"Hibernation" teaches you how to make your Herman (and other European tortoises) hibernate

Reprinted from Baidu Library, the original text has no provenance, if there is infringement, trouble contact me to delete, thank you.

Hermann tortoises are representative of the Mediterranean tortoises that need to hibernate, and these tortoises already have the gene of natural hibernation in their bodies.

Turtles that need hibernation every year can ensure that the turtles will not eat every day, 365 days a year. This is to encourage the slow natural growth of such tortoises. Artificially warming, keeping the turtle awake throughout the year, will and increase the intake of food in excess, exceeding the safe amount by a lot, which will lead to abnormal growth and cause metabolic bone disease, resulting in a terribly cloudy turtle shell (bulge). This will also bring heavy kidney system work, so urine production increases, leading to liver, kidney overtime work, may lead to bladder stones and other problems, and eventually early death.

Therefore, if you want to have a healthy Herman turtle, make sure your Herman (Egyptian tortoise, warped edge. etc.) hibernation.

Newly hatched Herman seedlings can also hibernate.

How to hibernate properly?

For most new and inexperienced European tortoise keepers, hibernation: is a very frightening, panicked, fearful and overwhelming thing to do, very afraid of accidentally hibernating turtles "sleeping".

So I looked for many domestic and foreign articles about turtle hibernation, sorted out such a post, hoping to share with all turtle friends, communicate and instill a complete concept and process of hibernation.

I'll send this article out first, and I'll slowly add up the figures one by one, hoping to help turtle lovers who raise European tortoises.

The benefits of hibernating tortoises that need to hibernate far outweigh the inconvenience of preparing for hibernation, or the dangers that hibernation may bring.

Now is the best time to consider and prepare for hibernation for the love turtle, and the hibernation of the tortoise can be divided into several periods as follows:

1. Preparation period before hibernation.

2. When and how to hibernate.

3. Common mistakes.

4. Your tortoise hibernates and wakes up from hibernation. 1. Preparation period before hibernation.

It must be mentioned that when the tortoise goes dormant, there is no food that should remain in the turtle's stomach.

In order to ensure that the turtle's stomach is completely empty, it is crucial to keep the turtle hungry during the preparation period and to make the turtle's stomach empty during the hibernation period. The length of the starvation period and hibernation period of the turtle depends on the age of the hibernating turtle.

What I learned was not to let juvenile turtles hibernate for more than 8 weeks, nor to hibernate adult turtles for more than 20 weeks. Here is a guide to the length of hibernation.

Dating Period Hibernation Period

The first winter after incubation 14 days up to 8 weeks

The second winter is 18 days 8 weeks

The third winter is 20 days 8 weeks

The fourth winter 22 days 12 weeks

Fifth winter 26 days 16 weeks

Six winters after 28 days up to 20 weeks

If all goes well in hibernation, the turtle doesn't lose much weight, then you can go home for the New Year, travel, etc., and let him hibernate a little longer.

Tortoises in the preparatory period for hibernation are not given any food. It's very, very important. But maintain a normal water supply so that the turtle has enough water in its body. You can give the turtle a bath every other day to moisturize your turtle, which also encourages it to empty its intestines. I recommend bathing 1 to 3 year old turtles every day.

The preparatory period for hibernation should also be divided into 4 stages.

The first phase of phase 1 begins with a normal length of daylight and temperature throughout the day, not until the day has begun and the temperature has dropped. It is almost the same as daylight saving time. This will allow their digestive system to work adequately, so any food they have recently eaten can pass normally through their digestive system. You may find that your tortoises will move a little slower, compared to the speed at which they are active in the summer.

Stage 2 Stage 2 You have to keep the temperature almost the same as Stage 1, but you can slowly lower the temperature. Therefore, you should put the heating/UVA lights on, slowly turn on a little later in the morning and turn off a little earlier in the evening. This simulates the length of a day becoming shorter. Sun lamps for drying can be dispensed with.

Stage 3 Stage 3, you will find that your turtle is coming out of his hiding place less and less. After completely leaving the sun lamps that provide sunbathing points, just use the ambient heater/lamp for heating, if there is a central heating system in your home or house, that's fine. However, I hope that the heating of your home is not above 25 degrees.

