russian tortoise moving while hibernating

[winston1]

My russian tortoise has been hibernating in the fridge since mid december. But i can hear him scratching around inside his box. Is this normal, should I take him out now and awaken him?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

What is the temperature inside the fridge?

 

[winston1]

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly Its sitting at 4degrees c just now

 

[ascott]

Perhaps a tick too cold....I would go more for like 5-6C (41-42f)....

Also, when you say scratching around....do you mean you hear some movement from time to time? Or do you hear the tort constantly moving? Tortoise do move a bit from time to time in brumation, usually from one direction to another, kinda circular, it was appears to be like we humans do when sleeping....but if the tort is constantly scratching and not resting--then there may be something gone awry...

You say you have the tort in a fridge....is there a constant air supply to the tort from outside of the fridge?

 

[winston1]

I open it for a few minutes daily. He has been scratching allot today, which makes me think something might not be right. I may pull him out of hibernation tomorrow if he hasnt stopped

 

[winston1]

I checked on him there, his eyes are closed and doesnt appear to be awake

 

[Tom]

I think what Ascott is referring to is that Russian tortoises will sometimes adjust their height in relation to the surface in the middle of hibernation due to temperatures. If they feel too cold, they try to get deeper. If the warmth of the earth is too much, they may try to move toward the colder surface a bit. I think 4 C is a good temp to get them down too, but perhaps go up to 5-6 and see if the activity slows or stops. If not perhaps go down to 3 C. Mine are at 5.5-6.1 C right now and no movement out of them.