Reptile Husbandry Record
Record the parameters you are actually achieving against the ones you are aiming for, which is the difference between keeping a reptile and hoping.
XP-01 2 pages
Exotic and small pets · XP-05
Tortoise Care and Hibernation Record
A free printable tortoise care sheet — weight and length through the year, feeding, soaking and outdoor time, with a full hibernation record.
Download Free · no sign-up
One page. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Track weight through the year and record a hibernation properly, which is the point at which tortoise keeping most often goes wrong.
Who it is for
Tortoise keepers, particularly of species that hibernate.
How to use it
- Weigh regularly through the year, not just before hibernation.
- Record the vet check before hibernation and the fasting period used.
- Record weight going in and coming out, and the loss between them.
- Note the temperatures the animal was actually held at.
What is on the sheet
One page, top to bottom:
Printed under the title: Weight through the year, feeding, soaking and the hibernation record that a vet will want to see.
Whether to hibernate is a veterinary decision. Hibernation is the point at which tortoise keeping goes wrong, and whether an individual animal should hibernate at all is a veterinary decision based on species, age, weight and health. No temperatures, durations or weight-loss limits are printed here. Your vet sets them; this records what happened.
Write-on lines: Species · Name · Age or acquired · Vet practice
Through the year
Table, 6 rows: Date · Weight · Length · Fed · Soaked · Outdoors · Temperatures · Notes
Hibernation
Write-on lines: Vet check before · Fasted from · Weight going in · Started · Method used · Temperature range recorded · Checked how often · Woke on · Weight coming out · Weight lost · Drinking and feeding by
Questions
Should my tortoise hibernate, and for how long?
That is a veterinary decision based on species, age, weight and health — some animals should not hibernate at all, and getting it wrong can kill. No temperatures, durations or acceptable weight losses are printed here. Your vet sets them; the sheet records what happened.
What weight loss is acceptable over hibernation?
Your vet will give you a figure for your animal. It is checked by weighing, which is why the sheet is built around a weight column.
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