Captive bred tortoises

[cherylahutch]

I was just having a think to myself about the various discussions about housing and hibernating etc. I was thinking if you have a captive bred tortoise that was born in captivity and has obviously never been in its natural environment how would the tortoise know that it gets cold in winter and has to be hibernated surly this is just an inbuild defence mechanism to survive the cold? Also if it has been kept in a vivarium since it was hatched then would that not be its environment rather than the country that that kind of tortoise originated from?

I think I have too much time on my hands lol just interested on other people's thoughts.

[Shelled Lady]

Animals have a lot of natural instincts that are inbuilt. This is how they have survived. Some don't need parents to teach them, like migrating birds for instance. That's the wonderful thing about creation, it all works beautifully without us. Tortoises work on sun position, temperature, light and air pressures. I have found once a tortoise has hibernated once, it is even more clued into it's own instincts. However some of us have had to try and fool our tortoises to think it is still summer all year round. It's very difficult even in a centrally heated home. The answer to your question about the viv. well yes, if you can replicate the same heat summer and winter but tortoises are canny creatures