Hermann tortoise hibernating with his head out

[Oli Geneva]

Hi. I'm new to this forum and a fairly new tortoise owner. 2 days ago I put our 2 three yr old Hermann tortoises into hibernation after a 2 week wind down. One is happily buried with his head tucked in. The other has crawled to the top and has his head out but his eyes our closed. Are they meant to have their heads tucked in? Does it take a few days for them to get settled? Its about 7 degrees Celsius in their box so should be cold enough but I'm a bit concerned he has his headom out and isn't buried. Thanks

 

[mark1]

I can only compare the behavior to my box turtles which hibernate outdoors naturally …… it's only been 2 days that possibly may be a factor , but if I had one do what your describing I would be suspicious also , maybe give him a couple days to see if he responds normally , if not i'd warm him/her up and try it again next year ……… it's not normal for any I've seen …… sometimes on sunny cold days when they're not very deep there may be one that comes up because they feel the sun , but they are not sprawled out with their eyes closed , they are in tight trying to warm up ………. not saying your tortoise is sick , but turtles with respiratory issues do tend to sprawl out …….