Quote:
Originally Posted by siobhanc37
Hi all,
My tortoise is 4 years old and I think he's started to hibernate, (first time) I've been unsure what to do, and my mum told me to just leave him to his own devices which I've done for a couple of weeks but now I think i've gone wrong and don't know what to do. This is whats happened so far.
I'd been putting him out during the day while i was warmer and he was a little lethargic, but eating. When it cooled down I left him in his table during the day, he wasn't interested in coming out, but i was bringing him out and putting him in his basking spot, he'd hang round for a bit then go inside.
He didn't eat anything for a week or so, I asked my mum (she use to have a tortoise) and she said to leave him in his bed and see what he does. He has been moving around in his house, but mainly in his shell sleeping. It's been around 15-20 degrees C in his house for the past couple of weeks. I now realize he should be kept much cooler, is it to late to put him somewhere cooler? ie, shed outside?
Thanks in advance,
Siobhan
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Hi Siobhan,
If your tortoise has stopped eating, then he does still need to be kept warm to digest his food. Usually they do put themselves in a corner and sleep for days at this time of year but you still keep the heat lamps on. He may come out and have a feed, especially if the outside temps. change. I assume you now have him in a tortoise table?
If you want to hibernate your tortoise, has it been eating well over the summer? You need to measure and weigh him, to make sure he is up to hibernation; no illness or anything.
If everything is OK, then you can start a months run down to prepare for hibernation but as Danny said, I think we need to know a bit more about your setup before we can say for sure.