Help! Tortoises hibernating early

[Andrew Jackson]

I have 2 tortoises, a male and a female, they are both in good condition to hibernate on the Jackson ratio. Both are 8 yrs old. For the last 4 years I've hibernated them in a fridge, building up from 2 months to 4 months or so. My problem is this - both tortoises live in the back garden and this year they have dug themselves in and started hibernating, for some reason they didn't stay in the heated area this year. I think they could have been there for up to a month. I wouldn't normally pack them away in the fridge until late november, but if I did it now they would have been in a hibernation state from late september till late march when I'd normally wake them. Would they safely hibernate for nearly 6 months?

 

[Yvonne G]

What species of tortoise are we talking about? Any reason you can't leave them to hibernate naturally?

 

[Big Ol Tortoise]

Most box turtles and tortoise can do just fine outside. If they're already asleep then put leaves/mulch on top of them

 

[HI Tortoise Rescue]

It would also help if you tell us where you are. Hibernation in, say, Wyoming, is a lot harsher than in the Carolinas. Welcome to the forum.

Ken

 

[JoesMum]

They will wake themselves when the weather is right which may be earlier than late March.

I think the longest we've done with Joe (double boxed in the garage) is around 5 months when we had put him down in early October due to cold weather and then had very late snow.

He's a 3.3kg Greek living in the UK by the way.

I have always gone by him as to the right time to hibernate - earliest late September and latest mid December! As we have always double boxed him, he's woken naturally any time from mid February to mid April.

This year is our first fridge hibernation in 46 years. He has been down 2 days now. I shall be watching the weather forecast for when to stir him.

Are you confident that they have dug into somewhere that won't flood or freeze? If not then I would dig them up and move them to the fridge.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum.

Please post pics of your torts.

Where do you live and what's the weather like back there?

 

[Andrew Jackson]

Thanks for the advice guys. I live in Bristol, England. It's chilly atm but no frost yet. Think I'll dig them up and put them in the fridge just to be safe.