Stage 4 at the beginning of Stage 4 should reject any ambient background heater/lamp, even if there is also, just to the minimum temperature (no more than ten degrees). So where should the hibernating box be placed? Turtle friends in different parts of the country, I can not recommend.

You may find that your turtle doesn't come out anymore and barely moves. This is the end of this final stage, when your beloved turtle takes a final bath before hibernation (the water temperature must not be too warm to stimulate Herman's awakening), and pay attention to whether the turtle has excrement during this soaking water? If so, you'll have to wait a few more days. Soak in water and rinse to make sure it dries thoroughly.

Place the tortoises ready for hibernation in the box/box you have prepared for their hibernation, and then place the box in a cool place, such as an unheated room or a safe outhouse (no threat of cats, dogs, or rodents), and the temperature outside the house must not be below freezing (below zero degrees).

It is best to record the body length and weight of the turtle before hibernation.

The following are the recommended lengths for the four phases of the preparatory period:

Age of the turtle Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4

Early winter 4 days 4 days 4 days 2 days

2 winter 5 days 5 days 5 days 3 days

Three winters 5 days 5 days 5 days 5 days

Four winters 6 days 6 days 6 days 4 days

Five winters 7 days 7 days 6 days 6 days

Six winters + 7 days 7 days 6 days 6 days

Common misconceptions about hibernation are:

Hibernation, many years ago many people made many mistakes and were unwilling to hibernate for the love turtle, and now the proportion of mistakes made is still very high. The errors are:

(1) Hibernating tortoises suffer from diseases or are underweight.

During hibernation, the turtle's metabolism and immune system also plummet. Any turtle with a mild illness, the tortoise may only get worse when hibernating, because it has no normal and active immune system. Herman Turtle's Pre-Hibernation Weight: If it is below the 'Jacksons ratio' 'Jackson ratio' it should not hibernate. A underweight turtle may be a sign that he may have an undetected disease or that he simply did not have enough fat reserves to prepare for hibernation.

(2) Feed the love turtle food before hibernation.

When the tortoise's metabolism is in hibernation, it is almost completely shut down, its heartbeat slows down to almost zero, its senses are turned off, and its bodily functions also stop including the digestive system, which is the key factor here why it cannot be fed before hibernation. Any food inside the turtle, herman turtle's gastrointestinal tract will not digest, only simply decay. The gases produced from rotten food can, in turn, cause serious internal problems.

(3) The sleeping temperature is higher than 10 *c

Tortoises that need to hibernate will have a built-in mechanism that tells the turtle that the ambient temperature needs to reach about 10 * C when it wakes up. Hibernating turtles in their natural environment, they hibernate in the soil During the winter the temperature is maintained at a fairly constant 3 to 7 * c. Only in the spring when 10 * c is reached, the chemical composition in the tortoise's body will start, and the attack will occur. Chemical reactions occur in a 10*C environment that release large amounts of glucose from the liver glycogen and flush into the bloodstream of the turtle. This gives the turtle enough of an initial boost of energy to start moving, basking in the sun and eating again. However, the turtle has only a limited amount of this energy-boosting product in the body to provide this energy. So, when in the case of artificial hibernation, the temperature is often accidentally raised to more than 10 * c, the hibernating turtle, will have to start using this element, but the real spring when its supply is insufficient and let the turtle dead awake, or even unable to wake up. Therefore, stable low temperature is very important.

(4) The sleeping temperature fell below 0 * C

Hibernating turtles have a temperature of 0*c or less as if the turtles would literally freeze to death. But maybe the turtle won't freeze to death, but the turtle may go blind because the fluid in the eyes is destroyed by icing. In the spring your turtle will be blind.

(5) Protection is not provided to prevent predators

Turtles hibernate fragile cartons, foam boxes, because placed in sheds or outhouses, people after leaving are often attacked by rodents that hibernate unnaturally.

