My hibernation experience

Kenneth · 13-12-2010, 07:56 AM

Sept 15th.
Had decided to take my two Eastern Hermanns indoors. We had quite a few cloudy days and night-temperature dropped to 10 degrees C.
Weight: 248 and 123 grams.

Sept 21st
Although I increased temperature and light in their indoor enclosure, the animals refused to eat.
Instead, they produced large amounts of manure and droppen weight rapidly.
Weight: 191 and 111 gram.
The largest animal dropped 57 grams.. 23% weightloss.
The smallest animal dropped 12 grams.. approx 12% weightloss.

Looking at the weightloss of the biggest animal and eating refusal, I couldn't keep it awake for much longer. Since they produced so much manure, I figured they pretty much emptied their digestive systems. This hibernation will be their second. The animals hatched somewhere in August 2008. Last year they hibernated for the first time for a period of 6 weeks.

Sept 22nd
After having spent the night in a non-heated bedroom, the animals were put in a specially prepared refridgerator. A few waterbottles, filled with water were placed in the fridge, to act as a temperature-buffer whenever the door is opened. Temperature is set to 4,5 degrees C.
The animals hibernate in a plastic box, filled with moist beech soil.
Largest animal: 191 grams.
Smallest animal: 108 grams. Dropped 3 grams.

Sept 29th
1 week hibernation has passed.
I weigh the animals once every week, to monitor weightloss.
Up to 8% weightloss during hibernation is accepted (in our European vision that is

).
Since my largest animal lost over 20% bodyweight during the winding down periode, I personally decreased that acceptable percentage to a max of 5%
Largest animal: 190 grams; 1 gram weightloss.
Smallest animal: 107 grams; 1 gram weightloss.

Oct 6th
2 weeks hibernation have passed.
Temperatures fluctuate between 3,2 and 4,8 degrees C.
Largest animal: 191 grams; 1 gram weightgain.
Smallest animal: 107 grams, weight remains stable.
Some urates were spotted on the cloaca of the biggest animal, so I had to conclude that she had been urinating. Because of the stability of her weight, I decided not to wake her.

Oct 13th
3 weeks hibernation have passed.
Largest animal: 188 grams; 3 grams weightloss (being 1.6%)
Smallest animal: 106 grams; another 1 gram weightloss (1.8% since the beginning of hibernation)

Oct 20th
1 month hibernation has passed.
Largest animal: 189 grams.
Smallest animal: 107 grams.

Oct 27th
5 weeks hibernation have passed.
Largest animal: 191 grams.
Smallest animal: 107 grams.

As I noticed that the beech substrate was becoming a bit dry, I used some of the water of one of the bottles to wet the substrate.
After that, I placed both torts back inside and covered them again with a layer of moist soil.

Nov 9th.
7 weeks hibernation have passed.

Since their weight pretty much remains stable, I decided to change the once-every-week check-up to once-every-two-weeks.
Temperature still fluctuates between 3,2 and 4,5 degreeds C.
Largest animal: 191 grams.
Smallest animal: 107 grams.

Nov 23rd
9 weeks hibernation have passed.
Largest animal: 191 grams.
Smallest animal: 107 grams.

Dec 5th
11 weeks hibernation have passed.
Since I had a few days off from work, I decided to wake my girls.
Looking at their weights, I concluded they have lost no more than 1.4% bodyweight during hibernation. However, the biggest animal lost more weight during the alternative "winding down" period then I would've wanted.

I gave both girls a bath.. the smallest animal urinated after a few minutes.

Dec 6th
1 day "awake" after having slept for 11 weeks.
The animals both have been eating from the endive and chicory I gave them.
Both vegetables had been supplemented with additional fibers and a vitamine/calcium powder.
I also gave them a few dandelion leaves from a small plant I tried to grow indoors.
Both animals drink and urinate when given a bath.

Dec 10th
4 days awake after hibernation.
Largest animal: 238 grams.
47 grams weightgain, since being woken from hibernation. Only 7 grams below her weight before winding her down...

Smallest animal: 118 grams.
11 grams weightgain since being woken from hibernation. Only 5 grams below her weight before winding down.

Conclusion:
The total weightloss from winding down and hibernation has almost completely been regained during these first 4 days.

Pussygalore · 13-12-2010, 08:06 AM

can I ask why you chose to hibernate so early in the year as the worst of the weather etc is always much later? I always think if your'e doing a short hibernation then its easier to have the torts asleep, dec/jan/feb and march.

