Baby tortoise trying to hibernate? Help!

[jamoncrumpets]

I have a year old Hermann's tortoise, who left the breeder to come to us in September.

He's a very healthy chap, and generally found clambering around in his enclosure climbing on all the plants/rocks. But the last two weeks we've noticed him sleeping more and more.

I don't think he's unwell, because we have been bathing him every other day and feeding him, and he's happily eating his favourite foods. But he then goes off to go back to sleep. Might wake up for an hour or two, have a sunbathe under his lamp, eat a few dandelions, then back off for a snooze

His lamp comes on automatically 7-7. He is still a baby so we know he will sleep a lot anyway, but I feel it's ramped up recently. His eyes are bright, he's passing urates and pooing like normal.

My gut says he's trying to hibernate, but isn't he too young? Should we persist with waking him up to bathe/feed or let him do his thing?

Put some reptoboost in his bath . This will perk him up

I have nothing to add, but would love to see a picture if him.

I would also like to see a picture.

oh no! I don´t know how to help you, sorry

i have a young Herman’s, apparently from what I’ve read, they would hibernate even from being tiny but I’d guess for a much shorter time than a big one would?
I haven’t dared hibernate ours yet, we’ve had him 2 years but there seems a complicated winding down procedure of reducing their food to zero for a while beforehand otherwise it will rot and poison them (I don’t know, do your research obviously 😂), and that you need to do a worm count etc etc, lots of prep.
I notice when our little fella would naturally be hibernating as he does sleep more and eat less.

Also there are lots of groups on Facebook for tortoise care if you’re interested. I don’t post as they’re quite viscous! But they can be incredibly informative. Dh bought ours from the garden centre and was basically given the worst information and equipment, they aren’t reptile specialists - they are just trying to flog stuff!!

I got my little Hermanns in May last year so this is our first winter with him. I read that you should have them at least a year so you know their behaviour before trying to hibernate.

Keep getting him under his light as that’s the most important thing, make sure his temps don’t go too low at night as this might be prompting him to sleep more. What temp do you have him at during the day?

Here he is with his favourite meal.

He stopped trying to hibernate around the shortest day and is awake most of the day now. While he was sleepy we made sure to give him a warm soak and a few dandelion leaves every day.

They can hibernate from their very first winter, so he’s just trying to do what comes naturally. It’s too late to wind him down now really so you need to overwinter him. Just up the ambient temps (radiator near his table) and keep the basking lamp on for 12 hours at 32c over the shell. That should keep him reasonably active. Bath him a couple of times a week and keep feeding him. Get him out in the garden as soon as spring comes but you’ll need heat lamps and a shelter, preferably a small greenhouse. Join the Facebook Tortoise hibernation Mediterranean species group and next year you can plan to start hibernating him.

Ps have a look at his diet as he should be living on weeds and flowers with calcium and nutrobal dusting. They also like to eat cuttlefish. Keep his soil damp with a couple of jugs of water poured in each week to help keep his shell nice.

I check his temps regularly @LionsandLambs and it's 24ish and 32 under the lamp.

He's fine now, active and eating. He was just trying to hibernate.

Perfect!

Oh haha! I didn’t realise this was from a few months ago, after posting I did think that it was quite late for hibernating!

Aww, I love him!