Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone had a Mt.Tortoise hibernate for months at a time in captivity.In N. Fl.mine become inactive for weeks but come out when the temp. warms up or when the sun warms them up even when the air temp.is low.If this has happened in your collection or if you know anyone who has had this experence please let me know.I have one verified case in Calif.Thanks Vic M.

Vic:

When I lived in Phoenix my Burmese Mt. tortoises always went down about Thanksgiving and didn't show them selves again until March. I gave them a large pile of debris, which they buried themselves in for their winter sleep. I have been keeping Burmese Mt. Tortoises for 36 years now.

Richard

Richard,Thanks.Did you notice any dehydration,sickness or death?How low did they go? Did you wet the mulch as time went by? 35 years!Holy Molly,you must have started at two!See ya friday,and I hope we can get together this year at my place,i'm doing better in the mornings now days.with all the rain we should see plenty of activity with the Torts,and an Agkistrodon or two.Vic M

My wife let me buy my first Burmese Mt. Tortoises in 1973 ($250 each was a lot of money in those days) and I have been keeping the species ever since. I didn't allow them to hibernate until about 1979. I never had any problems with dehydration, sickness, or death during hibernation (I had about 5 Mt. Tortoises at the time). I sprayed the mulch/debris piles, which the tortoises hibernated in, on occasion. The mulch/debris piles were always located in the shade.

When I moved to the base of the Huachuca Mountains in 1995 I built a 2,700 square foot greenhouse, which is kept warm in the winter. The Burmese Mt. Tortoises don't hibernate anymore but interestingly the C. flavomarginatas dig in and disappear all winter even though the greenhouse is warm.

I won’t make it to Daytona this year. February came on me too fast this year and it was already the first week of February when realized I hadn’t made my payment so I lost my table at Dayton’s Turtle Island.

My Flavios do that to.They are funny turtles,have you ever given them live mice.Its the funnyest thing you've ever seen.Sorry you cant make it.Vic