Tortoise Hibernation Welfare | Animal Welfare Hub

How to manage tortoise hibernation safely, preventing the welfare harms associated with improper hibernation management in captive tortoises.

Key Facts

Temperate tortoise species including Hermann's and horsfield's tortoises require hibernation for health
Failure to hibernate can cause significant hormonal disruption and shortened lifespan
Improper hibernation — temperatures too high or too low — causes death or serious illness
Hibernating tortoises should be checked regularly for weight loss, which indicates metabolic activity
A healthy tortoise should lose no more than 1% of body weight per month during hibernation

Welfare Considerations

Tortoise hibernation is one of the areas where tortoise welfare most depends on owner knowledge and attention. Unlike most welfare issues where neglect means failing to provide something, hibernation welfare failures often arise from doing the wrong thing — hibernating sick animals, allowing temperatures to drop too low (causing freezing) or too high (causing excessive metabolic activity and starvation), or failing to monitor weight loss during the hibernation period. A tortoise that enters hibernation underweight, sick, or in an inadequately controlled environment may die during the period when it has the least capacity to communicate distress. Pre-hibernation health checks and weight monitoring are essential welfare practices.

What You Can Do

Have your tortoise weighed and health-checked by a vet experienced with reptiles before hibernation
Maintain hibernation temperatures between 3 and 7 degrees Celsius throughout the period
Weigh your tortoise monthly during hibernation and bring it out early if it loses more than 1% per month
Never hibernate a tortoise that is underweight, has been recently ill, or has not fed adequately in autumn
Use a hibernation calculator to determine appropriate hibernation length based on tortoise weight and age