My tortoise is just over two years old, I haven't had its lights on for a while and I have been told I shouldn't put them on now he hasn't had them on. Is that right?

Hiya,

Are you thinkng of winding your tortoise down for hibernation please?


Kindest Regards

Darren

You are not supposed to hibernate them until they are 5, is that right? I am getting so confused. I don't know what I should be doing at the min. Should I keep the heat lamp and uv on or off? Or should I leave him?? Thanks

Hiya,

No wonder you're confused:-(
If you decide to hibernate then switching off the lghts and leaving him in his enclosure indoors won't work at all as they need to be in a temperature range of ideally 3-8 deg. I'm guessing he's indoors and there is no way your house is that cold:-)

May I start with a few questions please:-
Where did you get your advice from?
What sort of enclosure is he/she in?
How old is your tortoise?
How long have you had your tortoise?
Where did you get your tortoise? (eg petshop)
What species is your tortoise?
What are you feeding your tortoise?


Sorry for so many questions, it's always best to have as much information together as possible before offering any advice....hope you don't mind?:-)

Kindest Regards
Darren

He is in a table top enclosure, he is 2 years old . I got him in the summer, direct from the breeder. He its lettuce and things with a supplement sprinkled on top. I have done lots of research but I have found a lot of things that contradict eachother and now I am completly confused

Sorry, may I just chgeck what species he is please?

Sorry,hermanns

Hiya,

Sorry for the ate reply. You have two choices; to hibernate or not. If you devide not to hibernate, then you need to keep him warm with the lights on.

If you decide to hibernate you need to ensure he is fit to do so, he needs to have a period of time without food and set up a hibernation environment, be it a fridge or a cool area (ideally between 3 & 7 degrees). He won't hibernate in his tortoise table indoors. It will be too warm to hibernate and too cool to fanction propery without a basking light.

If you decide to hibernate, here are some links which will hopefully help:-

http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/78.asp

Here is a link that will help to check if he is up to weight:-

http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/169.asp

HTHG
Kindest Regards

Darren

Sorry about all the typos - I have a slight keyboard problem:-)