Hermanns: should we tuck them up?

[chiefsub68]

Our juvenile Hermanns are happily hibernating in a small fridge. Last year we covered them with shredded paper and there wasn't a problem. However, this year we're hoping to go for ten weeks. We're a little concerned that the paper may become damp. Does anyone else cover their tortoises in a fridge and, if so, what do you use? Is covering necessary?

Many thanks in advance

Chiefsub

 

[ascott]

I have seen several times folks using layers of towels...and removing them as needed...you can replace with dry ones as needed....

 

[thatrebecca]

My DTs are in boxes in a fridge and I use towels over/around their boxes to insulate. They're not super tightly wrapped, though.

 

[chiefsub68]

Many thanks, both. Towels may be best ... the shredded paper we are using is going everywhere.

 

[Tom]

Why would the paper get damp? Where is the moisture coming from?

 

[chiefsub68]

We're checking on them every couple or three days. Having moved the paper today we've come to the conclusion it was cold not damp!

 

[THBfriend]

I've been taught that they need a certain (small) level of dampness during hibernation. Might not make a difference for a short period such as 10 weeks, but since I let my tortoises hibernate for 4-5 months (150 days at most), even the hatchlings, I fear that they'd get severly dehydrated.

My young tortoises also hibernate in a fridge. In plastic boxes filled with a mixture of coco coir and soil. The substrate is always damp, but not wet, to prevent dehydration of the tortoises, and it's topped with a layer of damp beech leaves. Common vapor-compression fridges actually reduce the humidity of their interior. Air moisture condenses at the backside where the cooling elements are and the water should eventually drip down and out of the fridge through a small drainage there. Anyway, the leaves certainly do dry up over time, but that's alright as long as they do their job and keep some humidity inside the substrate. They can be sprayed with water if necessary.

Nowadays, I only check on the tortoises once a month. That is, a full check-up including taking their weight and testing their reflexes/responsiveness. But when I was new to this, I was so anxious that I checked them nearly every week.

 

[Tom]

I've been taught that they need a certain (small) level of dampness during hibernation. Might not make a difference for a short period such as 10 weeks, but since I let my tortoises hibernate for 4-5 months (150 days at most), even the hatchlings, I fear that they'd get severly dehydrated.

My young tortoises also hibernate in a fridge. In plastic boxes filled with a mixture of coco coir and soil. The substrate is always damp, but not wet, to prevent dehydration of the tortoises, and it's topped with a layer of damp beech leaves. Common vapor-compression fridges actually reduce the humidity of their interior. Air moisture condenses at the backside where the cooling elements are and the water should eventually drip down and out of the fridge through a small drainage there. Anyway, the leaves certainly do dry up over time, but that's alright as long as they do their job and keep some humidity inside the substrate. They can be sprayed with water if necessary.

Nowadays, I only check on the tortoises once a month. That is, a full check-up including taking their weight and testing their reflexes/responsiveness. But when I was new to this, I was so anxious that I checked them nearly every week.

Good info. Thank you. I think many of us are concerned with cold and damp conditions creating respiratory problems. Is this not an issue in this application? How many years have you been doing this and how many tortoise? At what temp do you maintain your fridge?

 

[thatrebecca]

I've been taught that they need a certain (small) level of dampness during hibernation. Might not make a difference for a short period such as 10 weeks, but since I let my tortoises hibernate for 4-5 months (150 days at most), even the hatchlings, I fear that they'd get severly dehydrated.

My young tortoises also hibernate in a fridge. In plastic boxes filled with a mixture of coco coir and soil. The substrate is always damp, but not wet, to prevent dehydration of the tortoises, and it's topped with a layer of damp beech leaves. Common vapor-compression fridges actually reduce the humidity of their interior. Air moisture condenses at the backside where the cooling elements are and the water should eventually drip down and out of the fridge through a small drainage there. Anyway, the leaves certainly do dry up over time, but that's alright as long as they do their job and keep some humidity inside the substrate. They can be sprayed with water if necessary.

Nowadays, I only check on the tortoises once a month. That is, a full check-up including taking their weight and testing their reflexes/responsiveness. But when I was new to this, I was so anxious that I checked them nearly every week.

Good info. Thank you. I think many of us are concerned with cold and damp conditions creating respiratory problems. Is this not an issue in this application? How many years have you been doing this and how many tortoise? At what temp do you maintain your fridge?

I'm surprised and interested to hear more about this deliberate dampness, too. This is my first winter brumating my juvenile DTs and I'm really paranoid about the damp/cold combo -- I think they're a species even more prone to RIs than Hermanns.

I put dry leaves and orchid bark in their brumating boxes, which are inside larger boxes in a non-working chest freezer with water bottles to help stabilize temps. I have two layers of bath towels in between the water bottles and the boxes, and sometimes condensation makes the outer bath towel damp, so I change it out for a dry one.

I've been weighing them every week (it'll be 4 weeks on Sunday) and they're holding their weight, but they look dry to me. I was thinking of waking them for a soak, then drying them off and boxing them back up.

 

[peasinapod]

On the german sites it seems to be the general consensus that hermann's should be brumated in a damp environment, while russians should be kept dry. Don't ask me why, that's just what I was told. The damp conditions make a lot of sense to me, as I can't imagine them brumating in a dry environment in the wild.

Peter is being kept in a box filled with damp soil and he's them covered with beech leaves. I can try to post a picture later on.