Hermann in winter: plan in NC?

[ErinInCA]

Hello, we just moved to North Carolina and our 3-year old Hermann has an outdoor enclosure. This will be our second winter with him, but the first one he was indoor only.
Does anyone know if Hermanns can stay outside in the winter here? If so, what kind of setup do they need? Or, should I put him back in his tortoise table (garage) with heating/UV?

thanks for the help!

 

[TaylorTortoise]

hmmm... I have a western hermanns and I believe they are from tropical areas. I personally don't think they would do well outdoors unless they are big like sulcatas and are housed in a shed that is heated. Most do bring them in for the winter time. My only assumption is that they will most likely go into hibernation. But lets see what the experts say.

@Tom

 

[Blackdog1714]

Are you coastal Carolina or Blueridge Mountains?

 

[Mrs.Jennifer]

Hello, we just moved to North Carolina and our 3-year old Hermann has an outdoor enclosure. This will be our second winter with him, but the first one he was indoor only.
Does anyone know if Hermanns can stay outside in the winter here? If so, what kind of setup do they need? Or, should I put him back in his tortoise table (garage) with heating/UV?

thanks for the help!

I am not an expert, but I’m really good at attaching care sheets! Give this a look, and I’m sure someone with knowledge about brumation will pipe in soon.

 

[wellington]

I am not an expert, but I’m really good at attaching care sheets! Give this a look, and I’m sure someone with knowledge about brumation will pipe in soon.

There is no caresheet link.

 

[Mrs.Jennifer]

I am not an expert, but I’m really good at attaching care sheets! Give this a look, and I’m sure someone with knowledge about brumation will pipe in soon.

There is no caresheet link.

There is no caresheet link.

Duly noted!! I guess I’m NOT really good at attaching care sheets—my bad! I’ll try again:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[wellington]

Duly noted!! I guess I’m NOT really good at attaching care sheets—my bad! I’ll try again:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Well you see I didn't do it. I'm lousy at it.

 

[TaylorTortoise]

I am not an expert, but I’m really good at attaching care sheets! Give this a look, and I’m sure someone with knowledge about brumation will pipe in soon.

How do you attach care sheets to a thread?

 

[ErinInCA]

Duly noted!! I guess I’m NOT really good at attaching care sheets—my bad! I’ll try again:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Hi thank you! I’ve read this many times, but it’s not specific enough on this question. I’m looking for guidance specific to this climate - hope someone can help. Thank you!

 

[TeamZissou]

Hermann's definitely have the ability to brumate. The question is whether or not your outside temperatures will be consistently above the 40 F. If you can be sure that your tortoise will be above 40 F, you're probably good to leave it outside. NC can get the random snowstorm, depending where you live. The Hermann's expert, @HermanniChris often brumates his outdoors in NJ under cold frames, which should be more severe compared to NC.

He wrote briefly about it here:

Sticky: HERMANN'S TORTOISE CARE SHEET *UPDATED

Josh and I corresponded last week about making an updated version of the Hermann's tortoise care sheet since the old one we have posted here is a bit outdated and a little too brief in my opinion. So, here is the new one equipped with photos. Look out for the April 2015 issue of Reptiles...

tortoiseforum.org

A more recent Youtube video, he talks about it more in-depth:

What kind do you have? Eastern or Western? I believe Eastern is more resilient.

 

[ErinInCA]

Hermann's definitely have the ability to brumate. The question is whether or not your outside temperatures will be consistently above the 40 F. If you can be sure that your tortoise will be above 40 F, you're probably good to leave it outside. NC can get the random snowstorm, depending where you live. The Hermann's expert, @HermanniChris often brumates his outdoors in NJ under cold frames, which should be more severe compared to NC.

He wrote briefly about it here:

Sticky: HERMANN'S TORTOISE CARE SHEET *UPDATED

Josh and I corresponded last week about making an updated version of the Hermann's tortoise care sheet since the old one we have posted here is a bit outdated and a little too brief in my opinion. So, here is the new one equipped with photos. Look out for the April 2015 issue of Reptiles...

tortoiseforum.org

A more recent Youtube video, he talks about it more in-depth:

What kind do you have? Eastern or Western? I believe Eastern is more resilient.

Hi thanks, super helpful! He’s an Eastern Hermann. It’s such a hard decision because bringing him inside for the winter seems cruel but leaving him out seems dangerous. We could definitely make a heated box like Tom always talks about but I’m not sure he would go in it??

 

[Krista S]

Hi thanks, super helpful! He’s an Eastern Hermann. It’s such a hard decision because bringing him inside for the winter seems cruel but leaving him out seems dangerous. We could definitely make a heated box like Tom always talks about but I’m not sure he would go in it??

I don't think keeping him inside for the winter is cruel. You’ll be able to keep him comfortable and could make him a wonderful winter oasis. My Hermann’s tortoise has to live inside year round with just little bits of outside time on the summer days when weather allows. It could be a good thing for your little guy if you give him a great indoor space to live in, and then you won’t have to worry about the elements outside.

 

[TeamZissou]

As Krista said, you can keep him up during the winter, but you'd need a full size indoor enclosure for him to be happy, something close to 4 x 8 feet. It's only dangerous if it gets consistently below 40 F. Chris' method seems to be to use the cold frame and only shut them in when it's consistently around 40 F. Otherwise, they apparently come out and wander if it's warm and could get caught out if the weather turns. Easterns apparently experience snowy conditions in the wild in Eastern Europe.

