hibernation

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...

Hi, I put my Spur Thighed tortoise into hibernation a week ago, but I noticed that he urinated in his box. He was still a bit restless at the start of the week which is when I assumed he urinated. I have changed his box/bedding, but I am now worried he will get dehydrated. Is it still safe to...

Hey, Both torts successfully worm free. My question is how long to let them recover before winding down for hibernation? Younger is still chomping away but older is properly off her food as she knows it's wind down time, feel bad trying to get her to eat everyday 🥺 Lizzie

Hello Turtle-Friends, i'm completely new to this forum and hope this belongs here. I'm searching desperately for an good advice what to do and what not to do. I have my lovely greek tortoise now for 26 years and he is my oldest friend. Usually my mother used to take care of him because she has...

I'm looking for input on overwintering my 7 year old Marginated tortoise. Since climate matters -- I live in San Francisco where our night temperatures dip into the mid-40s F, and winter daytime temps are usually 50s/low 60s F. Minimal rain, definitely some cold wind, but a good portion of the...

So over the last few weeks I’ve noticed my 2 1/2 year old Horsefield tortoise slowing down a bit. She appears healthy still, weight is good, eyes and nose are clear, pooing less as she’s eating less but urates and urine looks good. She’s kept indoors as the weather in the uk now isn’t as...

My 1 year old Herman's Tortoise is starting (pretty late) to wake up from hibernation. My other two tortoises are a bit letargic but I guess it's kinda normal if we consider that they are waking up just now; but this one in particular keeps opening their mouth while moving their head up and...

Hi! It’s autumn in this part of South America and Tortugo, my chaco tort, was already a bit slow, hiding/sleeping a bunch and not eating much all throughout April, which is totally normal for him. He had his last bath and food on April 19. It’s normal that our temp lowers around this time of...

Hello and greetings from Germany, this is gonna be my first post on this forum and maybe this has been debated to death already but I'm still curious what the anglo-saxon and english speaking international tortoise community thinks about it. I'll soon be a first time owner of a marginated...

I'm wondering if anyone knows of a hibernation app that can help me keep track of the dates when I soak my box turtles and desert tortoise, as well as their weights. I typically use a spreadsheet to keep track, but it would be nice to have an app. Any thoughts?

Hello everyone! I have a 2 year old horsefield tortoise named Newton. Over the past three weeks he has completely stopped eating and is sleeping all the time, only waking up if pestered enough (which I don't want to do) but then going straight back to sleep when putting him back down again. Due...

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...

Good evening, I have a 14 year old Russian Tortoise. Historically, she is an incredibly picky eater. We have given her all of the (tortoise-edible) greens (Dandelion, Mustard, a little Collard, a little arugula etc) under the sun and she will take nibbles at it, sometimes like it, and then not...

I have fasted my hermann for 3 weeks now with daily soaks, where he also drinks, he started to poop a couple days ago but never managed to get it all out. I was waiting for him to pass it ready to put him in the fridge today but he still hasn’t had this poop come out. Do I wait another week and...

I’ve starved my hermann for 3 weeks now with daily baths ready to pop in the fridge for hibernation, but i noticed a couple days ago he went to do a poop but it didn’t come out. I was going to wait for him to eventually pass it but he hasn’t yet. Should I wait for him to poop before I put him...

Hello, i am new to this forum and tortise keeping and I was really in need of some help? To start off, I have a desert tortoise, a male, around 40 years old. We recently inherited him because his past owner was unable to keep him anymore. Well, its already one month into hibernation time and my...

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 have a 5 year old Horsefield tortoise who I adopted when he was about a year old. He started winding down for hibernation of his own accord when the weather turned last year. We took him for a vet check beforehand and all was good, he just asked us to only hibernate him for 3 weeks...

I have read a ton of posts here on hibernation and I still can't decide what to do about Usain Bolt's winter time. Important info. I just got him from a rescue but they've had him for 4 months and said he's been healthy. Bolt is around 20yrs old, so they tell me. Bolt has an outdoor enclosure...

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...