brumation

I adopted Trixie back in Oct 25 and almost immediately she wanted to brumate. I managed to keep her up a few more weeks but as she wasn't pooping I started making plans to brumate her. Some of my family lives next door and had 3 different fridges to choose from but neither the desk cooler nor...

We are trying to brumate our Hermann's tortoise Scout (approx. 5-10 y.o.) for the first time, following the instructions in Tom's brumation thread, and have been having some difficulties, hoping to get some advice. She has nominally been brumating for about 11 days as of this writing. Our...

I am trying to keep Edward up, but formulating a plan B either way. About fridge types for brumation (for reference, I haven't bought one yet): Is a mini fridge a big no no? What about a fridge-freezer with a top-freezer, or a bottom freezer? Does it really matter? I assume that if the...

Hello, folks! I'm happy to report that our red-eared slider, Teresa, has successfully hibernated in a moist hay and topsoil mixture from January 1 to January 22. She has proven to be a hardy specimen, capable of overwintering at temperatures barely above freezing despite decades in artificial...

My CDT is about 20 years old, lives with my parents in SJ. They used to use the box method for brumation but this year used a dog house outside instead. California is having heavy rains right now, and he decided to come out mid storm. My parents both put him back in the house multiple times but...

Hi guys. I have had my original Greek tortoise for around 15 years. He has been in the family all his life, living outside in large gardens and was 'rescued' by my late grandmother from a London pet shop about 90 years ago. He is around 100 years of age. All his life he has been...

I have had my Russian tortoise 3 yrs and first time she decided brumate for 6 weeks now. I keep checking on her. I learned that they really don't brumate is that true. She did come out to soak and drink i offered her food she wouldnt eat. Just soaked and drank then poo then went back and dug...

Hello everyone, I am trying to determine if petunia, a Mojave desert tort who likely just turned one in the past few weeks is ill or if she is trying Brumate a bit early. Living in Vegas, and this past week, there was a cold spell: high nineties and triple digits replaced with averages in...

Hi All, Meet Willow and Lucky, our ornate box turtles. We just got them over the spring. They live in outside in our yard here in Brooklyn NY in a 4'x4' enclosure. Inside it, I dug a hole about 18" square and a little over 2 ft deep and filled that with about 50/50 sand and dirt. The rest...

I recently got a sick box turtle off the side of the road. I had planned on getting him better and putting him back where he came from once he was all good. I looked into rescues, exotic vets, conservation programs in my area, and wild life centers that might be willing to take him once he's...

I have a 2 year old sulcata tortoise. She/he has just come out of brumation and is eating all day every day. I'm beyond happy that she is happy and healthy, but with the prices of lettuce and other produce these days, she is eating the greens in my wallet as well. Is there a bulky produce I can...

About four weeks ago I adopted two desert tortoises from a tortoise rescue. At the time they had bubbly noses and were not yet hibernating, but very sleepy and slowed down. On the advice of the rescue, I've kept them warm and awake in an indoor enclosure with uvb/heat lamps and some sunny...

This will be our hermann's third winter and his first real attempt at brumation. He turned his nose up at most food over the past few weeks, except a few bites of dandelion greens here and there, including in the 2-3 days before he burrowed. He has now buried himself in his substrate (mostly...

I was hoping to use the fridge method for the first time this year, but I can't get the fridge to maintain a stable temperature (lurching between 4c and 0.5c on its warmest setting (I think in part due to it being outside in the shed), so I'm going to have to brumate without it this winter and...

Hi Hermann parents - anyone from New York/New York city with success brumating hermanns outdoors all year? Would love to hear from you. I have a clutch of adult 6 that I’ve always brought in but now considering brumating.

Hello I posted a few days ago asking for feedback for my tortoise's outdoor enclosure. Thank you again to everyone who responded. I have been thinking ahead to the upcoming brumation period. Sidney is around 50-70 years old per the vet's approximation and is a Mediterranean spur-thighed...

Hey! I posted about a week ago in my thread “Please Help!!” asking what to do with my pet desert tortoise. I was kindly helped by Tom The Dog Trainer and SinLA. My tortoise was not in ideal conditions which included flooding and not-so-ideal temperatures. So, I brought my little Godzilla inside...

Hello! My name is Armani and I am very new to the tortoise forum. I've had my tortoise for about five years and have had minimal problems with anything. But this winter has proved to be the most challenging one yet. My goal is to get him through this winter. Alive. Here is the...

I am hoping someone can help me with understanding what is going on with my turtle. I inherited a western box turtle in late spring, and have tried to research and do my best to take care of her. While I am not a newbie to tortoise keeping, I am unfamiliar with raising box turtles. Her history...

So this is my first year taking care of my own tortoise and I learned a lot about brumation. I learned that if they eat and go into brumation the food might rot in their stomach. My desert tortoise ate a head of romaine lettuce before going inside and sleeping for a couple weeks now. I am afraid...