Hibernating

[pagan queen]

Originally Posted by Sheli88

Problem is the weather does change, and they do notice. If they slow down that should be telling you something..

Hibernating helps with slow growth and prolongs life expectancy so there is a need for it. What isn't needed is overwintering because you can't bear to be apart from them for a couple of months when there is a perfectly safe, tried and tested, fridge method for hibernation.

To me arguing against hibernation is like arguing against breastfeeding and co sleeping, as the benefits far out weigh the risks.

You have your opinions and others have theirs. Why do torts have to grow slowly? Never could understand that one. Do you restrict food too?
They slow down because there is a change in air pressure when the weather changes. They are expecting cold weather, when it doesn't come they are back to normal, it lasts for a week maybe. All it's telling me is they are expecting it to get cold.
Do you have proof that it prolongs life expectancy? It certainly doesn't for those torts lost during hibernation for no obvious reason. What is so natural about putting a tortoise into a fridge?
Oh and I do not keep my torts awake because I can't bare to be away from them for a few months, for the rest of my life is another thing. But I choose not to hibernate because I have researched it and found that I would rather keep them awake to be sure they are safe.

[emma_mcraf]

I'll be honest that I've never really noticed too much of a slow-down in my torts when I overwinter. I ensure they have enough light and the correct temperatures night and day. They are alert, eat well and they aren't growing too quickly.
I researched it well so I could make an informed decision. I don't keep them up because I'd miss them if they were hibernated (though of course I would) but because I read about people on here, year after year who lose their torts during hibernation. I'm not prepared to risk it.

Interestingly, I've never breastfed or co-slept with my four children.......

[pagan queen]

Originally Posted by emma_mcraf

I'll be honest that I've never really noticed too much of a slow-down in my torts when I overwinter. I ensure they have enough light and the correct temperatures night and day. They are alert, eat well and they aren't growing too quickly.
I researched it well so I could make an informed decision. I don't keep them up because I'd miss them if they were hibernated (though of course I would) but because I read about people on here, year after year who lose their torts during hibernation. I'm not prepared to risk it.

Interestingly, I've never breastfed or co-slept with my four children.......

The slow down is minimal Emma, just a bit less eaten and maybe getting up a bit later. I probably notice it because the torts are in the conservatory. It will be interesting to see if there is a difference this year as we had the conservatory replaced and it's gone from a rather dilapidated wooden frame to a snazzy upvc one.

I breast fed all of my four and co slept too. We have found something different at last.

[emma_mcraf]

Originally Posted by pagan queen

The slow down is minimal Emma, just a bit less eaten and maybe getting up a bit later. I probably notice it because the torts are in the conservatory. It will be interesting to see if there is a difference this year as we had the conservatory replaced and it's gone from a rather dilapidated wooden frame to a snazzy upvc one.

I breast fed all of my four and co slept too. We have found something different at last.

Ha ha!!
The conservatory sounds very nice.
Itll be interesting to see how much warmer your conservatory gets next winter. My torts are in the kitchen. It's the hub of the house so it's always nice and snug. I like being warm - cant bear the cold - so the central heating comes on a fair amount and the range warms it all up too, so it's probably the best cosiest room for them.

[Ozric Jonathan]

I choose to hibernate mine selectively. So if a particular tortoise has been worrying me, or has any illness issues, I don't hibernate that one. Also I don't hibernate them when they are really small, by which I mean less than 50g.

Part of the reason that I do it is that I have about a dozen of them and although I have gone to a lot of bother providing indoors accommodation I reached a point where I felt their quality of life was not so good in the winter if they were up the whole time. Some tortoises don't live happily side by side with some others leading to challenges with how many enclsoures to have, and even with giving over a room to them, I feel they don't have as much space as I would like. By hibernating selectively everyone ends up with more space over a period of time.

Personally I don't think hibernation is free of risk.

[EJ]

It would seem that many keepers who have hibernated their tortoises for many years are not quite being honest when they say they have never lost a tortoise due to hibernation... they will usually stipulate that those tortoises that did die during hibernation did not die due to the hibernation itself. So... they say they've never lost a tortoise due to the hibernation... which is kind of true although no one can deny that hibernation places severe stress on an animal.

As to the slow growth prolonging life... total nonsense.

Hibernation is going to be the choice of the keeper. After all... the keeper is providing all the environmental conditions. In captivity... it is the keeper that decides if a tortoise is going to hibernate or not.

[Hanako]

When reading this thread, it seems to me that I am the only one here who lost a tortoise during hibernation. I have done everything exactly as the previous years, so I don't think I can attribute it to my lack of experience with hibernation. I hibernated them every year for 8 years (I think we may have got them when they were about a year old, so I don't remember if they were hibernated in their first year of life). So out of 16 attempts (2 tortoises times 8 years) I was unsuccessful once, which one can argue is not very high percentage, but if you look at it from the point of view that she would be here if I didn't hibernate, it makes me think whether I put her in unnecessary risk. Because being unsuccessful means that she is dead and it is not reversible. This is not like failing an exam which if one fails they can re-take it. This is life or death of a lovely and beautiful animal. Even if the percentage of risk doesn't sound high, it is still risk that could be avoidable. It made me think again whether I will hibernate next year. The answer is - I don't know. Possibly not.

[Sheli88]

[QUOTE=Hanako;605921]she would be here if I didn't hibernateQUOTE]

How do you know that, if you don't mind me asking? Did you have a postmortem and find out the exact cause?

[Hanako]

No, I didn't do postmortem. But if she wasn't sleeping, I would have noticed that she wasn't well and I would have taken her to vet, whereas this option was completely taken out of my hands. So although I can't be 100% certain that she would survive (some conditions are untreatable), she still would have at least some chance to fight back whatever was wrong with her. How often do young (9 year old) tortoises have untreatable illnesses? I think the treatable ones are much more frequent.

[Andy Robertson]

Read my reply Hanako