The Tortoise Table

Hi Nina / Lin
With great trepidation I've started Boris s wind down and he's on day 2. My first hibernation, his 30-40th.
He was eating less and less and managed just 2 sow thistle flowers on Wednesday so i decided to go for it. He's been reluctantly basking but then shuffles off into the dark and digs himself in to substrate under his towel within a couple of hours. If his head is covered he tolerates a little longer. Photo shows how he is at present.
Weighed him before bathing today and he was 605g. No wee but 2g of poo in bath then weighed him after bath and he was 608g!! I think I may have seen him having a secret drink, could this account for weight change?
Thanks
Teddy[attachment=0]20201030_135952_resized.jpg[/attachment]

Well done. Boris will teach you all you need to know. Follow his lead as you are doing.
That photo is so comical, his little towel over him.
I wouldn't worry about his before hibernation (during wind down) weight, as long as you start to record weights weekly once in the fridge is what is important.
Is he going to take the towel with him in the land of nod? Bless he is awsome.

Lin

Thanks for the reassurance Lin. He has a selection of towels or bits of towels, probably about 8 altogether.
Some are already in his hibernation box in his cooler waiting for him, along with some substrate for him to dig down in, towels on top.
I think he s a hardy little soul and I'm sure if he could talk he'd be telling me to stop faffing about. But he's so precious I can't help worrying I might get something wrong.
Roll on end of January then I'll be much happier xx

Aww, such a lovely photo -- and I agree with Lin that he will probably educate you in the ways of winding down and hibernating. How long are you winding him down for, and are you keeping a record of the diminishing hours of light and heat during wind down? I agree with Lin that the most important records are the ones of his weight once he is actually in hibernation, but I think that records of weight during winddown are important too, and I think you do want to monitor how much weight he loses during wind down, so I would record that as well.

Nina

Thanks Nina, I'm using a wind down record based on the one you shared of one of Doris's wind downs, really useful and has given me some 'structure' to work with, especially having notes of your observations for Doris.
Just put his light on and he's awake but prefers to keep his head under his towel. From speaking with his previous owner, I think he would have been tucked away hibernating by now so i hope he's not too grumpy with me!

So glad it's been useful! I'm struggling to keep mine awake too, so will start winding them down as soon as I make the chart for this year (project for today!).

Nina

I made yours into a template if you want me to share?

Lol, feel free!

Nina

Ah, seemed like a good idea but its not letting me attach a Word document or a .pdf file so I am a bit flummoxed!

I'll email it to you Nina
Teddy

[attachment=0]Wind Down Chart copy.jpg[/attachment]

Thanks Lin

Thanks from me too, Lin. That looks great! I've printed off the .pdf you sent me and am going to use yours instead of my hand-drawn ones this year. Thanks, Debbie!

Nina

You're both welcome.