hibernating russians

[moswen]

does anyone on here hibernate their russians? what are the coldest temps during your winter seasons if you hibernate them? do you let them dig in and hibernate in outdoor enclosures, or do you do it in plastic boxes with controlled temps?

 

[Yvonne G]

My Russians live outside all the time. When it comes time to box them up for hibernation, I usually have a hard time finding all of them. But the ones I do find, I put in boxes of shredded paper, then I put the boxes in cinderblock houses on my car port. It stays dry in there, but gets pretty cold, however, not cold enough to freeze. I have found dead Russians in my pen after having allowed them to stay out for the winter (because I couldn't find them), and I've always assumed it was because the winters here are wetter than winters in their home range.