Thread to discuss THE hibernating issue

[ziggy's owner]

Lol @ rach I can just see that lol, a tort waiting for a fridge lol

[yuna1971]

Originally Posted by skildpadde

No they haven't got fridges in the wild.... just as there are no Megarays, solarglos, ceramic heaters or habistat thermostats in the wild

Mette

Absolutely right Mette.
Just having a little light heartedness....that is all. xx

[kreacher]

I can see the points being made are relevant however it will not change my mind that it is necessary...my local reptile shop who are very good friends breed tortoises on a yearly basis for the last ten years...they do not hibernate any of their med species so I cannot aggree that it affects the fertility of these animals...they have 14 breeding pairs of meds and never fail to have healthy hatchlings so to me that does not add up...there diet, as with kreachers, is controlled all year so they do not over eat and grow to quickly...a tortoise in the wild will not Consciously think I need to hibernate because I need to stop growing and help my fertility system! They hibernate because it is cold and if they don't they will die! If it is not cold they do not hibernate which is proof in itself that they only do it purely to try and survive cold weather...without the cold weather it is not necessary for them to do it therefore they don't!

[yuna1971]

http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/for...ad.php?t=38225
This thread shows a tortoise that was kept for 38 years and was never hibernated. He doesnt seem to show any pyramidding. Nor was his diet, before Helen got him, very good...yet look at him. Its a very interresting thread, along with this one!
For the record, I overwinter Lily and my reasons (for which I have explained before in greater detail on other hibernation threads) are the same as Kreacher. This is what I do and it works for me and Lily. xx

[swad1000]

Big difference between necessary and best. Lots of things aren't necessary like diet and exercise in people, but its better for us to eat right and exercise.

[kreacher]

They obviously no it is not necessary, even though they would do it in the wild, because otherwise kreacher would instictively know it is 'good' for her and do it without my intervention...

[ziggy's owner]

My temps ain't changed and my 13 tortoises are still eating and active also I have my bed room window open and are still active

[swad1000]

Originally Posted by kreacher

They obviously no it is not necessary, even though they would do it in the wild, because otherwise kreacher would instinctively know it is 'good' for her and do it without my intervention...

Thats like saying that dogs wouldn't eat chocolate as its a poison to them, as they'd instinctively know its bad for them. Feed a dog chocolate it will eat it.

Keep the heats up a tort won't hibernate, feed it the wrong diet it will eat it.

By keeping it in captivity you have interfered with its natural life cycle, its up to you then whether you chose to give it back what it would naturally have, but don't try to say it will do it instinctively regardless with out your intervention.

[Alan1]

The thing is, I don't use heat lamps etc because it replicates the wild because it obviously doesn't. I use them because they are the best thing available for the torts to survive in captivity in the UK. For those who say they hibernate their torts because they want to replicate what they do in the wild, then why stick them in a fridge which is nothing like the wild? Why not do it in soil which is what they do in the wild? If you want to hibernate a tort in the fridge why not just say I do it because it's easier rather than saying it replicates the wild?

[ziggy's owner]

Well said alan