He decided to go to sleep when we had cold temps. I have not disturbed him... temps are cold again 25/48 this week. Hi is in a dbl cardboard box in unheated part of house. We keep our house on the colder side, even where we heat. 37-45 degrees for a Sonoran Desert Tort? Is that right. I’m going to get thermometer for room. AZ weather fluctuates a lot. High has been in 40s, by end of week back up to 60 outside lows in low 30s. I was going to do refrigerator, but I’m scared. Do you check on them, if so how often? Do you just touch them to see if they move? I have him on table, but can’t fall. There is occasional noise in there from washer/dryer but didn’t seem to bother him last year. I think temps were too high for him last year, but he seemed to do okay. Thanks for reply.?If your tortoise is going to brumate safely he needs to be at a consistent temperature between 37-45 degrees. If he’s consistently cold he doesn’t need to be woken up to drink; it’s extremely dry where he’s from, basically a high desert. If he isn’t cold he is going to burn off some calories and weight, which you don’t want. Do you have a place in your house where the temps will stay like that for a few months?
You can weigh him now and again if you brumate him; weight loss of ten percent or more is concerning, some people consider it to be five or more percent. That would be a time to bring him out and get him in an indoor habitat with lights and heat. I’ve had a year where my tortoise lost one percent, another (stressful) where she lost eight. Usually the most weight is lost when she is going down but still moving around. I make sure she has an opportunity to drink before brumation and these days we put her in a very dark box so she goes straight to sleep.
Russians are hardy and can do okay with a year or two of suboptimal conditions but you still have time to wake him up or brumate him safely. Both take effort; both are pretty scary when you are a new owner.