Help wanted with hibernation of horsefields tortoise please

[karen3536]

Hi, can anyone give me some advice for my brother-in-law please! He has a horsefields tortoise aged a year and 4 months at the moment, and is planning to hibernate him in mid-November. He understands the hibernation process but is unsure of what weight the tortoise should ideally be at that time. If anyone has some advice could you please contact me. Thank you.

[Andy n Claire]

ye me 2 i have 3 horsfields one dunno how old other about 3 and other 7
think the youngests about 2

[den_bish]

Right I am sure that someone is going to shoot me down in flames but my vet told be not to hibernate my 1 year old tortoise this year as he was too small. He is 67g and 67mm long, she also said that not to hibernate him until he was about 100mm seeing as he is keep toasty warm indoors this isn't problem for me and obviously no where near breeding age so I have decided to overwinter him this year and see how we go.
Ok - I am ready for the back lash

[-EJ]

I don't see why you would expect a backlash on this list...

Hibernating your tortoise is a personal choice and it is well established that overwintering a tortoise will not harm the animal at all in either the short or long terms.

This is provided the tortoise is maintained under favorable conditions.

Ed

Originally Posted by den_bish

Right I am sure that someone is going to shoot me down in flames but my vet told be not to hibernate my 1 year old tortoise this year as he was too small. He is 67g and 67mm long, she also said that not to hibernate him until he was about 100mm seeing as he is keep toasty warm indoors this isn't problem for me and obviously no where near breeding age so I have decided to overwinter him this year and see how we go.
Ok - I am ready for the back lash

[HantsLex]

Can some one explain what overwintering a tortoise is please?

[Tina]

Originally Posted by den_bish

Right I am sure that someone is going to shoot me down in flames but my vet told be not to hibernate my 1 year old tortoise this year as he was too small. He is 67g and 67mm long, she also said that not to hibernate him until he was about 100mm seeing as he is keep toasty warm indoors this isn't problem for me and obviously no where near breeding age so I have decided to overwinter him this year and see how we go.
Ok - I am ready for the back lash

No back lash from me... I bought my first tort in winter and she wasn't hibernated. The other two, her sisters, who joined her in the spring were hibernated and I see no difference in them.

Originally Posted by HantsLex

Can some one explain what overwintering a tortoise is please?

Providing heat, light, food so the tortoise doesn't know it's winter so will not go into hibernation.


Oh, to answer the OP's question... one of my torts which was hibernated was only 37g when I got her in the Spring. As long as they're healthy and have consistenly put on weight during the summer then there's no reason not to hibernate if that's your choice.

[den_bish]

Originally Posted by Tina

No back lash from me... I bought my first tort in winter and she wasn't hibernated. The other two, her sisters, who joined her in the spring were hibernated and I see no difference in them.



Providing heat, light, food so the tortoise doesn't know it's winter so will not go into hibernation.


Oh, to answer the OP's question... one of my torts which was hibernated was only 37g when I got her in the Spring. As long as they're healthy and have consistenly put on weight during the summer then there's no reason not to hibernate if that's your choice.

Phew - that's a relief!!!

Does anyone have any comment or other info on wat my vet advised me re the size my tort should be before hibernating him?

[-EJ]

Overwintering is when you maintain the tortoises environmental conditions so that it continues to thrive throughout the winter.

Hibernating is when you allow the environmental conditions to drop below suboptimal conditions which forces the tortoises metabolism to slow down which, in turn, forces the tortoise into a kind of rest mode.

Ed

Originally Posted by HantsLex

Can some one explain what overwintering a tortoise is please?

[Grond]

It's up to you. Tortoises that would naturally hibernate in the wild do so in their first year but many people choose not to.

As mentioned above, if you can provide summer immitating conditions over winter it's fine and if you want to hibernate him it's fine.

[incrisis]

I was told by my vet and local reptile shop owner not to hibernate until they are about 4 or 5 years old, there was no mention of size weight though
I do think it is down to personal choice/confidence, as Ed said there is no evidence to suggest that not hibernating harms them in the short or long term.
The only thing that I have seen is that when they come out of hibernation it is the trigger for mating.

Originally Posted by den_bish

Phew - that's a relief!!!

Does anyone have any comment or other info on wat my vet advised me re the size my tort should be before hibernating him?