Please Help-hibernation question

[LadyV]

I'm trying to ready Bella for hibernation. I have her in a large plastic container with a mixture of sandy and dirt from my yard (where she took off last year and hibernated on her own) Is this set up ok? It is in the corner of my front porch. The brick is to keep the little stinker from climbing out cause she is really good at escaping.

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: Please Help

Hi Cloud:

How cold will it get on your porch?

I don't like to use plastic or substrate for my desert tortoises or for my Russians. Reason for not using the plastic is condensation on the inside of the tub. You want it to be perfectly dry for them during hibernation. So I use cardboard boxes. That's why I use shredded newspaper instead of soil too. The paper is dry whereas the soil is a bit moist.

The first year I had Russian tortoises I let them hibernate outside. That would have been fine, because they dig down deep enough not to freeze, however, it gets very wet here during the winter. Too much rain. I lost quite a few Russians that winter. Ever since then, I box them up in shredded paper and put them in an old vacant house on the back of my property.

 

[LadyV]

Thank you for answering cause I'm so concerned about this......OK, so I need a cardboard box with lots of shredded newspaper in it.....then should I put it in my shed? It's not heated, my hubby has computers out there for his flight Sim and the stuff like that...we get down to 0 a few days and sometimes maybe a bit below....were Winslow AZ...northeastern part of the state, last year she climbed out of her enclosure and thought she was gone but there she was in the yard crawling towards the house come spring......it's not too wet here really, our rainfall average is pathetic here.....

 

[webskipper]

Drill some 1/4" holes in the bottom for drainage. Shed is better to block the wind.

My Greeks are two and I plan to hibernate them this year in an unheated garage. No cars.

Is it time to turn off all the lights but one and prepare them for the Winter? They are eating a pound of spring mix a day which means they're clocks are counting down.

 

[Laura]

they need to go without food for at least a week before they go under.. otherwise undigested food sits in thier gut..
watch the weather.. if its going to be warm.. and they want to eat.. feed them.. and dont forget a good warm soak..

 

[webskipper]

Right on. Always headed that warning when I hibernated the Snappers in the wine cellar.

What's the trigger temperature for our Testudo? It was 50F for the Snappers.

 

[ascott]

I would add....if you do the shed thing, I would make certain no rodents/other critters can get in their and harm your sleeping tort....I would do a box within a box if your temps get that cold....big box then insulation then smaller box and additional insulation and not set directly on concrete ground unless you use a buffer between the concrete and the bottom of the box....IMHO

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sorry....in my first sentence I forgot the word "box" after "their"....

 

[GBtortoises]

How cold does it get and how consistent are those temperatures where your tortoise will be hibernating? How much if any sunlight?

 

[webskipper]

My lows could get down to upper 20s. In an unheated garage It'll stay above freezing. I'm going to monitor the temps once I see lows in the 40s. Going to be a while for that cold.

 

[lynnedit]

Thank you for answering cause I'm so concerned about this......OK, so I need a cardboard box with lots of shredded newspaper in it.....then should I put it in my shed? It's not heated, my hubby has computers out there for his flight Sim and the stuff like that...we get down to 0 a few days and sometimes maybe a bit below....were Winslow AZ...northeastern part of the state, last year she climbed out of her enclosure and thought she was gone but there she was in the yard crawling towards the house come spring......it's not too wet here really, our rainfall average is pathetic here.....

Good advice in this thread about hibernation boxes, etc. If you hibernate her, the spot you pick should not go below freezing, or the tort can be damaged or die.
In the wild, they burrow below the frost line (they know). Even then, a few may not make it out.

 

[cemmons12]

Yeah them temps seem like they maybe a bit cold imo, and something about using bricks make me very worried, plastic tends to get brittle with age, at least mine did..

 

[LadyV]

Thanks guys

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Thanks guys, so I should use double boxes, shredded paper and put her my shed instead of the porch?