Tort losing weight

[carlyandbabies]

Hi, I have a 5 year old hermann. She is 10cm (shell) and has lost 10g of weight in the last 3 weeks ( she has gone down to 202g.) She has been slowing down herself, not seen her much and she has not been eating. I have to get her up and then she is active and fine but soon goes back to bed. She is still having her light and heating 12 hours a day as I didnt want to hibernate too early. Is this normal?
She will only eat if I hand feed but thought it was better to let her decided so have put food in but she doesnt touch it.
Please help us x

[annsimpson1]

is this your first hibernation? have you had the tort very long? if you've had it some time then do you keep weight records, if not they are well worth doing so as you then know if your tort is gaining ok and what its normal weight should be. They usually gain in the summer especially if they are outside or can help themselves but will loose weight during wind down but shouldn't go below the spring weight ( if that makes sense ) ie my torts weigh about 2200 grams before and after hibernation they'll gain maybe 200 grams through the summer then loose most of that in wind down but never go below the 2200 (they are fully grown ). If you'r going to hibernate your tort then as she's started winding down herself I'd carry on with it, she needs around 4 weeks of no food, but daily baths and starting with full light/heat gradually reducing it to none at the end of the four weeks when she can be boxed up and hibernated. At that age she can go for as long as its safe to do so, ie aim for a minimum of 8 weeks but if the tort is fine and not loosing weight or wee'd then let the hibernation carry on up to a max of 20 weeks or untill you wish to wake her. Daily checks, air exchange if using a fridge, and weigh her every so often if you keep it quick and its done in the cold she'll not wake, I personally think that keeping records for all the animals we have is a good idea especially weights for growing tortoises although you do get to know by feel when something is wrong.

[carlyandbabies]

Hi, I've not really kept weight records up until recently, but I will from now on. She was 160 grams in april so she has gained quite a bit through summer.
I've had her for almost a year and yes I do want to hibernating (not done it before.) Have been reading up on it was just worried as I didnt think they lost weight until they were hibernating.
Thank you, I will carry on. Im not going to feed her any more.I have been giving 3 baths a week but will do this daily now and hopefully she'll be ok and sound asleep soon!

[annsimpson1]

the weight loss is always in the wind down period not during hibernation, if you use your earlier weight as a guide (not a recent one) and your tort when its had its 4 weeks of no food weighs as much preferably more than that figure then you knows she's gained weight since you've had her and should be fine. I hope that makes sense, the weight loss is usually the amount of food and waste in the body not actual body fat but you still need to keep her bathed and alert just without the food, the idea is to encourage her to poo and get rid of everything so she's empty during hibernation, food left in the body will rot and can do harm. She also needs to have as much water on board to see her through the sleep hence the baths, it can take 4 weeks for waste to pass through the body.