hibernation questions

[ehopkins12]

Hi everyone! I just have a couple questions about hibernating Russians. I am thinking about doing it next year. I am particularly interested in outdoor hibernation. I want to know how it's done, or if it even can be done were I live (Ohio). The reason I am asking so early is I am building an outdoor enclosure soon and I am wondering if there is anything special I need to do to accommodate hibernating Russians.

 

[Yvonne G]

Russians are pretty susceptible to illness or death if they are allowed to get wet during hibernation. I always box mine up and put them in a dry place for the winter. Occasionally I have been unable to find one and it has had to overwinter outside, only to be found the following spring, dead.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

I usually hibernate mine in a dry box. This year someone recommended I put them in a less dry environment (soil) to more closely simulate their natural hibernation environment. So I did this (using sterile coconut coir.) I check them every week and they were fine. Then we had a warm up and the soil moistened up for some reason. When I checked them, they all had bacterial skin infections. One of them was very sick. I had to do a round of antibiotics on four of them. It was really a mess. I will never hibernate them in soil again - only a dry box from here on.

 

[GBtortoises]

My Russians hibernate naturally outdoors and have for several years. I live in New York State at an elevation of about 1,850 ft above sea level where we often get fall rains, followed by long cold winters ending in spring rains. Despite providing them with "proper" hibernating conditions, they never use them! Mine prefer to burrow into the natural soil, which is a hard pan, rocky soil and not the best digging conditions. They dig burrows that are about 6"-8" down and may be anywhere from 12"-24" long. They plug the burrows behind them as they dig inward. I like to try to cover the area with straw and then plastic on top for added protection. But there have been times when I was completely off because there actual location is so hard to find! They go into and come out of hibernation completely on their own without any interference from me. Our temperatures this winter have been well below zero several times and there is currently 30-36" of snow still on the ground as of today. When they come out of hibernation they are covered with dried soil which indicates to me that they must have had moisture on them at some point for dirt to stick to them. They aren't soaked or even wet at the time, but have obviously been in contact with moisture in their hibernation chamber.

I also have several Eastern Hermann's that hibernate outdoors, underground in their shelters.

I'm not suggesting or advocating that anyone do this. I'm comfortable with letting it happen naturally but I realize that many people are not. I trust that the animals know what they're doing and the area that I provide for them is condusive to them hibernating safely. It's just an example of the extremes they may possibly endure in the wild and can in captivity.

Somewhere I have some photos of the Russians burrows and them coming out. If I can find them I will post them.

Below is a photo taken a week ago. Just for reference, the fence poking out of the snow is 4' high. There's tortoises under there somewhere!

 

[chadk]

Thanks for sharing that GB. I'm still wondering if I'll hibernate mine next year ourdoors. I think I will, but still not sure.

So the 4ft of snow and being buried in dirt does not put them at risk of suffocation?

 

[Tom]

I've done it both ways. I've lost some cherished, very much loved animals doing it outside. Mostly it went fine, but sometimes it didn't. I've never lost anything doing it inside. Personally, I do not risk it anymore and I can't see any good reason why anyone else should.

 

[GBtortoises]

"So the 4ft of snow and being buried in dirt does not put them at risk of suffocation?"

Why would it? I'm sure many of the more northern species experience the same or worse conditions in the wild. Being underground protects them from the cold, especially with snow on top, which acts as insulation and a barrier from the wind. No animal that I am aware of hiberates at the snow level. They hibernate under the ground. My Russian tortoises don't hibernate in an air tight chamber. There is a couple inches of air pocket between them and the beginning of the plug in their burrow.

I've never lost a tortoise during hibernation outdoors. They choose where to hibernate, I simply add protection to that area.

Again, I am not advocating that everyone (or anyone) allows their tortoises to hibernate outdoors in a climate like mine. But I am comfortable doing so and have very good sucess with it. I was just showing an example of extremes, that's it.

 

[ehopkins12]

It really seems to make sense to just kind of let them do it on there own. Since both of mine we're unfortunetly wild caught (bought at Petsmart so i'm assuming they are) They probably understand hibernation. But anyhow thanks a lot guys! I'll keep researching and make a decision. I've got a while to prepare.

 

[GBtortoises]

It's never advisable to hibernate newly acquired tortoises too soon. Regardless of whether they're captive born, long term wild caught or short term wild caught. Tortoises in a new environment need lots of time to become truly and fully acclimated to their new surroundings and establish a routine. Anytime and everytime there are major changes in their surroundings or environment the process of acclimation or adjustment should be allowed to start over again. In other words, tortoises shouldn't be rushed into doing anything!
Whenever I get a new tortoise I don't even consider hibernating them until they have gone through at least one full seasonal cycle (spring, summer, winter, fall and back to spring again). Some tortoises need longer. Regardless of how long it takes, I don't rush them into anything, especially not hibernation or mating. I watch for clues from them to tell me when they're ready and even then I proceed with caution and a lot of observation.

 

[Yvonne G]

Gary:

I'm just curious about the condition of the earth under the snow. Was there much rain before it started getting too cold and the rain turned to snow? I wonder how wet the dirt where they were hibernating was.

 

[GBtortoises]

Yvonne,

It does sometimes rain before we get snowfall or before the ground freezes here. It also often gets very cold here before it snows. The ideal situation is for them to go under and then we get a couple of feet of snow. But it doesn't always happen that way. The Hermann's that are out there are about 2" underground, which then has about a foot of dry straw over it which is under their fiberglass roofed shelter. Once I check the position of them in the shelter (and move if necessary) I then cover the fiberglass shelter with a mound of straw that is about 5' in diameter and 3' high. I then cover the mound with plastic to prevent any rainwater or melting snow from seeping into the shelter where the tortoises are.
I do the same for the Russians, except they rarely hibernate in their shelter. They usually pick a spot somewhere out in the middle of the enclosure to burrow into. I can usually see where they've burrowed in. I then cover that area with straw and plastic. Once in a while I cannot find the entrance to their burrow and that tortoise ends up not getting covered. It seems to make little difference either way since they all pop up in the spring. I have a couple of photos I'll post of one of the burrow entrances and a Russian emerging.

In general the soil right here where my tortoise enclosures are is very hard and impermeable. It was a former farm hay field. Rainwater soaks in at a very slow rate and if we get a large volume at once it runs off rather than soaking in. The ground here will only accept so much water at once. The soil doesn't get very wet below the first 4" of depth. On top of that, as described above the tortoises are for the most part, well protected from the elements.

 

[GBtortoises]

I found a couple of photos I took last year. I had several more but unfortunately deleted them.
The first is of a female Russian coming out of her burrow up through the straw that was piled on top.
The second is a photo of the entrance to one of the Russians burrows that I did not find and cover in the fall. It doesn't look like that in fall when they're in it. This was after the tortoise had come out. This particular burrow was about a foot long and only about 8" below ground level.