wild if temperatures where high enough and then settle back down when they dropped, but I do wonder if they would eat or drink.
We're told that food in the gut is bad during hibernation, but could it be beneficial to bath a tortoise during a waking period to keep it hydrated?
We are also told that tortoises release Glycogen when they emerge from hibernation, what are consequences of depleted levels if a tortoise then reverts back to a state of re-hibernation?

As Jerry is now in his fridge, the scenario described is unlikely to happen but I would eventually like him to hibernate without the fridge so I do worry about this situation.
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Old 28-01-2019, 02:39 PM   #9
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Personally I don't tend to worry to much about the food side of things even though I do try and make sure they are empty.
I can't see that a tortoise in the wild will starve itself for three to four weeks they will have a limited amount to eat I'm sure but if it gets warm enough to eat I'm sure they will and then if the temp drop again being a reptile they will sleep again.
It's the same with tortoises that are carrying eggs some people say don't hibernate them but mine have hibernated with eggs and as soon as awake they tend to get rid of them again I'm sure this happens in the wild.
I think a lot of the information we tend to think as gospel is very outdated hence we tend to get an awful lot of people that are to frightened to hibernate.

These are my thoughts please don't shoot me.
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Old 28-01-2019, 04:14 PM   #10
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I tend to agree with all of that Gordon. So many myths in tortoise keeping and the outdated information sometimes gets in the way of common sense.
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