Brumation's Over

[DoubleD1996!]

Always excited to see the torts emerge after another successful natural-brumation. Hopefully by next week everyone will be up and ready to be put in their enclosures.

 

[Daffodil]

Do you brumate outside?

My Russian will be two years old this summer. I'm wondering if I should brumate him next winter?

I've seen folks use a refrigerator, but that seems so weird to me. I would think outdoors would be more normal & I'd rather do that, but I guess a fridge maintains a steady temp.

He's in a SmartEnclosure indoors, though, so maybe brumating him outdoors would be not so good.

Yeah. I'm conflicted about brumating in general. LOL

 

[DoubleD1996!]

Do you brumate outside?

My Russian will be two years old this summer. I'm wondering if I should brumate him next winter?

I've seen folks use a refrigerator, but that seems so weird to me. I would think outdoors would be more normal & I'd rather do that, but I guess a fridge maintains a steady temp.

He's in a SmartEnclosure indoors, though, so maybe brumating him outdoors would be not so good.

Yeah. I'm conflicted about brumating in general. LOL

Everyone tends to do things a little different. In my opinion, they need to stay dry in a sterile environment.

There are tons of ways of going about it. Some people use mini green houses with polycarbonate panels, some use the fridge technique, and some people just leave them to it. I think you should know your climate first.

My winters are hit or miss. Sometimes we can get a lot of rain, so leaving them in their enclosures isn't an option for me. Even though they do burrow under their hides and logs.

I built something I like to call my brumation houses. Similar to dog houses, but with a lid and enclosed. It's all insulated, filled with dirt, mulch and leaf litter, and the torts always do well. You just have to clean them out annually after winter.

I never worry about temps, as these hold in the warm temps well. We get into the single digits and I haven't had an issue.