brumation

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

Hi I’m new to this so apologies if I’m not posting this correctly! My names Tamzin, I’m 19, living in the midlands UK and have a 12 year old Horsefield tortoise named Tarquin. I go to uni but come back home pretty regularly to see my pets who live with my parents. Over the past few weeks Tarquin...

Do box turtles have to aestivate or is it as needed? And is every breed that aestivates or brumates the same on this matter?

Hello all. I have had one Russian tortoise for 6 years that I’ve never hibernated. Eight months ago I adopted a second Russian that I have no information about its previous care, but it’s appeared in good health since. I don’t know it’s age, but she’s a few inches longer than my other female who...

Hello all, Back in April I got a Russian Tortoise named Sprout. At the time I did not realize he was wild caught, but have since learned that he is. According to my and my vet’s estimate, he is around 5 years old. He is kept inside and I don’t have a way to keep him outdoors at the moment. Here...

Hi, I have a two year old horsefield tortoise who is recently very lethargic and has a soft springy under shell (this may have always been soft and springy, I didn't check previously). Over lock down I moved him to my Mum's (I relocated too) to make sure that there would always be someone...

Hi all, I started a new thread in “general” I hope that’s ok. I’m never sure I’m posting fb in the right area. I’ve received such good advice here but I continue to be confused. I was planning on hibernating my 2 5YO desert tortoises using a mini fridge because our house and basement even don’t...

Hi. I need help. We have two desert tortoises, Lance and Gwennie, in Highland Park, Los Angeles. They came with our house and for the five years we've been here they have successfully brumated in a burrow they dug - it even worked through El Nino - the tortoises placed it at the top of a slight...

I’ve been doing a lot of research on brumation and I was wondering if I should bath him every week whilst he is in brumation, he’s only in there for 3 weeks and I thought I need to do it once a week. People have said yes and no but I want to get an opinion from others! Also I here’s a list of...

Hello fellow turtle lovers - I have a female Russian, Violet, I've had for about 9 months, she was found wandering last spring and I adopted her. I don't know her age, but judging from the condition of her shell, I'm guessing she's 10+ years. She has her own outdoor enclosure complete with a...

Hi there, First backstory info: I’m pretty new to keeping my Russian tortoise. Oddly enough, she was found wondering the streets of a local neighborhood and since I’m a reptile rehabilitator (mostly alligators, removing snakes, and occasional turtle shell patch) they called me thinking she was a...

Murphy just turned 1 and we were told not to let him brumate for the first 3 years. Is this true? And if not, how to we prepare him for brumation? We live in southern California where its in the mid-80s in the day and high-50s at night. He lives in a raised enclosure outside, but has heat and a...