Description

Brumation is an adaptation to survive cold winters within a tortoise’s native environment. In captivity, Mediterranean and Horsfield’s tortoises will often naturally slow-down in the winter months responding to exogenous and endogenous cues. For a healthy tortoise of the appropriate species, a controlled period of brumation is normally recommended to help reduce growth rate and allow for natural hormonal fluctuations. Unfortunately, some people still brumate their tortoises for too long and we see complications in late Spring time. This process of brumation in many species of chelonia is completely normal, but actually when it comes to advising about brumation in our captive tortoises there is so much we don’t know, as there just isn’t the scientific data out there. This presentation will discuss key points when considering brumation in a captive setting and help clinicians navigate the process and to understand some potential problems that may be encountered. (AREA – exotics)