A heated night box might confuse them too much. It would probably be too warm at night and then during the day they would not be able to go about their normal day due to the weather. It's probably better to pick one or the other.

People on here often recommend brumating tortoises in a fridge as being the safest option since you can tightly control the temps.

 

[ErinInCA]

I don't think keeping him inside for the winter is cruel. You’ll be able to keep him comfortable and could make him a wonderful winter oasis. My Hermann’s tortoise has to live inside year round with just little bits of outside time on the summer days when weather allows. It could be a good thing for your little guy if you give him a great indoor space to live in, and then you won’t have to worry about the elements outside.

Thanks, really good point! I had him inside for the first year I had him so we have a nice setup. Now he’s only been out about 6 weeks. He might be annoyed to be back inside but, of course, that’s better than if he doesn’t make it in the cold.

 

[MarginatedMooney]

Hello, welcome to North Carolina!

I've lived in the Raleigh-Durham area for 26 years. Most of the time, the highs are above 40F in winter here but we could have some days where the high is in the 30s. The lows can be in the low 30s to upper 20s and I think there was an entire week this past December where the lows stayed in that range.

The weather can be random here sometimes. We could have several days in winter where it doesn't get above 32F, and then have days with highs in the 60s.

It's possible to have a snowstorm here and we could have 1 or 2 snowstorms during the winter where we get 1ft of snow, or we could get no snow at all. Some parts of the state get more snow than others, but generally, we don't get much snow here unless you live in the mountains. I don't think it snowed hardly at all here this past winter. Maybe just a few light dustings of snow. The bigger problem tends to be ice/freezing rain here.

So anyway, all that to say I agree with what's been said previously. If it was me, because of the volatility of the weather and because I'd rather keep my tortoise up, I would bring my tortoise inside for the winter. But if you want them to brumate, you could use Chris' cold frame method or the refrigerator method.

 

[Blackdog1714]

I have a Russian that stays outside April-October in RVA with a heated nightbox. The rest of the year I keep him in his inside enclosure.

 

[ErinInCA]

As Krista said, you can keep him up during the winter, but you'd need a full size indoor enclosure for him to be happy, something close to 4 x 8 feet. It's only dangerous if it gets consistently below 40 F. Chris' method seems to be to use the cold frame and only shut them in when it's consistently around 40 F. Otherwise, they apparently come out and wander if it's warm and could get caught out if the weather turns. Easterns apparently experience snowy conditions in the wild in Eastern Europe.

A heated night box might confuse them too much. It would probably be too warm at night and then during the day they would not be able to go about their normal day due to the weather. It's probably better to pick one or the other.

People on here often recommend brumating tortoises in a fridge as being the safest option since you can tightly control the temps.

Thank you!

 

[ErinInCA]

I have a Russian that stays outside April-October in RVA with a heated nightbox. The rest of the year I keep him in his inside enclosure.

Thank you!

 

[ErinInCA]

Hello, welcome to North Carolina!

I've lived in the Raleigh-Durham area for 26 years. Most of the time, the highs are above 40F in winter here but we could have some days where the high is in the 30s. The lows can be in the low 30s to upper 20s and I think there was an entire week this past December where the lows stayed in that range.

The weather can be random here sometimes. We could have several days in winter where it doesn't get above 32F, and then have days with highs in the 60s.

It's possible to have a snowstorm here and we could have 1 or 2 snowstorms during the winter where we get 1ft of snow, or we could get no snow at all. Some parts of the state get more snow than others, but generally, we don't get much snow here unless you live in the mountains. I don't think it snowed hardly at all here this past winter. Maybe just a few light dustings of snow. The bigger problem tends to be ice/freezing rain here.

So anyway, all that to say I agree with what's been said previously. If it was me, because of the volatility of the weather and because I'd rather keep my tortoise up, I would bring my tortoise inside for the winter. But if you want them to brumate, you could use Chris' cold frame method or the refrigerator method.

Thank you, this is so helpful! I’m just south in Moore County so same climate. I appreciate your advice on it! Our tortoise 🐢 ended up brumating outside 2021 and 2022 and did fine but he’s still awake now and I’m nervous to let him again. I think I’ll play it save and keep him inside this winter.

 

[ErinInCA]

Hermann's definitely have the ability to brumate. The question is whether or not your outside temperatures will be consistently above the 40 F. If you can be sure that your tortoise will be above 40 F, you're probably good to leave it outside. NC can get the random snowstorm, depending where you live. The Hermann's expert, @HermanniChris often brumates his outdoors in NJ under cold frames, which should be more severe compared to NC.

He wrote briefly about it here:

Sticky: HERMANN'S TORTOISE CARE SHEET *UPDATED

Josh and I corresponded last week about making an updated version of the Hermann's tortoise care sheet since the old one we have posted here is a bit outdated and a little too brief in my opinion. So, here is the new one equipped with photos. Look out for the April 2015 issue of Reptiles...

tortoiseforum.org

A more recent Youtube video, he talks about it more in-depth:

What kind do you have? Eastern or Western? I believe Eastern is more resilient.

Eastern! He ended up brumating and did fine the past two winters (2021 and 2022). I’m nervous about keeping him out, though. Thinking about bringing him in for this winter. Our temps definitely drop below 40F and we get snow a couple of times.