There has been quite a bit of discussion about hibernation lately and I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread on the subject. Its too bad there isn't a heading on the home page labeled "Hibernation." Would you all please add to this thread and tell us how you hibernate your desert tortoises, Russians and those Med. tortoises that go through a hibernation period? Here's my method:
There are two houses on my property. The original house at the back of the property is basically an over-grown storage shed with no electricity. In this over-grown shed I have two chest-type freezers (unplugged). I have lots of newspaper in the bottom of the freezers. On top of the newspaper I place cardboard boxes. Three normal sized boxes will fit in each freezer. I don't use plastic bins because the condensation from the tortoise's breath might cause moisture inside a plastic box. In the box I first put down the WHOLE Sunday newspaper, folded in half. On top of that newspaper I place the tortoise (in my case, its a desert tortoise [Gopherus agassizii]). Then I tear newspaper into strips. If you tear from top to bottom it tears off in nice straight strips, and I fill each box with strips of newspaper, fold over the box's flaps and tuck them in. I then close the lid of the freezer and place a pencil diagonally across one corner so that the lid doesn't close tightly, allowing a tiny bit of air exchange. The temperature inside this old house fluctuates a bit because it is so small, old and not insulated, but the temp inside the freezers doesn't fluctuate because they are so well-insulated. Once the air inside the freezers reaches its constant, usually around 45 degrees, it stays there even when the sun warms up the inside of the house to about 50.
In March I start "listening" to the freezers. The tortoises will start scratching around when they wake up and are ready to come out. I then give them a good soak and put them back out into their pen. Since they are acclimated to being cold in their boxes, I don't worry if the weather stays cold for a bit. They are safe in their outdoor houses and go out to sit in the sun when it shines. If it rains they stay in their outdoor house, high and dry. If your outdoor pen has a dry house for the tortoise, there is no need for you to bring the tortoise in your house and keep him warm. His body is used to being cold from his winter nap, and its natural for him to be in the outdoor house in tune with the weather. Naturally, all bets are off if you think it might freeze. You don't ever want to expose your tortoise to the freezing weather, as their eyeballs might freeze.
Some people check on the tortoises every couple of weeks during the winter just to be sure all is ok. I don't.
You don't need to allow your tortoise to go through a hibernation period. They don't have to hibernate in order to stay healthy. Hibernation, or more correctly brumation, is the way a cold-blooded animal deals with the cold season. If you want to keep them warm throughout the winter and set them up in an indoor habitat, that is perfectly ok.
Yvonne
There are two houses on my property. The original house at the back of the property is basically an over-grown storage shed with no electricity. In this over-grown shed I have two chest-type freezers (unplugged). I have lots of newspaper in the bottom of the freezers. On top of the newspaper I place cardboard boxes. Three normal sized boxes will fit in each freezer. I don't use plastic bins because the condensation from the tortoise's breath might cause moisture inside a plastic box. In the box I first put down the WHOLE Sunday newspaper, folded in half. On top of that newspaper I place the tortoise (in my case, its a desert tortoise [Gopherus agassizii]). Then I tear newspaper into strips. If you tear from top to bottom it tears off in nice straight strips, and I fill each box with strips of newspaper, fold over the box's flaps and tuck them in. I then close the lid of the freezer and place a pencil diagonally across one corner so that the lid doesn't close tightly, allowing a tiny bit of air exchange. The temperature inside this old house fluctuates a bit because it is so small, old and not insulated, but the temp inside the freezers doesn't fluctuate because they are so well-insulated. Once the air inside the freezers reaches its constant, usually around 45 degrees, it stays there even when the sun warms up the inside of the house to about 50.
In March I start "listening" to the freezers. The tortoises will start scratching around when they wake up and are ready to come out. I then give them a good soak and put them back out into their pen. Since they are acclimated to being cold in their boxes, I don't worry if the weather stays cold for a bit. They are safe in their outdoor houses and go out to sit in the sun when it shines. If it rains they stay in their outdoor house, high and dry. If your outdoor pen has a dry house for the tortoise, there is no need for you to bring the tortoise in your house and keep him warm. His body is used to being cold from his winter nap, and its natural for him to be in the outdoor house in tune with the weather. Naturally, all bets are off if you think it might freeze. You don't ever want to expose your tortoise to the freezing weather, as their eyeballs might freeze.
Some people check on the tortoises every couple of weeks during the winter just to be sure all is ok. I don't.
You don't need to allow your tortoise to go through a hibernation period. They don't have to hibernate in order to stay healthy. Hibernation, or more correctly brumation, is the way a cold-blooded animal deals with the cold season. If you want to keep them warm throughout the winter and set them up in an indoor habitat, that is perfectly ok.
Yvonne
