First time hibernation

[Darwin2016]

Hi!
We have a Hermanns tortoise which is nearly 5 years old and we will be hibernating him forever the first time this year. From the research I have done it sounds like the fridge method is the best and I understand for the first year we should look to hibernate for 3-4 weeks.

what month is it best to do it in? We are away for a week over new year so we will get a friend to look after him while we are away but I want to make it as easy to look after him as possible. So is it best to put him into hibernation before we go away so they are looking after a hibernating tortoise or to wait until we get back and start the process of reducing the food the first week in January

thanks for any help and advice!

 

[Tom]

Hi!
We have a Hermanns tortoise which is nearly 5 years old and we will be hibernating him forever the first time this year. From the research I have done it sounds like the fridge method is the best and I understand for the first year we should look to hibernate for 3-4 weeks.

what month is it best to do it in? We are away for a week over new year so we will get a friend to look after him while we are away but I want to make it as easy to look after him as possible. So is it best to put him into hibernation before we go away so they are looking after a hibernating tortoise or to wait until we get back and start the process of reducing the food the first week in January

thanks for any help and advice!

Hello and welcome.

I touch on it here:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Much more in depth explanation here in post number 19:

Looking for an RT Hibernation "Mentor"

In this thread, @Tom mentioned seeking out a "mentor" who has experience in successfully hibernating Russian tortoises. So I am looking for you! Or any ideas of potential helpful peeps... Thanks! :) A little background: My boyfriend and I are interested in hibernating Steve, our male Russian...

tortoiseforum.org