# Desert Tortoise



## jaclinelp (Nov 16, 2020)

Good Evening, I have a 15 year old desert tortoise, i received her 2 yrs ago, last winter she went into hibernation in Sep and stayed till March. This year Tucson has been having crazy hot record breaking temperatures. She didn’t go in until Nov. 10, but I came home today and she’s back out. I don’t know if I should move her back to her home, feed her or just leave her alone. Can someone tell me what I should do.


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## Tom (Nov 16, 2020)

jaclinelp said:


> Good Evening, I have a 15 year old desert tortoise, i received her 2 yrs ago, last winter she went into hibernation in Sep and stayed till March. This year Tucson has been having crazy hot record breaking temperatures. She didn’t go in until Nov. 10, but I came home today and she’s back out. I don’t know if I should move her back to her home, feed her or just leave her alone. Can someone tell me what I should do.


First read this. Most of the care info given for this species is wrong.





The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise


I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...




tortoiseforum.org





Letting them "hibernate" outdoors in the back yard often results in their death for a variety of reasons. Read this for all the steps to do it successfully. The main post you need is #19 if you don't want to read the whole thing:





Looking for an RT Hibernation "Mentor"


In this thread, @Tom mentioned seeking out a "mentor" who has experience in successfully hibernating Russian tortoises. So I am looking for you! Or any ideas of potential helpful peeps... Thanks! :) A little background: My boyfriend and I are interested in hibernating Steve, our male Russian...




tortoiseforum.org


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## AZGirl (Mar 2, 2021)

Tom said:


> First read this. Most of the care info given for this species is wrong.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I read these last fall, thanks @Tom. My 6 yo DT, Parker, went to sleep abt Nov 10 this season and is still sleeping. About usual, my 3rd yr of hibernating him. I feel I’m doing it better, hopefully. I am in Central AZ, (born in Tucson), so much colder up here at 5k elevation. Must hibernate indoors. It has been a very weird weather year in AZ. No rain to speak of last summer. Good Luck with your DT. That info sheet was helpful!


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## AZGirl (Mar 2, 2021)

Sorry, just noticed date on orig post. ?‍?


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