Brumation Time

[megarathebes]

So glad I built my outdoor habitat in time. My girl Roxie stopped eating from what I could notice weeks ago and I was starting to worry she wasn't adapting well. I just checked the weather for Halloween and apparently my area has a freeze warning in place for 1-2 days. However I'm a new owner and I still worry constantly about her. Does anyone have tips to make brumation more comfortable for a 3toe? Is there anything I should do or watch for in the next few weeks/months? Also was wondering if I should maybe cover the habitat with a tarp when it snows?

 

[sandwill]

If you decide to let your tortoise brumate, you need to provide a safe and suitable place for it to do so. You can use a wooden box, a plastic tub, or a refrigerator as a brumation chamber. The temperature should be between 5°C and 10°C, and the humidity should be around 70%. You should also monitor your tortoise regularly during brumation, and weigh it every two weeks to make sure it is not losing too much weight

 

[wellington]

Thread 'Tom's Brumation Thread' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/toms-brumation-thread.201823/

 

[jeff kushner]

f you decide to let your tortoise brumate,

You near Ann Arbor kind of Nagase? I used to haunt that place....

 

[sandwill]

You near Ann Arbor kind of Nagase? I used to haunt that place....

I am in Japan At the moment, Nagase

 

[megarathebes]

Thread 'Tom's Brumation Thread' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/toms-brumation-thread.201823/

Thanks so much! I tried searching the site but as the link you sent says they get bombarded every year with questions. I'm mostly just looking for tips but this thread should help a lot. I would love to know how other people handle their outdoor brumation techniques as well.

 

[megarathebes]

So glad I built my outdoor habitat in time. My girl Roxie stopped eating from what I could notice weeks ago and I was starting to worry she wasn't adapting well. I just checked the weather for Halloween and apparently my area has a freeze warning in place for 1-2 days. However I'm a new owner and I still worry constantly about her. Does anyone have tips to make brumation more comfortable for a 3toe? Is there anything I should do or watch for in the next few weeks/months? Also was wondering if I should maybe cover the habitat with a tarp when it snows?

So due to some things I was unaware of that were brought to my attention in the Tom's thread, and my general lack of knowledge for brumation and tortoise care, I'm choosing to keep Roxie out of brumation this year. So instead I would love for this thread to become more about the personal experiences everyone has with their brumation techniques. 🙂

 

[Ink]

I'm not brumating my desert box turtle either. Mine is a year old. How old is your 3toed? Post pictures of you can. Welcome to the forum

 

[sandwill]

So due to some things I was unaware of that were brought to my attention in the Tom's thread, and my general lack of knowledge for brumation and tortoise care, I'm choosing to keep Roxie out of brumation this year. So instead I would love for this thread to become more about the personal experiences everyone has with their brumation techniques. 🙂

hey Megara you can check this article also https://reptilescove.com/care/turtles/understanding-your-three-toad-turtles-bromation-process May be this will help you to understand Brumation better.

 

[mark1]

if your talking about leaving them out for the winter ? pick a sunny spot that doesn't flood ..... break the ground up(like rototilled) i just use a shovel, so it's easier for the turtle to dig down , 10-12 inches is plenty deep enough ....... cover the ground you loosened up with 4-5 inches grass clippings, pile leaves on top of that , a couple feet worth, depending on how cold your winter is ..... i put easily 3 feet of leaves , we get down to -10 about every winter, on average we have 111 days per year where we do not get above freezing , our plant zone is 5b ...... when it gets real cold and we don't have snow cover , i put branches and a tarp over the leaves .......... they doubtfully could find a better spot to hibernate naturally , imo if they don't survive the winter there had to be something wrong with the turtle...... i've hibernated turtles i had on antibiotics weeks before they hibernated ...... i've hibernated turtles i was thinking were sick , only to have them come out of hibernation sick ..... none ever died from hibernating ........ don't know about your weather , but it's too late here to just get prepared to hibernate anyone outside? it's november 3rd , here the box turtles are under the leaf grass piles all the way to the ground , and partially dug in , they won't be back out , the ground temperature will keep them down..... if i see one come out , i'll think something is wrong with it......

 

[megarathebes]

if your talking about leaving them out for the winter ? pick a sunny spot that doesn't flood ..... break the ground up(like rototilled) i just use a shovel, so it's easier for the turtle to dig down , 10-12 inches is plenty deep enough ....... cover the ground you loosened up with 4-5 inches grass clippings, pile leaves on top of that , a couple feet worth, depending on how cold your winter is ..... i put easily 3 feet of leaves , we get down to -10 about every winter, on average we have 111 days per year where we do not get above freezing , our plant zone is 5b ...... when it gets real cold and we don't have snow cover , i put branches and a tarp over the leaves .......... they doubtfully could find a better spot to hibernate naturally , imo if they don't survive the winter there had to be something wrong with the turtle...... i've hibernated turtles i had on antibiotics weeks before they hibernated ...... i've hibernated turtles i was thinking were sick , only to have them come out of hibernation sick ..... none ever died from hibernating ........ don't know about your weather , but it's too late here to just get prepared to hibernate anyone outside? it's november 3rd , here the box turtles are under the leaf grass piles all the way to the ground , and partially dug in , they won't be back out , the ground temperature will keep them down..... if i see one come out , i'll think something is wrong with it......

As much as I would love to let her do her natural thing I unfortunately don't have the proper conditions in her outdoor habitat at the moment and I'm a little drained on money right now so in the meantime I have to do my best to care for her indoors this winter and by spring I should have a proper habitat for her.

 

[megarathebes]

I'm not brumating my desert box turtle either. Mine is a year old. How old is your 3toed? Post pictures of you can. Welcome to the forum

I believe she's about 4 from what I can tell. Someone found her on the side of the road and gave her to me so I'm in for a hell of a ride with this rescue because I don't know where they found her I can't bring her back.

 

[Ink]

She is cute.