[AmandaH]

Oh boy, did I open a can of worms but I started worrying about Plod.

Having spent most of yesterday surfing the worldwide network interweb thingy, there seems to be NO CONSENSUS WHATSOEVER on how to keep flippin' tortoises.  Some say they have to be hibernated, others say not.  Some say give them protein such as cat food, others say under no circumstances.  Some say they need a heat lamp in winter, others say unnecessary.

To a tortoise amateur like me, it is all getting a bit stressful. 

And I'm not calling the MIL as I'll never get her off the phone.

Anyway, I have a new problem.  Plod has stopped eating.  Most resources I can find seem to say that tortoises stop eating about this time as they are winding down for hibernation and need their digestive system to be empty.  Plod is otherwise fine - his eyes are clear and scarily beady, his rear end is clean, he doesn't smell or have anything weeping or sore, his shell is shiny and clean with no flaky bits and, after a short battle which I was always going to win, I could see his mouth is clean with no yukky bits.  He was mooching about the kitchen yesterday with a face like a wet Wednesday in Wolverhampton but I think he always looks like that 

So, is there anyone out there who can tell me if I need to worry about him?  BECAUSE I AM! 

[madcat]

He was mooching about the kitchen yesterday with a face like a wet Wednesday in Wolverhampton but I think he always looks like that 

   

Sorry Amanda, I know it was a plea from the heart etc, but you have given me the best laugh of the day!!!  Thank you!

[AmandaH]

Oh thank goodness, as soon as I posted that, I thought "Oh no, I'm going to have the residents of Wolverhampton down on me like a ton of bricks"! 

Glad it made you smile instead.

Anyway, to anyone in the vicinity of Wolverhampton, can I just say - I've never been there, sure it's a very nice place and it's just an expression that I picked up from somewhere.  No slur is intended on Wolverhampton, it just happens to start with the same letter as wet and Wednesday.  It could just as well be Wigan.  Or Weymouth, if you think I'm being biased towards the area north of Watford.  Ah!  There's another one... 

[AmandaH]

Actually, looking out of the window, wet Tuesdays in Buckinghamshire (somewhere in the middle of Aylesbury, Tring and Leighton Buzzard) aren't that much to write home about either...

[goosebusters75]

AHHHH, you do care see he's growing on you

[tode]

Shouldn't that be a Wet Wednesday in Waterford ?

[too many girls]

aw Mand, any idiot can see you've fallen for him hook line and sinker

[Rubellite]

But, Amanda, surely MIL left you a tortoise keeping manual?
I'd look after him according to her instructions as that is what he is used to, regardless of how others keep theirs. That way if anything does go wrong, you'll surely be blameless 
(Mine, and I'm going back 25 years, used to be tucked up in bed by now and of course they didn't eat when hibernating, but they had stuffed themselves silly for some weeks before turning in for the winter).

[AmandaH]

tode - ha ha ha ha...

No no no TMG, I have not fallen for him but I am responsible for him  and he's scaring the life out me because I have no idea what he should be doing.  If only she'd left me a hamster or something, I'd know where I was with that.

No Rubellite - MIL said to put him outside if it was warm enough and sunny, keep him indoors if not.  Feed him mixed veg, greens, bit of salad, odd bit of fruit.  And that he doesn't hibernate but may nod off for a few days at a time and then wake up.  That was it.  The scary thing is that what MIL suggests seems to go against everything the serious tortoise websites suggest.  Like she says he loves peas and green beans, tortoise websites say no peas and green beans.  She says he doesn't hibernate, just mooches around the house, TWs say he should hibernate or, if not, kept under a heat lamp but he's never seen a heat lamp in his life!

I've just checked on him and he's asleep.  At least, I hope he is!  Just kidding - I gave him a poke and he stuck his head out and glared at me.

He can't go to sleep as he surely hasn't eaten enough and, having got the kitchen scales and a ruler out yesterday (the Jackson ratio method!), he is underweight for his size and wouldn't survive hibernation (allegedly).

(sigh)

It's no good, I am going to have to call the MIL...

 

[tode]

I wouldn't  !         

[Snap Dragon]

I can't see that it would ever be warm enough at this time of year for a tortoise to be outside! It's natural for a tortoise to slow down and stop eating as it's instincts are telling it to sleep because of the colder weather. Even a sunny day won't provide enough warmth to keep a tortoise going for long.

The only reason a tortoise would stay awake through winter is because of age, being underweight or living in a suitably warm enviroment.

I would just leave him inside and keep offering him food and make sure he is warm enough. Going outside this time of year will just confuse him. Even a house that is not heated all day can cause a tortoise to attempt to hibernate.

Failing that - tell MIL he escaped and send him my way

Good luck Amanda 

[gowing238]

Hi there.

I recently bought a boa constrictor and didnt know much about them either! (Nowt to be hounest!!) But i found this really good forum.

• www.reptileforums.co.uk

They have a section dedicated entirely to tortoises. If you cant find what you need just ask a member of the forum!! SIMPLES!!!!

[AmandaH]

I would just leave him inside and keep offering him food and make sure he is warm enough. Going outside this time of year will just confuse him. Even a house that is not heated all day can cause a tortoise to attempt to hibernate.

I think you're right and this is the way to go Snap Dragon.  Especially as I read on one of the tortoise-fest sites yesterday that tortoises eyeballs can freeze solid if they get cold enough.  How horrible is that?  By keeping him in, keeping him warm and offering him food, I don't see how I can go too far wrong.

gowing238 - thanks a million, that's brilliant.  I will be signing up and bothering them about Plod!

[AmandaH]

PS to gowing238 - please can I come round and cuddle your boa constrictor?  I LOOOOOVE snakes - they'd be my dream pet!

[Snap Dragon]

Especially as I read on one of the tortoise-fest sites yesterday that tortoises eyeballs can freeze solid if they get cold enough.  How horrible is that? 

That's exactly what happened to ours... He was tucked up sleeping soundly in his special hibernation box one winter... the vet thought he'd opened his eyes after a very mild spell and then was hit by sub zero temps the next week!

Result was blindness  ... he was fine... could smell food a mile away but we couldn't keep him away from the pond ( it's amazing how torts can a) dig and b) climb!!)... so he went to a new home where there was no water!