Has our Hermann hibernated?

gladys1957

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Two weeks ago we hit a cold, wet spell of weather and our 7 year old Hermann buried herself in her enclosure. This is the first time she's done this. We thought maybe the change of weather had sent her into hibernation, so we dug her up and put her in her hibernation box in the garage, the next day she woke up and started moving around so we put her back outside in her encolsure with her "house" with a thermostatically controlled heater and basking lamp. she ignored these. sat outside in the rain, then buried herself again. At the moment she is 10cm underground.

Do we dig her up again, leave her there all winter (suitably protected) or wait for colder weather then get her in for proper controlled hibernation?
 

KarenSoCal

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Did she stop eating more than two weeks ago? Did she have time to empty her gut? Is she super well hydrated?

If not, I would withhold food for two weeks, and do lots of soaks during that time. You may have to bring her in to try to keep her awake. After you're sure she's empty, then let her slowly cool down to hibernation temps and go to sleep.
 
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