TORTOISE DIARY: (first published BCG Newsletter 1997)

MAY/JUNE

I had to laugh when I saw the cartoon in the last newsletter, showing a tortoise hibernating until March/April! Mine have been up since January, as usual. Of course it isn’t a good idea to try to put a tortoise back into hibernation, once it has woken up, and April is far too long if it went down in November. My tortoises are now becoming much more active, having had time to recover from their hibernation, especially on the days when the sun is actually shining. They are all feeding well, relying mainly on garden weeds, including dandelions, fat-hen, chickweed and of course clover and grass from the lawn. Dandelions are a particular favourite at this time of year, the flowers will often be the first thing that a reluctant feeder will take after hibernation. My tortoises will also eat buddleia, lilac and sedum (ice-plants) and I give them a vitamin supplement, such as Vionate or Arkvits daily. One has flaky skin at the moment, which may indicate vitamin A deficiency (something which is quite common after hibernation) so the vitamin supplement is especially important for her. I do not use any artificial fertilizers, or weed- killers anywhere in the garden, so I know that the plants are safe for them to eat. In their tortoise gardens, I make sure they have plenty of calcium available, either as pieces of chalky limestone, or cuttlefish. They will happily forage for themselves at present, but will soon have eaten all the suitable plants, and I will need to put extra food in. This will include weeds, greens and a small amount of mixed fruits, including apple, pear, plums, kiwi fruits,tomato and cucumber. They also enjoy soft fruits as they come into season, but not too many! At this time of year it’s important to make sure that my tortoises are in good health, and to ensure that they feed well in the Summer, so that they will be able to hibernate in the Winter. One very important part of this check is to make sure that they do not have worms. Tortoises do have a number of parasitic worms which can live in their gut very happily for several years if undetected. There may be no sign of infection, but if left the worms will gradually weaken the tortoise, it will become unwell, and if left worms can be fatal. I have seen tortoises pass live worms, when the infestation is heavy and it must be a great relief if the worms are removed. These worms cannot be passed to humans, but if kept in the same area, tortoises will reinfect themselves every year. Worming is therefore an annual job. My vet takes a faecal sample to check for worms or their eggs, and then a wormer such as synanthic is given orally by stomach tube. This is a job I can do myself now, having had guidance from my vet. Next issue in the diary: Tortoise homes and weights and measures. 

JULY/AUGUST 

This is the tortoise’s main feeding time, so to make sure that your tortoise is putting on weight you will need to weigh it regularly, at least once a month. You should weigh in grammes if possible.A reasonably accurate kitchen scales will do the job, so long as you use the same scales each time. Any sudden change in weight, up or down, may indicate a health problem. Female tortoises who put on 100g or more very quickly may be carrying eggs. Sudden weight loss is often a sign of ill-health, which should be checked by your vet. As the tortoise feeds it will increase in weight and grow. Growth is seen as white lines between the scutes of the carapace (shell). The tortoise will also increase in length. In order to measure length, you need to measure the straight distance from the front of the shell to the back, in mm. One way of doing this is to hold a book at each end, making sure that the tortoise’s head is withdrawn, and measure the distance between the books with a ruler. Having found the length and weight of the tortoise, you can check that it is heavy enough using the Jackson ratio. This graph shows whether or not your tortoise is heavy enough to hibernate. Any tortoise which is below weight on this graph is unlikely to have enough fat reserves to survive hibernation, and should not be hibernated. Try to give your tortoise as much space as possible in your garden. Some of the area should be lawn, some in the sun, some in the shade. An area of concrete or paving slabs, on which the tortoise can bask in the sun during the early part of the day, will help it to warm up quicker, so that it can start to feed. For the same reason, access to a greenhouse or cold frame can be beneficial, especially in Spring and Autumn when the mornings and evenings are cool. The tortoise must however, be able to get out when it becomes too hot inside. Shelter from inclement weather can be provided as a tortoise house, or by planting suitable shrubs. Tortoises are great climbers, and in some cases they like to dig. This means that their run, or the boundary of the garden must be secure. Use strong, solid materials. If a tortoise can see through a wire fence it will try to get through or over, and may injure itself becoming trapped. Use wood, or bricks as a barrier, and if planting shrubs or trees for shade and interest, remember not to have these too near the fence, as the tortoise will use the plants as a way out. The first time my leopard tortoise went into his run I was shocked to find him a good two feet off the ground, having wedged himself between the fence and the buddleia in order to climb. Plants in his present run have been very carefully positioned! Next issue in the diary: Preparation for hibernation. 

