Hibernation in the UK 2023

[LMurray]

Hi everyone,
I need some help and hoping someone can help me!

My Hermann’s tortoise, Chuck, is around 15 years old and we have been hibernating him for many years now. He lives in my garden when he is awake as he likes to be alone and take himself off for some quiet. Any enclosures I have ever put him in, he has broken out of them! On a few occasions, he has hibernated himself in the garden because he’s gone before we’ve had a chance to grab him (he’s very stubborn!)

This year, we managed to bring him in and we have started the process of getting him ready for hibernation (as we thought it’d be getting cooler in the UK but we thought wrong)…! He’s stopped eating and is no longer passing anything, but it’s clearly not as cold as he is used to when we usually put him in, in September.

My question is, shall I put him back outside and start the hibernating process again in a few weeks or shall I continue with the process but then it will be too warm for him in his box? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome!

I promise we will get to the "hibernation" info, but start here first, and look for the temperate species care sheet near the bottom. I guarantee you will learn a few things you did not know that will help you be a better tortoise keeper.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

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Here is the brumation info:

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

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