Buried Russian- out side.

[jeninak907]

We moved to Myrtle Beach SC in July. My female russian was in good weight. I had her out side since we moved here in July, she buried her self in late October begging of November. It has never gotten below 25F. She was heavy as a brick. I am assuming she is ok. I tried to find her by digging with my hands but no luck. My question is will she be ok?

 

[wellington]

It's really hard to say. If she was healthy and prepaired for brumating, she should be fine. I have never done it, so I can't help on what that prep should have been and an signs that may have been watched for. Good luck. I do hope it all turns out okay. I'm sure it will.

 

[tortoise5643]

Seems like she would probably be ok. My Russian did this once and I had to dig him out. He had dug about 6 inches deep, under the wall, and 4 inches out of the cage. I'm just trying to say that when she comes up she !might get away so maybe make a cage about a foot all the way around the current one.

 

[Laura]

you just want to make sure the enclosure she is in is secure.. wont flood and she cant dig out...

 

[Yvonne G]

You moved to South Carolina from Alaska? Talk about culture shock!!!!

If your winters get very much wet weather, then you'll need to dig your Russian up and set him up someplace where it's dry. I like to box mine up in shredded newspaper and put the box someplace where the temp stays around 40F...but never gets warmer than 50F. If a Russian tortoise gets wet during hibernation he stands a good chance of dying.

 

[Saleama]

Getting wet will not cause death, staying wet will. They get wet while hibernating ALL the time. When not in captivity, they do not get dug up and placed in boxes and yet, for millions of years they have survived. Sure, you may get unlucky and have something go wrong, it happens, but if the conditions are close to right you will be fine. Once there is no danger of frost and it gets warm out, water the area liberally in case she gets stuck in the mud and she will come out when she is ready. I had one disappear for over a month. I found him out of the garden covered in dried mud after a good rain. He was just fine, a little light, but otherwise fine. Like Yvonne said though, if the area she is in gets wet often and stays that way for any length of time you may want to cover it if you can not find her.

 

[jeninak907]

You moved to South Carolina from Alaska? Talk about culture shock!!!!

If your winters get very much wet weather, then you'll need to dig your Russian up and set him up someplace where it's dry. I like to box mine up in shredded newspaper and put the box someplace where the temp stays around 40F...but never gets warmer than 50F. If a Russian tortoise gets wet during hibernation he stands a good chance of dying.

Good to know- and yes a Wonderful weather shock more than culture. Yes as a child and through my teen years I lived in the wood. Then as an adult I moved to Anchorage the biggest city in Alaska.

 

[Hollymacd63]

We moved to Myrtle Beach SC in July. My female russian was in good weight. I had her out side since we moved here in July, she buried her self in late October begging of November. It has never gotten below 25F. She was heavy as a brick. I am assuming she is ok. I tried to find her by digging with my hands but no luck. My question is will she be ok?

Im new to the Tortoise game and reading through lots of info and old posts on this forum and I'm curious now, How did your Tortoise make out??