Tortoise Hibernation
Jane Williams BSc PGCE MA DipCABaC MSc
Full member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors www.athenae.co.uk
Get your tortoise ready for hibernation by:
- Making sure it is a species which naturally hibernates
- Giving a Vet check
- Weighing in grams – monthly weight checks are a good way to make sure your tortoise is healthy
- Measuring straight shell length in millimetres
- Comparing weight and length on Bone ratio (see the following web site for details of how to compare tortoise shell length with weight for a safe hibernation weight range: http://www.tortoiseclub.org/CareSheets/ Hibernation%20in%20Mediterranean%20Tortoises.pdf )
- Giving regular warm baths to allow full hydration before hibernation
- Stopping feeding for 3-4 weeks before hibernation to ensure the guts are empty which prevents unwanted bacterial action and gas production during hibernation
- Expect your tortoise to hibernate without help e.g. outside in the garden
- Hibernate an underweight Tortoise
- Let him hibernate in the garden
- Hibernate your tortoise if it has been ill, has a runny nose, or any lumps or wounds
- Hibernate your female tortoise if you know she has eggs
- Leave everything to chance – tortoises do not naturally live in the UK – the climate here is unsuitable for them without human support
- Without their owner’s help, tortoises are unlikely to survive hibernation unsupervised in a garden in most parts of the UK
- Choose a safe place which is frost-free and safe from rodents
- Put the tortoise inside a strong cardboard box, large enough for her to turn around in.
- Put this box inside another wooden box, for extra insulation and protection.
- Do not seal the box.
- Use polystyrene chips or shredded paper
- Use the loft or a wooden shed – the temperature fluctuations will be too great – freezing is very likely
- Use hay or straw around the tortoise – both contain many fungal spores and bacteria which may be harmful to the tortoise if breathed in
- Choose a place with suitable temperatures - Between 3 and 10ºC – ideally around 5 ºC
- Use a maximum-minimum thermometer to check the temperature every day
- Alternatively use a fridge set at 5 ºC – much the best option for temperature control and safety
- Open the fridge door regularly to allow air exchange
- Allow the temperature to fall below 3 ºC for more than 24 hours – the temperature must stay above 3 ºC otherwise the tortoise will start to freeze
- Allow the temperature to rise above 10ºC – the tortoise will start to wake up
- Check your tortoise’s weight each month. You can do this without waking him. He should not lose more than 1% of his weight in one month. A 1000g Tortoise should not lose more than 10g in one month.
- Wake your tortoise up after a maximum of 6 - 8 weeks. Often hibernation is only 6 - 8 weeks in the wild. Small/young tortoises may only need 3 - 4 weeks asleep
- Do not put the Tortoise back into hibernation after he wakes up. The tortoise can only cope with one hibernation in any given year
- Do not keep the tortoise in hibernation if he urinates – this indicates all is not well – wake the tortoise up and support him in a warm vivarium/tortoise table for the rest of the winter