Hibernation for a Hermann's tortoise

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Fieldmouse48
Posts: 6
Joined: 19 May 2018, 22:31

Hibernation for a Hermann's tortoise

Post by Fieldmouse48 » 19 May 2018, 23:01

Hi

I live in New Zealand and this is my first post

We were given a 4 yr old Hermann's Tortoise in Dec 2016. Her name is Saffron (because Saffron is expensive and so was she :lol: )
She had never been hibernated before, so we hibernated her for the first time in June 2017 (Winter in NZ). She weighed 308 gm when she stopped feeding and 297 gm when she went into a cooler. She had to be bought out 3 weeks later because the cooler door was accidentally left open and the temperature rose too high. She weight 292 gm when she woke up.

It is now early winter, but we live in a more temperate part of NZ and we are still getting warm temperatures (22 degree C today), so it is not time yet. She has now grown to 530 gm

My question is, does the overall allowable weight loss include the non-feeding time?

Thanks

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Nina
Posts: 2003
Joined: 16 Mar 2017, 11:22

Re: Hibernation for a Hermann's tortoise

Post by Nina » 20 May 2018, 07:50

Hi Fieldmouse (sorry, I don't know your name).

Congratulations on getting Saffron (lovely name!). The overall weight loss allowed used to be 10% of body weight in the actual hibernation itself (so not including the winding down/not eating period). Most people now agree on a lower percentage of, say, 5%, as this will allow for some of the weight lost in winding down as well. I think Saffron did well last year, even with only three weeks, which is great. How long a period winding down period did you give her? I would say that for a tortoise of that weight that three weeks of not eating would be adequate.

She does seem to have grown very quickly in the last year (200g is a huge amount to gain in a year), and you might need to monitor her food intake a bit, as if tortoises grow too quickly they can develop 'bumpy' shells, which can lead to metabolic bone disease. We try to aim for slow steady growth, and a rough guide is a weight gain on average of between 1g - 4g per month (and the average includes their time in hibernation). It is only an average, and some months they will gain a lot more than that and some month less, but it's something to aim at. Mine have just binged on eating things outdoors this year and have gained far more than they should, so I will be looking to restrict their food intake a bit.

The thing with tortoises is that in the wild they live in areas that tend to be hot and dry in the summer, where vegetation can be scarce, and they are in competition with other animals for available food, so they walk long distances and eat less. In captivity we present them with lush meals every day and they can easily grow too quickly, so we sometimes need to ensure that they have less food available to eat and grow more slowly. If Saffron's shell is nice and smooth and the individual scutes are not raised then she is doing fine, but I would just keep an eye on how quickly she is growing.

Nina

Fieldmouse48
Posts: 6
Joined: 19 May 2018, 22:31

Re: Hibernation for a Hermann's tortoise

Post by Fieldmouse48 » 21 May 2018, 04:41

Hi Nina

Thanks for your valuable advice. My name is Graeme and my wife is Judy.

I think the reason for the growth was that previously she was probably not fed the variety of food that we give her. We have a small garden devoted for just her plants and weeds. There was a corresponding growth in her length from 113 cm to 130 cm.

Last year we only wound down for two weeks which we have already realised was not enough. We were aiming for 3 weeks this year, so it is good to get confirmation of that. There is a little bit of shell damage, but that was evident when we got her. There is nothing since.

We have two setups for her.

One is outside, but as I said we live in a more temperate area of NZ and there were times last summer where her outside heat lamp never ever came on. She will go straight from that to the fridge for hibernation provided our crazy weather cools down a bit to encourage her to stop eating.

I am just finishing the other which is in the garage with all the appropriate heating. This is for emergencies and for a moth or two after hibernation before it is time to put her outside.

I will post pictures soon

Fieldmouse48
Posts: 6
Joined: 19 May 2018, 22:31

Re: Hibernation for a Hermann's tortoise

Post by Fieldmouse48 » 21 May 2018, 07:22

Sorry, that should be mm not cm :oops:

She's not that big

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Nina
Posts: 2003
Joined: 16 Mar 2017, 11:22

Re: Hibernation for a Hermann's tortoise

Post by Nina » 21 May 2018, 07:31

Hi Graeme and Judy,

Well, it sounds to me like she is fit and well and has been very lucky to have found a home with you, and that her set-ups are really good! I'm looking forward to seeing photos of them.

If she is outside when you are winding her down, can you be sure that she doesn't eat anything during the winding down period (e.g. does she have access to plants there)? The only reason I ask is that tortoises shouldn't go into hibernation with food in their stomachs, as that can produce toxic gases which can harm them. It's OK if tortoise go into hibernation with food in their gut (and sometimes you notice that they have even done a poo during hibernation), but not in their stomach. It is important that a tortoise is well hydrated before they go into hibernation though, so giving them warm baths throughout the winding down period encourages them to drink.

I think she will be fine, and it sounds like she is in good hands.

Nina

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