(6) Hibernate in the refrigerator

Can I hibernate in the refrigerator? Of course, many turtle lovers who live in the tropics have a temperature of 25 to 35 degrees Celsius for many years. Continental tortoises must be hibernated in the refrigerator. But please don't throw your Herman into the freshness layer of your refrigerator and think it's fine. The refrigerator where food and vegetables are stored in the kitchen at home will have many smells, how many times do we turn on and off the kitchen refrigerator every day, and the vibration, sound, and light emitted by the light bulb in the refrigerator can make the hibernating turtle hibernate normally? If you are in a climate that cannot be kept at three to seven degrees Celsius for three or four months, you can buy a Xiaoice box that you often see in hotel rooms to hibernate the turtles.

But remember, remember, remember, the refrigerator should be open for a few minutes every day to let him breathe, otherwise you go home for the New Year's week, and after you come back, there will be a Herman in the refrigerator waiting for you to come back and cook Herman soup.

The refrigerator is also very dry, how to moisturize should also pay great attention, the refrigerator must have a hygrometer. You are already hibernating in love with turtles

A day or two after putting the prepared turtles in the hibernation box, the turtles will be quiet.

Hibernating cartons, foam boxes, opaque boxes must have good /air holes. The box can be made of moisturizing materials such as coconut soil, dead leaves, shredded paper (do not use newspaper, newspaper paper has printing brush ink) and so on. Don't be too deep, three to four times deeper than the turtle's body height.

Hibernating turtles, its hibernation process needs to be carefully monitored. This can remind you that it will be foolproof.

There should be multiple thermometers with probes, the probe should go deep into the bottom of the box, and the thermometer should be checked every day to record at different points in time every day. Also have a hygrometer, which is very important. Humidity must not be less than 50%.

Within a day or two your turtle should settle down in a hibernation box.

During daily check-ups, the risk of disturbing the turtle needs to be reduced, especially in the first few weeks.

If possible, observe weekly and weigh the turtle every two weeks.

Check the cloaca area for cleanliness and dryness for signs of defecation or urination.

If your turtle urinates frequently during hibernation, you will need to warm it up to wake it up because his metabolic system has not stopped completely, so it may easily die during hibernation due to dehydration.

Some turtles have bowel movements, and this is when the turtles hibernate during the first week or so of hibernation and you want to make sure you clear the poop.

Also, check that the nose is dry.

Scale your turtle and keep a record of how its weight changes.

A safe guideline is that your turtle should not lose more than 1% of its weight per month.

You will find that in the first few weeks, your turtle may lose a little weight, this is due to the fact that your turtle is slowly entering a hibernation state, he has not fully stabilized, and the metabolism is still a little active.

If your turtle loses more than 1%, don't panic in the first month.

You will find that the tortoises do not lose any weight after a few weeks of hibernation, thus putting the average (%) more than the total hibernation period. Wake your turtle from hibernation.

The wake-up time is the length of sleep that has been determined at the end of last year, or if you find that your turtle has lost too much weight or urinated too much.

You should wake your turtle from hibernation on a warm morning, which will give them an entire day to warm up and hopefully start drinking water and eating.

Make sure you have a sunstring, heat and UV lamp (ceramic lamp/UVA lamp) at work.

The tortoise will soon start to stir. Just wake up to the turtle and take it out of the box and place it under the sun lamp.

Heat and light were the only things that would stimulate him and the systems in his body to run again. It is very important that the waking turtle is not going to eat or drink without life.

Keep the turtle under its light bulb for about an hour or so, or a good way to give you a turtle to wake up is to give him a long warm bath, and the turtle will be more active immediately.

When soaked in water, turtles excrete toxins that their kidneys have established in a dormant state and replenish the water in their bodies.

You may find that your turtle may not be excreting during its first soak, so in the next few weeks, you need to give your turtle more water.

Drinking water is the most important thing from the first few days of waking up from hibernation to the turtle, and it is more important than eating.

Once your turtle is already very active, you can start offering a small amount of food, slowly increasing to normal.

Some tortoises drink water and eat food that is within a few hours, others may take a few days.

Then continue to soak him with warm water every day until the average daytime temperature exceeds 20 degrees.

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Here's wishing all turtle lovers who raise Herman, Warped Edge, Egyptian Tortoises, European Land, etc. who need to hibernate tortoises successfully hibernate for the love tortoises. In the spring of next year, our turtles will grow healthily again.