 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

 Now that the Summer is drawing to a close, the days are getting shorter and cooler, your tortoise will already be preparing to hibernate. You must make sure that the tortoise is healthy and of a good weight, in order to survive the long Winter sleep. You also need to prepare a safe place in which to hibernate your tortoise, where the temperature will be correct, and where the animal is in no danger from rats or mice, trying to find food in harsh conditions. To prepare your tortoise you will need to weigh it, and measure the straight carapace (shell) length, in order to check the Jackson ratio. You need to be sure that it has no injuries or any infection which would seriously reduce it’s chances of survival during hibernation. You may want to take it to your vet for a pre-hibernation check, which is a good idea. If your tortoise has been fed on a varied diet, with a vitamin supplement such as Vionate sprinkled on the food regularly, there should be no need for a vitamin injection before hibernation. If you are in any doubt consult your vet. Another check that you may feel you need to make, is to have any female tortoise which has been mated, but which has not passed eggs, X-rayed to see if the eggs are still present. During the Autumn a cold frame or greenhouse is particularly useful for keeping the tortoise going through October. You may need to warm the tortoise up on cool mornings, and in the evenings, by placing it under a lamp, to give the animal a chance to feed during the cooler Autumn days. Once the weather is cold during the day as well the tortoise will slow down, it will feed less, and sleep for longer periods. This means that preparations must be made for the big sleep. It is important that you do not feed the tortoise for four weeks before hibernation. This is to ensure that any food in the gut passes through, rather than remaining inside, and causing infection. Continue to bath your tortoise regularly, however, to be sure that it has enough fluids in the bladder to survive hibernation. This means that you must plan ahead for the date at which the hibernation will start. For my tortoises that is usually the middle of November, but the date varies according to the weather. In the wild, hibernation would be much shorter than in captivity. The safe maximum length of time for hibernation is about 14 weeks. This means that mine will always be awake by the end of February, either naturally, or because I will warm them up, and keep them warm, until it’s safe for them to start going outside. The place which you choose to hibernate your tortoise, should allow the temperature to be kept at about 4C. This is cold enough to ensure that the tortoise is in hibernation, the temperature must be below 10C, but not so cold that the fluids in the body start to freeze, at about 2C. If this happens, the fluid in the eyes will be one of the first parts to freeze. This is a common cause of blindness in tortoises. You should use a strong box in which to put the tortoise, large enough for the tortoise to turn around in, as they do move during hibernation. If you have more than one tortoise, use a separate box for each one. Insulation material such as shredded paper, or polystyrene chips should surround the tortoise. You can double-insulate by placing this box containing the tortoise, inside another box lined with several layers of newspaper. Next issue in the diary: Over-wintering indoors, and checking those in hibernation. 

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

 With the mild weather which we have experienced well into October, a number of tortoises are reluctant to settle into the pattern of behaviour and activity, which is expected pre-hibernation. Many of them have continued to be active during the warm afternoons, and have continued to feed until very recently. It is important to allow the tortoise to slow down as the weather dictates, but at the same time they must be protected from frost, as the temperature drops at night. Giving regular warm water baths, will help them to pass any food left in the gut, ready for hibernation. Once the tortoise is ready for hibernation, place it in the hibernation box, with a maximum-minimum thermometer near the top, and ensure that the box is in a brick built garage or shed. The box must not be allowed to become wet, and the temperature should be regularly checked to ensure that it stays between 4-10 Celsius (36-50F). The tortoise should be checked regularly, at least every two-weeks, and can be safely taken out inspected and weighed. If you see any discharge from the eyes or nostrils, the tortoise may have an infection, and should be warmed up and kept awake for the remainder of the Winter. A vet should be consulted if either condition persists. Similarly if the tortoise has passed urine, the water which it has lost may lead to dehydration, which is very serious during hibernation. Again the tortoise should be woken up, and overwintered in a vivarium. The tortoise should not lose more than 10% of its weight over the entire hibernation period, so a tortoise which weighs 1500g at the start of hibernation should lose a maximum of 150g, during the 12-14 weeks of hibernation. Any sudden weight loss, of say, the whole 10% between weighings, is also an indication that all is not well, and the tortoise may have to be overwintered. If the tortoise does need to be woken up, the temperature needs to be raised by bringing indoors, and keeping the temperature high as the animal wakes up. Regular warm water baths should be given, (daily at first), and the tortoise given as large a space as possible, in which to live. During the day a light should be on for 14 hours, and the temperature under the light/heat source, where the tortoise can sit and bask should be approximately 32 Celsius, with the background temperature elsewhere in the vivarium about 20 Celsius. At night the light will be switched off , but the temperature should remain at around 15 Celsius, and must not fall to 10 Celsius or below, since this will stimulate the tortoise to hibernate again. When the tortoise is awake it should begin to feed within one week. If it does not you should consult a vet for advice. Next issue: preparation for the Spring awakening.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY

