brumation

  1. R

    Baby sulcata eats so much

    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...
  2. G

    nursing tortoises who want to sleep

    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...
  3. T

    2.5yo Started brumation on his own in outdoor enclosure...

    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...
  4. M

    Brumating Without Fridge

    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...
  5. C

    New York outdoor Brumation

    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.
  6. Tanuki

    Hello from Georgia!

    Hello everybody! My name is Karina and I am a new tortoise owner learning the ropes. Last month we adopted a 2.5 year old Eastern Hermann’s tortoise. His name is Tanuki and he is adorable 🐢❤️. He is a healthy tortoise and his previous owner took good care of him. He lives in an outdoor enclosure...
  7. I

    Conflicting Brumation Advice

    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...
  8. A

    Another problem! Tom, help!

    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...
  9. A

    Please help!!

    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...
  10. Crazyturtlelady

    Box turtle help

    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...
  11. arcanova

    Tortoise ate before brumation

    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...
  12. FomTarro

    Brumation Guidance Needed

    Hey all! We have an adult Horsfield's tortoise that we're trying to hibernate for the third year in a row. The prior attempts have been short-lived, as she has both times woken up and broke her way out of the box and fridge that we attempted to keep her in after only a few weeks, even at very...
  13. RatQueen_Irene

    Help Checking Brumation Preparation Procedure Eastern Hermann

    Hello! I'm hoping to double check my plan and research with people familiar with brumation of eastern hermanns and similar. My eastern hermann tortoise Kepler is around a year and four months old, approximately 4.8-5 inches long in the shell, and 462 grams (giving heavier Jackson ratio of...
  14. D

    Should i hibernate my new tortoise?

    First some context: I recently adopted a 50 year old Horsefield who was with his past owners for 10 years. They hibernated him every winter and kept him in their garage. They rehomed him with me because they couldn't care for him and acknowledged that he was neglected over the summer, they said...
  15. G

    Brumating or sick? Losing weight. Help!

    I have a 5-10 year old female Russian tortoise named Sprinkles. I got Sprinkles in mid June. Up until a few weeks ago she had a great appetite, eating most of the food I would put in her 8 inch terracotta dish, a very large handful. She eats mixed leafy greens and sometimes she gets radicchio as...
  16. Harvey_Halfshell

    Summer brumation, dos and don'ts?

    Hi all, I'm really annoyed by the lack of information on a google search about what to do when your tortoise burrows in their enclosure and there is a risk of night rain. My instinct is to dig him up or risk him drowning but tortoiseowner.com says "Do not try to prevent a healthy tortoise from...
  17. O

    Hello. (eyes always closed)

    Hello all, I've a red eared for about 3 years now. This past winter he went into what I thought was brumation and still is not eating to this day. I'm getting worried. His eyes are always closed and he doesn't move much. Am I over thinking it or is something really wrong? Thank you
  18. CharSparda

    My tort woke up from brumation but tomorrow the weather’s going to get cold AF

    Hey, So Raphael brumated for around two weeks lol and he woke up today because the weather is abou 80 F. However, tomorrow’s the weather’s gonna drop to between 46 to 54 F and the next weeks gonna be around the same… First of all, should I feed him? He’s just standing there, walking a little...
  19. biochemnerd808

    Waking your tortoise up from refrigerator brumation

    The most important thing here is to avoid shock. You don't want any sudden temperature changes. A brumation should last at least 8 weeks at 37-41°F (3-5°C), but for Russian tortoises can last as long as 4 months, if the tortoises hold a steady weight and don't show any blushing on their...
  20. biochemnerd808

    Brumation post week 1: start winding down

    For those of you who plan to fridge-brumate (hibernate) your tortoise, I'm going to post wind-down updates here for you to follow along. You may have noticed that your tortoise has stopped eating, and spends a lot of time hiding or even digging down. Even our captive bred Russian tortoises seem...
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