Temperature consistency during hibernation

[Freddy90]

Hello I bought a fridge for my spotted turtle to hibernate him during winter.
Now the temperature changes every few like 7-10 hours between 3.8°c and 6°c
Is this in the ok range ?
(Turtle not in yet plan on putting him in the fridge during mid October just testing beforehand)

 

[Maro2Bear]

Hello I bought a fridge for my spotted turtle to hibernate him during winter.
Now the temperature changes every few like 7-10 hours between 3.8°c and 6°c
Is this in the ok range ?
(Turtle not in yet plan on putting him in the fridge during mid October just testing beforehand)

Is your fridge totally empty, or do you have a few items in there? I’m thinking maybe a few bricks that will get & stay cold in there will help stabilize the internal trmps better than a totally empty one.

@mark1 I think is a useful resource.

 

[Tom]

Hello I bought a fridge for my spotted turtle to hibernate him during winter.
Now the temperature changes every few like 7-10 hours between 3.8°c and 6°c
Is this in the ok range ?
(Turtle not in yet plan on putting him in the fridge during mid October just testing beforehand)

I fill the unused space with water bottles to get more consistent temps.

@Markw84 is a spotted turtle breeder here on the forum. He'll know if that temp range is acceptable, and likely have more tips too.

 

[Freddy90]

Is your fridge totally empty, or do you have a few items in there? I’m thinking maybe a few bricks that will get & stay cold in there will help stabilize the internal trmps better than a totally empty one.

@mark1 I think is a useful resource.

Its empty yes.
ok I will try to put water bottles in the empty space thank u

 

[Freddy90]

I fill the unused space with water bottles to get more consistent temps.

@Markw84 is a spotted turtle breeder here on the forum. He'll know if that temp range is acceptable, and likely have more tips too.

Will try the water bottle method thank u

 

[mark1]

open containers of water will keep the humidity up and stabilize the temp ........ the fuller the fridge the more stable the temp ....... the temp swings you posted are not that much ....... i've seen rivers swing 10 degrees fahrenheit overnight .........

 

[Freddy90]

open containers of water will keep the humidity up and stabilize the temp ........ the fuller the fridge the more stable the temp ....... the temp swings you posted are not that much ....... i've seen rivers swing 10 degrees fahrenheit overnight .........

Thank u for replying! I'm currently testing the water bottle method but the open container with water idea sounds also great I think I will do both. Gonna update tomorrow with a picture for all of u

 

[Freddy90]

Current situation
The aerator works good even tho the fridge stays cold.
Temperatures have become stable cause of all ur tips now at 4.1°c I have 2 thermostats to check
Gonna measure the temperature now over a few weeks before I put him in.
The cords will get situated and I will ad leaf litter to the water tub still reading countless info on hibernation and I think I'm set thank u all for helping me @Tom @mark1 @all the others which names I forgot sorry

 

[Freddy90]

Picture

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Are you planning on breeding this turtle? Just curious why you want to hibernate artificially? It's not really necessary and can be risky.

 

[Freddy90]

Are you planning on breeding this turtle? Just curious why you want to hibernate artificially? It's not really necessary and can be risky.

I want to in the future so I thought it was better to get him used to it early. Also the breeder I got him from got his breeding group from Canada and he also hibernate all his offspring directly and told me it is just a natural thing in the life of a spotted turtle from canada.