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Old 12-10-2014, 01:51 PM   #11
sandy
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A word of caution! My 7 yr. old used to hibernate in a washing-up bowl in a pit dug in the greenhouse (to keep the temperature down). It was covered with a polystyrene block. One weekend in the middle of winter after heavy rain I found the pit full of water. Luckily Pushkin was inside his floating bowl, which had even lifted the polystyrene a couple of inches. Noah's Ark springs to mind.

Please can you advise me. I thought adults Horsfields hibernate for 12 weeks max. He wants to hibernate now, but that would mean waking him in early January in the depths of winter. For that reason I struggle to keep him awake till late November. What is best?

Rupert, Essex

In the wild they hibernate up to six months:0)
Just because the 12 weeks may be up, if you monitor your tortoise closely, another few weeks will not hurt them. If you see a problem then just get them up. 12 weeks is a guide its not set in stone. I would not recommend every year longer than 12 weeks, but they don't hibernate for the same amount of time every year in the wild:0)
And the water table in any ones area is vital to know, especially with horsfields.
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Old 12-10-2014, 02:45 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by rupert View Post
A word of caution! My 7 yr. old used to hibernate in a washing-up bowl in a pit dug in the greenhouse (to keep the temperature down). It was covered with a polystyrene block. One weekend in the middle of winter after heavy rain I found the pit full of water. Luckily Pushkin was inside his floating bowl, which had even lifted the polystyrene a couple of inches. Noah's Ark springs to mind.

Please can you advise me. I thought adults Horsfields hibernate for 12 weeks max. He wants to hibernate now, but that would mean waking him in early January in the depths of winter. For that reason I struggle to keep him awake till late November. What is best?

Rupert, Essex
I hibernate my older adults for approx 12 weeks, my sub adults between 8 - 10 weeks, but this is my choice one of my adults has been trying to go down since September and another is still stuffing her face with food lol, but I won't put them down till end of November.

They have been down at the beginning of November in the past and I got them up beginning of feb but this was too early, so I aim for end of November.

I won't leave them for longer than 12-13 weeks, but that is my choice x
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Old 15-10-2014, 10:42 AM   #13
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A lot of people keep their torts indoors in winter in a table in an unheated room without the lamps on and they semi-hibernate, eating and drinking much less like maybe only once a week or less depending on what the temperatures are. It's not hugely different to the warmer parts of the Med Region in winter I suppose.
You see posts on here all the time in winter where folk are physically placing their torts under the lamps and putting food under their noses and running to the vet with them because they haven't eaten for a week etc
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Old 15-10-2014, 05:22 PM   #14
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I live in East Scotland Annie nice to see another local on here!!! i Have a THH and he is slowing down so im debating letting him fully hibernate but i don'y trust my fridge or have an area in the house that would be a steady 4-6 degrees. my out houses would be freezing as the hard frost and snow will arrive probably very soon.

Alan just read you post on Semi Hibernation - something i never heard of before! If i let my tort stay dug down in his coco coir indoor with heat lamp off and only get him up once/twice a week for a bath and food then let him dig down for a few days this would be ok if i monitored his weight?? night time tempts without CHE would be around 12-14 degrees. Or should i do my usual of upping the heat at night, getting him up and bathing and feeding daily and keeping him active??
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Old 18-10-2014, 07:15 AM   #15
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I have no idea, it's just that people I have come across have said they have done this for years, the torts have a bit of a quiet time when they are simply less active. I don't know if you'd call it semi-hibernating or what but they just let the torts do their own thing. They come out to eat and drink but much less often, maybe because they are not using energy. You get all kinds of people doing different things, lots of people don't even know that some torts do or don't hibernate. I think it's only a small percentage who get their info from websites like this one
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Old 20-10-2014, 08:09 PM   #16
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I have 14 Horsfields and they hibernate same as Sandy's in a greenhouse, but in shingle. They just stop eating, sleep more and then bury down when they want. Usually all at the same time and they pop up all on the same day. Clocks go back, tortoises wind down, up in March, sometimes earlier. I weigh prior and check weekly. One of my Spurs though is whizzing around in the rain because it is so warm. She isn't eating. That needs monitoring because the combination of cold and wet is lethal. You could try a mini pop up plastic greenhouse (very cheap on net) over the top when you know he is buried til Spring.
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Old 11-11-2014, 02:32 PM   #17
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I have no idea, it's just that people I have come across have said they have done this for years, the torts have a bit of a quiet time when they are simply less active. I don't know if you'd call it semi-hibernating or what but they just let the torts do their own thing. They come out to eat and drink but much less often, maybe because they are not using energy. You get all kinds of people doing different things, lots of people don't even know that some torts do or don't hibernate. I think it's only a small percentage who get their info from websites like this one
I have had Horace now for 5 years always kept him on the table during winter. Horace now does not want to eat just sleep. I bath him every day with Reptoboost. He really just wants to sleep. I am to scared I have to admit to hibernate him.
The temps in the night are 20c and during the day he is under his lamp 30c and room temp around 24c. But he only wants to sleep. I have had this for 5 years. So I don't worry, yes I do but come the warmer weather he is just great. Lets Hope it's the same this time
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Old 28-11-2014, 02:31 PM   #18
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I have had Horace now for 5 years always kept him on the table during winter. Horace now does not want to eat just sleep. I bath him every day with Reptoboost. He really just wants to sleep. I am to scared I have to admit to hibernate him.
The temps in the night are 20c and during the day he is under his lamp 30c and room temp around 24c. But he only wants to sleep. I have had this for 5 years. So I don't worry, yes I do but come the warmer weather he is just great. Lets Hope it's the same this time
Horace eat today, so long not eating. He just wants to sleep. I give him a bath every day with added BSP vitamin drops.
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Old 05-12-2014, 05:14 PM   #19
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Horace eat today, so long not eating. He just wants to sleep. I give him a bath every day with added BSP vitamin drops.
Great news, Horace is about, eating and well. No more sleeping all day.
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