Brumation

[Carmella2021]

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 herself in the log

.

 

[wellington]

Yes they really do brumate but you have to prepare them and do it right, which you are not. So now you have to keep her up and not let her brumate. They can't brumate with food in their gut, it will kill them
So, make sure her enclosure is 80 all over during the day with a basking of 95-100 and brightly lit
Night temps 70. 30-50% humidity. As an adult Russian she needs a minimum of a 4x8 foot enclosure.
Before next winter, search this forum for Toms brumation thread.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Second wellington, they need proper prep. Those tort houses are unfortunately too small too. He needs to be kept warm and well lit now to keep him up!

Hopefully you might find looking through this housing thread I made helpful, it covers equipment, levels, sizing, appropriately maintaining the humidity, substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This one might help get the creative juices flowing too!

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, probably most important, this one can also really good to familiarise yourself with, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help! Any further questions please ask! Welcome to the forum

 

[Carmella2021]

Yes they really do brumate but you have to prepare them and do it right, which you are not. So now you have to keep her up and not let her brumate. They can't brumate with food in their gut, it will kill them
So, make sure her enclosure is 80 all over during the day with a basking of 95-100 and brightly lit
Night temps 70. 30-50% humidity. As an adult Russian she needs a minimum of a 4x8 foot enclosure.
Before next winter, search this forum for Toms brumation thread.

She went poo after she ate i soaked her too
She's in a tortoise table

 

[wellington]

She went poo after she ate i soaked her too
She's in a tortoise table

It doesn't matter she pooped after she ate. She was not prepped properly for brumation. You need to keep her up!

 

[Carmella2021]

It doesn't matter she pooped after she ate. She was not prepped properly for brumation. You need to keep her up!

Ok

 

[wellington]

If you still want to brumate her, you could start now with the correct prep work. I will post the thread you need to read to do it right

 

[wellington]

Post in thread 'Tom's Brumation Thread' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/toms-brumation-thread.201823/post-2033938

 

[Carmella2021]

If you still want to brumate her, you could start now with the correct prep work. I will post the thread you need to read to do it right

I have her up now just gave her warm soak and put food but hasn't touched it yet

 

[Carmella2021]

Yes they really do brumate but you have to prepare them and do it right, which you are not. So now you have to keep her up and not let her brumate. They can't brumate with food in their gut, it will kill them
So, make sure her enclosure is 80 all over during the day with a basking of 95-100 and brightly lit
Night temps 70. 30-50% humidity. As an adult Russian she needs a minimum of a 4x8 foot enclosure.
Before next winter, search this forum for Toms brumation thread.

Here's her tortoise table

 

[wellington]

Here's her tortoise table

Do you have night heat to keep the temp 68-70?
What kind of bulb is in the dome?
What size is the enclosure?

 

[Carmella2021]

Do you have night heat to keep the temp 68-70?
What kind of bulb is in the dome?
What size is the enclosure?

Like a zoo med basking 150Watt

 

[wellington]

The enclosure is too small and the spot bulb is too intense and will cause pyramiding.
You need a incandescent flood bulb for basking, tube fluorescent for uvb and ceramic heat emitter for night heat and if added day heat is needed.
Also a 4x8 foot enclosure

 

[Carmella2021]

The enclosure is too small and the spot bulb is too intense and will cause pyramiding.
You need a incandescent flood bulb for basking, tube fluorescent for uvb and ceramic heat emitter for night heat and if added day heat is needed.
Also a 4x8 foot enclosure

For uvb I used t5 Arcadia D3 12%
What watts for basking bulb

 

[wellington]

For uvb I used t5 Arcadia D3 12%
What watts for basking bulb

Around 65 to 75 usually works good. Not sure what it comes in exactly. Arcadia has them or you might still be able to get some from Amazon.