Kenneth · 13-12-2010, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pussygalore

can I ask why you chose to hibernate so early in the year as the worst of the weather etc is always much later? I always think if your'e doing a short hibernation then its easier to have the torts asleep, dec/jan/feb and march.

I chose to hibernate that early because of their rapid loss of bodyweight.

It was my plan to keep them in their indoor enclosure for the next couple of months and indeed have them sleep from dec 'til feb/march.
However.. from the moment they had been put in their indoor enclosure, they produced lots of manure but refused to eat and stay inactive (just like the behaviour they displayed in their outdoor enclosure when the conditions became "less ideal"... they dug in and stayed under their tile for several days.. became very inactive.. stopped eating.. decreased their basking frequency).

So despite of the increased housing conditions (outdoors --> indoors), the animals still continued to display "winding down" behaviour.

When the biggest female eventually lost up to 23% of her bodyweight (in just a few days), I had to take immediate action. I know that up to 25% of a Hermanns bodyweight consist of its intestal contents, but I concider such weightloss anything but ideal.

So therefor I decided to speed everything up and have them hibernate much earlier then planned, in order to prevent additional weightloss, torts becoming weak and eventually a possible visit to the nearest vet.

So even though the hibernation itself went without any problems, the period prior to hibernation / winding down didn't went anything like I planned / wanted.

Pussygalore · 13-12-2010, 10:58 AM

are they eating well now? or is the behaviour the same as before hibernation, with such a long time ahead before spring I hope they do well. I have two adult Ibera that dictate to me when they hibernate but they are good big torts and hardly loose anything when asleep so I can leave them for much longer. They had 19 weeks last year with a loss of about 50grms each on animals weighing around 2200-2300grms, they are checked daily and weighed monthly but wouldn't do well if awake and inside. I doubt I'd be able to keep them up and eating especially the female who's in her 40's and was probably wc orriginally. They both stop eating around september and there's not a lot I can do about it.

Kenneth · 13-12-2010, 12:50 PM

Yes, they're eating very well and are pretty active.

**Alan1** · 13-12-2010, 01:32 PM

Will they not just do the same thing again though (wind down) with it being 4 months to spring?

Kenneth · 13-12-2010, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caledonia

Will they not just do the same thing again though (wind down) with it being 4 months to spring?

Have you ever heard of such a thing?

**Alan1** · 13-12-2010, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenneth

Have you ever heard of such a thing?

Well the only one I heard of was Kelly's (Stells') Horsfield which had dug down outdoors then some months later resurfaced in slightly warmer weather and had eaten and ended up digging down again when it became colder again

Kenneth · 13-12-2010, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caledonia

Well the only one I heard of was Kelly's (Stells') Horsfield which had dug down outdoors then some months later resurfaced in slightly warmer weather and had eaten and ended up digging down again when it became colder again

Ah.. I get it.
Yes.. true... there have been reports of this phenomenon over here in The Netherlands / Belgium as well.

My torts have been hibernating in a fridge though and are currently in a tort table in a heated bedroom.
With al the (artificial) heat and light, I don't think they will be winding down again.
In addition... dec 21st is the shortest day of the year.. So theoretically, the animals will notice that the days are becoming longer from that moment on... So I think that that won't be triggering a wind down either.

