I have decided to see if i can get my 3 Hermanns to brumate in my enclosure inside my outdoor barn. I live in southern pa and nightly temps in the enclosure are in the mid 50’s. Since i turned off the heaters the start of october, they have all but stopped eating they have not yet gone under the 6-8” of substrate. I am getting somewhat concerned. Is this normal for the brumating process?
Brumating in an enclosure
- Thread starter Mrgeez
- Start date
Please read this thread. They need the heat to last for about a month once the days get shorter and the temps begin to cool, so that they can clear their GI tract. They need to be warm water soaked frequently during this month long fast both to hydrate them, and help to vacate the GII tract. Your barn can work as long as the temperature stays consistently in the low 40s all winter long. Dropping into the 30s is getting too low, and climbing into the 50s is too warm.
I don't start the fasting process until November, and I don't put them down for brumation at brumation temps until December.
Tom's Brumation Thread
Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...
tortoiseforum.org
