do tortoises hibernate?

Question

I have a tortoise and I feed her fresh vegetables and fruit and let her walk around the house. However, sometimes she doesn't come out and appear for a while (it seems like a month)...

Answer 1

Yes they do.

Answer 2

Technically, they don't hibernate, they 'brumate'.

Some tortoises pretty much always brumate in the wild- Russian's, for example.

Some tortoises brumate in the wild in some parts of their climate or when conditions warrant. Greeks, Hermanns, etc.

Some tortoises do not brumate in the wild (or only do so in unusual conditions)- Red-foots, Sulcata, etc.

Now... letting tortoises 'free range' in your house is not always a good idea. It is almost certainly NOT brumating- it takes 40-50F temps to trigger it. It is probably just getting too chilled to eat, but not chilled enough to stay active- which means it is basically wasting away and wide open for colds (respiratory infections), etc.

Also, there are two groups of tortoises- grasslanders (Russian, Greek, Sulcata, etc.) and forest (Red-foot, Hinge-back, Elongated, etc.) and they have speciific cares and diet issues.

Grasslanders are more likely to hibernate and tolerate the dry conditions of a house, but should not get fruit or too much 'wet' veggies- they need a pretty dry, fibrous diet.

Forest tortoises want warm temps with HIGH humidity, and eat a wetter diet with lots of fruit and even some meat.

Give http://www.tortoisetrust.org a try for some great info.

Answer 3

Tortoises hibernate contained in the iciness, even as temperatures drop. My 2 3 12 months previous Russian Tortoises on occasion sleep for days at a time in this summer. i imagine this is because we use our cooler plenty. experience reptiles are chilly-blooded their blood ameliorations with the tempertures round them. no matter if this is chilly, they'll be sluggish, lazy and sleep most of the time. no matter if this is warm and humid, they'll be lively and curious. There you bypass.:)

Answer 4

Most, but not all tortoises hibernate. Telling us what kind you have can help us determine if it's one of the species that does or does not.

Answer 5

Tortoises love to sleep, they don't hibernate.

Answer 6

i noe that water turtles hibernate so tortoises probably do too

Answer 7

yes they hibernate from December to mid April ... If you have one and it is hibernating then leave it alone or it will die!!

Answer 8

most do yes (red foots dont to name one)

Answer 9

Yes..they do the usually when tired
:)
~ME~

Answer 10

yes.