Brumating Russian temp consequences/advice needed

Jodie

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I brumate my group of Russians in an old night box I had for them. It is fully insulated and in a corner of my yard that gets no sun. I maintain a min temp with an oil filled radiant heater on a thermostat. I can hear the box, I cannot cool it. Our winter has been very unusual. Normally Dec through Feb we rarely see high temps much above freezing, so it works well. This year we are already getting into the 40's. Close to 50 next week. The last couple of days their temp is getting to 45 or so. I checked them, everyone is still sleeping, but my worry is they are burning too much energy. I will be monitoring weight starting next month, but unsure how to know if they need to come out. They went in Dec 1st, so only 8, 9 weeks ago. What temps do you all find to be too high?
 

KevinGG

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Nobody? Nothing?

Getting into the 50s might bring some movement. Just depends on the individual animals. This shouldn’t be a big deal as long as they can dig back down before freezing temps, but sounds like you got that part handled.

This, by the way, is why many people use refrigerators. Limits temperature fluctuation. If you are worried about weight loss, you can always periodically weigh them during the brumation, but a couple days in the 50s shouldn’t be a problem IMO.
 
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