Hibernation questions

Stitchpunk

Active Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2015
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206
Location (City and/or State)
Auckland New Zealand
Hi all, I could use some advice on whether or not I should try to hibernate Om this year. He's 14 months old now and still lives indoors, though he gets a couple of hours outside every other day. I kept him awake last winter as I was too scared to try it with such a youngster.
I live in NZ so it is early Autumn here, and right now Om seems to be eating more than usual, perhaps putting on weight in preparation? Currently we are ranging between a high of around 23C in the day to about 15-18C at night. In the depths of winter we will get highs of about 11-15C and lows of 2-7C, with an occasional frost.
Should I try to hibernate him? My biggest concern if I do is keeping him cool enough and at a stable temperature. I've read about doing the double box with polystyrene insulation, but even if I put that in the basement I'm not sure it would be cool enough. Would I need to look at getting a small refrigerator to keep him in? In that case would I use a box as well, and would there need to be airholes?
My understanding is that breeders here let their tortoises hibernate naturally in their outdoor enclosures for a few weeks, but for various reasons we haven't been able to set up an outdoor enclosure yet...so all advice much appreciated.
 

JoesMum

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Oct 26, 2011
Messages
21,606
Location (City and/or State)
Kent, South East England
Hi

You don't have to hibernate a tort and we recommend that you don't do it in the first year of ownership.

Your tort is very small and could only hibernate for a couple of weeks at most at that size.

You will probably find that your tort becomes less active as the days shorten. They seem to know even when kept indoors. Push the ambient temperature up slightly and make sure the lights are on and bright for 14 hours.
 

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