 Last issue the diary covered hibernation. By the time this reaches you, many tortoises will be coming to the end of their long sleep, and yet the weather is unlikely to be warm enough to put them outside. This means that accommodation will be needed indoors, or in a heated greenhouse, during the initial period after hibernation. This will be similar to that required, should your tortoise ever need to stay awake for the whole Winter. When designing tortoise accommodation, try to give the animal as much floor space as your home will allow. Ideally, adult tortoises would have an area of 6ftx2ft or more, in which to live. Within the pen or vivarium one end should be kept warm, 15-20Celsius at night, and in the day it should be well lit, with temperatures of 32Celsius under the light/heat source. The heat can be provided with heaters or heatherm pads, but care should be taken to ensure that the tortoise cannot burn itself, and that the danger of fire is taken into account in the design. Tortoises are very strong, well able to move newspaper or other substrate into positions which bring them into contact with ceramic heaters, even when quite high overhead. Similarly, if tortoises fall onto their backs under ceramic heaters, they can very quickly overheat and die. During the day the light source should be on for 14 hours. A suitable material to use in building the accommodation is melamine covered chipboard, which can be easily cleaned, and cut to size. When your tortoise first wakes up, allow it to come up to room temperature initially, over a period of 3-4 hours. When the eyes open (although they may need bathing in order to do so),and/or the tortoise starts to move, place it in a warm shallow bath. Leave the tortoise for a good soak, so that it can drink and start to rehydrate. You may need to bath the eyes if they are not yet open, using the warm water and cotton wool. Once this is done the tortoise can be placed in its vivarium/pen, and allowed to start to bask under the heat/light source. The tortoise should start to feed within a few days of waking, a week at the most. Continue to give daily baths for the first few weeks, to ensure that the tortoise’s kidneys begin to function again. If you are at all worried or if the tortoise refuses to eat, consult a vet. It is good practice to take the tortoise to a vet for a post-hibernation check each year. Next issue: The last in the tortoise year for the diary, beaks and claws and vitamin supplements. 

MARCH/APRIL 

Vitamin and mineral supplements are a good idea, particularly while you are feeding your tortoise on food from the greengrocer or supermarket. These foods do not contain high levels of calcium, or vitamins A C D and E, all of which are needed at regular intervals by tortoises. This is because the vitamins are found at good levels in growing vegetables, and tend to be rapidly broken down after picking. When the tortoises can get outside and start to graze in the garden, the dandelions, clover and grasses will give them an adequate supply of vitamins, but until then, for adult tortoises use Vionate or Arkvits as directed by the manufacturer (don’t use in excess). Tortoises just out of hibernation, or those with vitamin deficiencies may need Ace- High, or Abidec, you may need to seek advice from your vet if using these very concentrated supplements. Hatchlings may need extra calcium in their supplement, in which case use Nutrobal, this is also recommended for females prior to mating, to ensure normal egg development. Your tortoise may need to have its claws clipped if they are growing long. If you have never done this before it is a good idea to consult a vet, strong nail clippers are needed, and obviously care must be taken to ensure that you do not cut the nail where the blood supply reaches. It is not always easy to see where that is, especially if the nails are darkly coloured. Similarly beaks grow long and if left, feeding becomes difficult for your tortoise. The beak can be gently filed with an emery board. Again if you have never done this before, you may feel that you need to see your vet carry out the procedure, for the first time.

Jane and Debbie (Essex).