Autumn wind down...or poorly?

[Rambotron]

Hi all,

Hopefully the following post will make sense, and you all have been so helpful during summer!

I rescued my tort on 1st Jan (in the middle of winter) so she was slow and sleepy. But she was also slow and sleepy because she was so undernourished and ill.

Shes had a great year so far and is doing really well but is still not healthy enough to hibernate.

So me and Irwin are heading into our first autumn together and shes starting slow down. But my mind immediately starts associating her being slow with being poorly! Because thats how she was during the colder months and im not sure I can tell the difference between poorly Irwin and autumn Irwin.

So basically im a worried mess but shes probably just on a normal wind down.

For example, her appetite has just like...bombed. She IS eating but not even half of what she did in summer. She's also being more picky with foods! Lambs lettuce used to be her fave and now she wont touch it shes even turned her nose up at dandelion recently! The only things she still gets excited over is raddacio and plantain.

So lets start with that? Like...what is the 'line' between just not as hungry due to the colder weather and actually not well?


Thanks in advance for any guidence you can throw my way!

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Rambotron

Hi all,

Hopefully the following post will make sense, and you all have been so helpful during summer!

I rescued my tort on 1st Jan (in the middle of winter) so she was slow and sleepy. But she was also slow and sleepy because she was so undernourished and ill.

Shes had a great year so far and is doing really well but is still not healthy enough to hibernate.

So me and Irwin are heading into our first autumn together and shes starting slow down. But my mind immediately starts associating her being slow with being poorly! Because thats how she was during the colder months and im not sure I can tell the difference between poorly Irwin and autumn Irwin.

So basically im a worried mess but shes probably just on a normal wind down.

For example, her appetite has just like...bombed. She IS eating but not even half of what she did in summer. She's also being more picky with foods! Lambs lettuce used to be her fave and now she wont touch it shes even turned her nose up at dandelion recently! The only things she still gets excited over is raddacio and plantain.

So lets start with that? Like...what is the 'line' between just not as hungry due to the colder weather and actually not well?


Thanks in advance for any guidence you can throw my way!

Personally if I took on a poorly tortoise at the beginning of the year, I would not hibernate them this year. I would try and keep them going, and if all is well, hibernate next year. As it can take tortoises a long time to recover properly.
But if a tortoise wants to hibernate, sometimes its hard to keep them up.
You need an extra light over the enclosure (as bright light keeps them going sometimes) And keep the heat going through out the day too.
Dont worry to much about them not eating, as we over feed our tortoise anyway. Bath more often and then feed your tortoise. And dont panic if she does not eat every day, and all the food.
Keep an eye on the weight, by weighing once a month. As long as your tortoise does not loose weight then its fine:0)

[Rambotron]

Thanks Sandy, just to clarify I have no plans to hibernate Irwin exactly for that reason .

I will try the daily baths, she definately eats more once shes warm from a soak! Thats a good idea thanks!

And i will try not to worry if she doesnt eat every day!

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Rambotron

Thanks Sandy, just to clarify I have no plans to hibernate Irwin exactly for that reason .

I will try the daily baths, she definately eats more once shes warm from a soak! Thats a good idea thanks!

And i will try not to worry if she doesnt eat every day!

Just remember they dont eat every day in the wild. As there is not always food for them to eat.

[Rambotron]

Okay so ive stopped worrying so much about her not eating quite as much, and feeding after a soak has certainly helped.

However...Now she is reeeeallly trying to hibernate im sure of it.

Everytime I move her to sit under her lamp shes scooting off again to hide under her 'log' shes not basking she just wants to sleep :/.

Her temps are the same as always (32c in basking spot with cooler areas up the other end) ive added extra lighting to trick her into thinking its summer but its not working.

Today I got a bit desperate and took away her log to encourage her to bask a bit (she still has plenty of cooler 'hiding' spots if she wants them). But she just dug down into the substrate.

I think im fighting a loosing battle because I dont want to stress the poor thing out by stopping her from hibernating (I ended up putting her log back) but shes not 100% strong enough to actually hibernate, im still having to give her Zolcal D daily via syringe.

Im not too sure what else I can do to keep her up, its only october. If im loosing now im definately going to be loosing by december lol.

I read somewhere that hibernation is triggered by UV levels more than temps, So im thinking a new bulb might help?

Any thoughts?

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Rambotron

Okay so ive stopped worrying so much about her not eating quite as much, and feeding after a soak has certainly helped.

However...Now she is reeeeallly trying to hibernate im sure of it.

Everytime I move her to sit under her lamp shes scooting off again to hide under her 'log' shes not basking she just wants to sleep :/.

Her temps are the same as always (32c in basking spot with cooler areas up the other end) ive added extra lighting to trick her into thinking its summer but its not working.

Today I got a bit desperate and took away her log to encourage her to bask a bit (she still has plenty of cooler 'hiding' spots if she wants them). But she just dug down into the substrate.

I think im fighting a loosing battle because I dont want to stress the poor thing out by stopping her from hibernating (I ended up putting her log back) but shes not 100% strong enough to actually hibernate, im still having to give her Zolcal D daily via syringe.

Im not too sure what else I can do to keep her up, its only october. If im loosing now im definately going to be loosing by december lol.

I read somewhere that hibernation is triggered by UV levels more than temps, So im thinking a new bulb might help?

Any thoughts?

Some times the need to hibernate is very strong in some tortoises, and it can become hard to stop them. But adding a really bright light as well as the heat can make it a lot easier to keep them up. But at the end of the day, the tortoise knows best:0)

[Steve Graffham]

My experience has taught me that generally once a tortoise goes into hibernation mode, there is very little one can do to stop it. In this situation, I would be inclined to provide a short hibernation period of maybe 4-6 weeks, as long as the weight is satisfactory. This will allow the tortoise to do what is natural and come out of hibernation refreshed and ready to start a new season.

[CherryBrandy]

just be careful - if you are syringing her daily then you need to factor this in during a wind down period - you then have to ask the question why are you syringing her daily. My advice is if in doubt at all don't hibernation - too much can go wrong if you don't know your tortoise is completely fit and healthy. CB

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Steve Graffham

My experience has taught me that generally once a tortoise goes into hibernation mode, there is very little one can do to stop it. In this situation, I would be inclined to provide a short hibernation period of maybe 4-6 weeks, as long as the weight is satisfactory. This will allow the tortoise to do what is natural and come out of hibernation refreshed and ready to start a new season.

I agree tortoises once in windown mode will carry on. Its near impossible to keep them up. And why go against their instincts.
But eight weeks should be the minimum, but weather outside might well keep them down anyway in January.

[Rambotron]

[IMG][/IMG]

I took Irwin to the vets who did some fecal tests etc just to rule anything bad out and Irwin was fine so she agreed it was probably just the weather.

However since then irwin has bow developed weird white marks on her plastron and im wondering if its some kind of fungal infection from staying still so much :/ poor tort has one problem after another. But i guess thats exactly to be expected from taking on a rescue who was so poorly to begin with. Ive attached a pic, does anyone have any ideas?