Hi everyone,
We got Jerry bout 4 - 5mths ago he is a 5 yr old Herman Tortoise,
when we bought him from reptile shop we was told that they dont need to hibernate. However im wondering if this is a load of rubbish, Jerry is about the size of my hand.
How do they hibernate? For how long? And when? What do u have to do before hibernation can anyone help with correct answer pls!!!!!!

You need to do a bit of reading up on the interenet im sure he sounds to small to hibernate. You normally go by there weight . It also depends on breed as some tortoise have the heating equipment and dont hibernate. Sorry cant help more. Google Herman tortoise hibernation. Should get some info on there.

Thanks Sullivan

I found the following on the interenet -


I've never done it before but my friend gave me these links to explain it better. Maybe these will help you as well.

Hibernation Tips
Tortoise Trust Web - 18 Essential Hibernation Hints
Hibernating Your Pet Tortoise : The Paw Blog




The links above are great ones, but I question the need to hibernate them.

Unless you are going to breed them, I don't think it's necessary. I had my Russian's for many years and never needed to hibernate them. With proper light and heat maintenance they do fine throughout the winter. You get the added bonus of their "companionship" for a full year, and you don't run the risks involved in a hibernation.

bob
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I agree with bob, unless you plan on breeding there isn't a need for hibernation. When you do hibernate it should only be done for tortoises that are in excellent health. You should take the tortoise to the vet for a check up first. After than it's a process of slowly moving the tortoise into hibernation. You have to slowly lower the temps and stop feeding. If you are not experienced I wouldn't try it.



I found these posts on Paw-talk - HomePage, Im still confused many people say different things and im aware if I hibernate Jerry wrong he may die!!! I have read many people saying do no hibernate!!!! No need if he is kept warm and fed, so I think I will leave it this yr as I dont feel I now what to do can anyone help

Hermans do Hibernate and should hibernate. it annoys the hell out of me the crap some petshops come out with.
make sure u use the correct method and prep and everything should be ok. PM me if u have any problems.

Here is what I have given to various people in the past.... This is what I do for my Hermann's:

Pick a date to start wind down, stop feeding torts from this date, but bathe daily, if they are hatchlings or juverniles do the heat and UV as following:
Heat and UV as normal for first 5 days
Heat and UV for 6 hours for the next 5 days
Heat and UV for 3 hours for the next 5 days
No heat or UV for the next 5 days, and have them in a cool room.
Then into the fridge

For older torts just change the 5 days to 7. If they are tinies then change the last couple of things to 3 days.

I use the fridge method. In the fridge I have a thermometer and I make sure the temp in the fridge is 5 degrees C, 2 is too low and 8 is too high! Some people use expensive thermometers, but mine is just a cheap fridge thermometer and has been fine for the last 4 years.

When my Hermann’s were tiny I put them into a small plastic box which had aubiose in it. That box then went into a bigger box, and between the two was foam of an inch or so thick. Both boxes had lids which weren’t airtight, but I used to open them every couple of days to let fresh air in anyway. Now they are a bit too big for the small box I put them both into the larger box which was filled with aubiose so they could dig down. But inside the box, at the end that would go near the back of the fridge I put foam, just to make sure it was extra insulated if it was knocked too close to the workings at the back.

Weigh the torts before they go into the fridge. For hatchlings I would weigh them every week or two once they are hibernating, do it in a cool room, or when the house is at it’s coolest so they don’t start to wake up. Bigger torts can be weighed less after the first couple of weeks. If they lose 10% of their body weight wake them up. If they wee also wake them up, but if they poo don’t worry about it. If their weight remains good then go for 12 weeks hibernation, some people do 14-16 for an adult tort.

Once your hibernation time is up remove the box from the fridge, take off the lid and leave the open box in a warm room. It may take a couple of hours but the torts should begin to appear at the top of the aubiose. After 2-3 hours I put the tort into their tort table close to the basking light (which is on!), but not right under the middle of it. After half an hour under the lamp I give them a warm bath for 20-30 minutes. That should really wake them up. If they have their eyes closed still when you put them in the warm water they probably won’t have when you get them out. Mine have always been fully awake after their bath, so I then just put them under the basking light and put a small amount of food in their normal place for them. Sometimes they will eat within minutes of having their bath, sometimes it take longer. If they are a bit sluggish a couple of hours later, you can always try bathing them again and then put them next to their food.

Another way I have woken mine up is : Remove box from fridge and take of lid. Put the box into a warm room for half and hour. After half an hour I take the torts out and put under their basking light, again not right under the middle of it, but to the side so they are not getting the full force of the heat. After half an hour there I bath them as I said before. And bingo they are awake!

Hope that helps, if you have any questions just ask

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Galaxybears Newfoundlands, GSD's and Cocker Spaniels

I was aware that they do hibernate but i was more worried that it wasnt big enough to go down. I was always told from a lady who owns 6 tortoise she waited till they were a certain weight before trying hibernation. So they could cope with going without food and not coming out of hibernation to early. Tortoise arent my subject thats why i thought it good to say read up on it first.Glad you are able to help as its not a pet ive kept my self. Although i do like them i wouldnt own one as i would worry about getting this bit right. Thanks

Torts are built to cope without food for quite some time, so long as they are kept hydrated they will be ok. That is why when you wind them down for hibernation they should be bathed everyday. There are alot of people who seem to think that a tort has to be a certain age or weight before they hibernate, but the truth is, they don't!! If they were in the wild and only a few days/weeks old they would still hibernate

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Galaxybears Newfoundlands, GSD's and Cocker Spaniels

Just shows that the info you get from other sources is not nessaryley correct. Glad you could help. And thanks for the info very interesting. They say you learn some thing every day. Thats why i like it on here. Teresa

This is a great link on Hibernation, it is my bible and a link I recommend to every first time hibernator.

Hibernation

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Thanks
Lea

http://www.vanityfurgrooming.co.uk/

Also for support, as the thought of hibernation is a scary one, even for experienced hibernators

http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/site/Welcome.html

sorry if links aren't alowed

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Thanks
Lea

http://www.vanityfurgrooming.co.uk/