TortBabe · 13-12-2010, 02:15 PM

I'm glad it all went well for you they are lovely tortoises

13-12-2010, 07:56 AM	#1
Kenneth Junior Member Egg Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 45	My hibernation experience Sept 15th. Had decided to take my two Eastern Hermanns indoors. We had quite a few cloudy days and night-temperature dropped to 10 degrees C. Weight: 248 and 123 grams. Sept 21st Although I increased temperature and light in their indoor enclosure, the animals refused to eat. Instead, they produced large amounts of manure and droppen weight rapidly. Weight: 191 and 111 gram. The largest animal dropped 57 grams.. 23% weightloss. The smallest animal dropped 12 grams.. approx 12% weightloss. Looking at the weightloss of the biggest animal and eating refusal, I couldn't keep it awake for much longer. Since they produced so much manure, I figured they pretty much emptied their digestive systems. This hibernation will be their second. The animals hatched somewhere in August 2008. Last year they hibernated for the first time for a period of 6 weeks. Sept 22nd After having spent the night in a non-heated bedroom, the animals were put in a specially prepared refridgerator. A few waterbottles, filled with water were placed in the fridge, to act as a temperature-buffer whenever the door is opened. Temperature is set to 4,5 degrees C. The animals hibernate in a plastic box, filled with moist beech soil. Largest animal: 191 grams. Smallest animal: 108 grams. Dropped 3 grams. Sept 29th 1 week hibernation has passed. I weigh the animals once every week, to monitor weightloss. Up to 8% weightloss during hibernation is accepted (in our European vision that is ). Since my largest animal lost over 20% bodyweight during the winding down periode, I personally decreased that acceptable percentage to a max of 5% Largest animal: 190 grams; 1 gram weightloss. Smallest animal: 107 grams; 1 gram weightloss. Oct 6th 2 weeks hibernation have passed. Temperatures fluctuate between 3,2 and 4,8 degrees C. Largest animal: 191 grams; 1 gram weightgain. Smallest animal: 107 grams, weight remains stable. Some urates were spotted on the cloaca of the biggest animal, so I had to conclude that she had been urinating. Because of the stability of her weight, I decided not to wake her. Oct 13th 3 weeks hibernation have passed. Largest animal: 188 grams; 3 grams weightloss (being 1.6%) Smallest animal: 106 grams; another 1 gram weightloss (1.8% since the beginning of hibernation) Oct 20th 1 month hibernation has passed. Largest animal: 189 grams. Smallest animal: 107 grams. Oct 27th 5 weeks hibernation have passed. Largest animal: 191 grams. Smallest animal: 107 grams. As I noticed that the beech substrate was becoming a bit dry, I used some of the water of one of the bottles to wet the substrate. After that, I placed both torts back inside and covered them again with a layer of moist soil. Nov 9th. 7 weeks hibernation have passed. Since their weight pretty much remains stable, I decided to change the once-every-week check-up to once-every-two-weeks. Temperature still fluctuates between 3,2 and 4,5 degreeds C. Largest animal: 191 grams. Smallest animal: 107 grams. Nov 23rd 9 weeks hibernation have passed. Largest animal: 191 grams. Smallest animal: 107 grams. Dec 5th 11 weeks hibernation have passed. Since I had a few days off from work, I decided to wake my girls. Looking at their weights, I concluded they have lost no more than 1.4% bodyweight during hibernation. However, the biggest animal lost more weight during the alternative "winding down" period then I would've wanted. I gave both girls a bath.. the smallest animal urinated after a few minutes. Dec 6th 1 day "awake" after having slept for 11 weeks. The animals both have been eating from the endive and chicory I gave them. Both vegetables had been supplemented with additional fibers and a vitamine/calcium powder. I also gave them a few dandelion leaves from a small plant I tried to grow indoors. Both animals drink and urinate when given a bath. Dec 10th 4 days awake after hibernation. Largest animal: 238 grams. 47 grams weightgain, since being woken from hibernation. Only 7 grams below her weight before winding her down... Smallest animal: 118 grams. 11 grams weightgain since being woken from hibernation. Only 5 grams below her weight before winding down. Conclusion: The total weightloss from winding down and hibernation has almost completely been regained during these first 4 days.

13-12-2010, 02:15 PM	#10
TortBabe Senior Member Adult Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 6,919	I'm glad it all went well for you they are lovely tortoises __________________ Busy Mum to ~ 2 Kids, 2 Yorkies, 1 Horsfield, 6 Hermanns, 2 Iberas, 6 Tunisians, 2 Indian Stars and 2 Pancakes

13-12-2010, 08:06 AM	#2
Pussygalore Senior Member Adult Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cambridge Posts: 6,479	can I ask why you chose to hibernate so early in the year as the worst of the weather etc is always much later? I always think if your'e doing a short hibernation then its easier to have the torts asleep, dec/jan/feb and march.

13-12-2010, 10:58 AM	#4
Pussygalore Senior Member Adult Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cambridge Posts: 6,479	are they eating well now? or is the behaviour the same as before hibernation, with such a long time ahead before spring I hope they do well. I have two adult Ibera that dictate to me when they hibernate but they are good big torts and hardly loose anything when asleep so I can leave them for much longer. They had 19 weeks last year with a loss of about 50grms each on animals weighing around 2200-2300grms, they are checked daily and weighed monthly but wouldn't do well if awake and inside. I doubt I'd be able to keep them up and eating especially the female who's in her 40's and was probably wc orriginally. They both stop eating around september and there's not a lot I can do about it.

13-12-2010, 12:50 PM	#5
Kenneth Junior Member Egg Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 45	Yes, they're eating very well and are pretty active.

13-12-2010, 01:32 PM	#6
Alan1 Super Moderator Adult Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Sunny Scotland Posts: 21,512	Will they not just do the same thing again though (wind down) with it being 4 months to spring?

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