Hibernating Hermann Tortoise - Have to?

[LadyT]

Hi,

My tortoise is 3 months old and I am curious about hibernation for this coming fall/winter. I would rather not hibernate him. Do I absolutely have to?

I have a red eared slider who is 11 years old and I have never hibernated her. I'm quite nervous. He is so small still.

Thanks

[ClareandCo]

Originally Posted by LadyT

Hi,

My tortoise is 3 months old and I am curious about hibernation for this coming fall/winter. I would rather not hibernate him. Do I absolutely have to?

I have a red eared slider who is 11 years old and I have never hibernated her. I'm quite nervous. He is so small still.

Thanks

Does the RES live indoors or outside 24/7? If indoors then she wouldn't hibernate and will remain active. If outdoors she will dig down into the bottom of the pond.

[Merlin M]

No you don't need to hibernate, if you keep him warm he will stay up just fine. He may slow down a bit in the winter still but that's fine

[Suze65]

As has been said, you don't need to hibernate him, and certainly not until you have done plenty of research and you feel confident. But in September you will need to start with lights on for 12 hours a day and temps up to 32c or he will notice it's autumn , and will start winding down.

[Pussygalore]

you can wait a few winters untill you're confident in having a go at hibernating, although some don't hibernate it hasn't been proved whether long term not hibernating does any harm simply because of the torts long lifetime. Also you may find that as the tort gets older unless you can replicate summer conditions all through the winter your tort may slow down, stop eating and try to hibernate itself, it then becomes a battle to keep it alert etc. Hibernating isn't the dreaded period that it used to be there are now good guide lines as to winding the tort down and the actual hibernation, many of the risks have been removed. If you don't hibernate you must remember that the room its in needs to be heated all the time which will obviously put your bills up in the winter, many don't have the heating on if they are out all day. You can't heat a table well enough in a cold room.

[Merlin M]

I don't keep the heating on when I am out even when overwintering... I do use secondary heat sources though, like the CHE during the day to maintain heat. I find it more cost effective to have additional heat in the table rather than to heat the whole flats when no one is home.
Its all about knowing how to keep the enclosure warm enough in your environment

[sandy]

Originally Posted by LadyT

Hi,

My tortoise is 3 months old and I am curious about hibernation for this coming fall/winter. I would rather not hibernate him. Do I absolutely have to?

I have a red eared slider who is 11 years old and I have never hibernated her. I'm quite nervous. He is so small still.

Thanks

Hibernation is part of a hermans natural instincts, and hibernation is good for tortoises.
They hibernate from their first year of hatching. Just because you are scared to hibernate him/her is not a reason not too:0)
Tortoises have done things their way for millions of years, and are still with us:0)
I have hibernated tortoises for over 30yrs and never lost a tortoise to hibernation yet:0)
If you follow the correct instructions hibernation is a doddle, if a little stressful:0)

[Suze65]

Originally Posted by sandy

Hibernation is part of a hermans natural instincts, and hibernation is good for tortoises.
They hibernate from their first year of hatching. Just because you are scared to hibernate him/her is not a reason not too:0)
Tortoises have done things their way for millions of years, and are still with us:0)
I have hibernated tortoises for over 30yrs and never lost a tortoise to hibernation yet:0)
If you follow the correct instructions hibernation is a doddle, if a little stressful:0)

Although I completely agree with Sandy, I too am of the belief that it has become part of their natural cycle of Life over millions of years, don't feel under pressure to do so if you are not confident, do your research first. Sandy and I have been hibernating tortoises for many years, and it's second nature to us.

[pagan queen]

Tortoise hibernate to survive. They don't need to hibernate in captivity as we can keep the conditions optimal for them. There is no proven benefits to hibernation but lots of tortoises die every year through the process.

[alley cat]

Originally Posted by pagan queen

Tortoise hibernate to survive. They don't need to hibernate in captivity as we can keep the conditions optimal for them. There is no proven benefits to hibernation but lots of tortoises die every year through the process.

How do you know that lots die every year? where are you getting this information?