kowen
New Member
This is my second year hibernating my tortoise. Last year he slept in my closet and that went well. It is a spot he picked. He normally comes in our dog door and hangs out in the house and also goes out the dog door to spend his days outside in the back yard. During the summer, he sleeps at night outside. I started him off the same way. I took him to a vet right before he hibernated and he said on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the best, he was a 6. LOL. He eats a ton and is super healthy! I have been getting pressure from the vets office to put him outside at least on the patio. All up or all down they say. Well, I did yesterday and it was like 38 degrees last night. I put him in a dog crate with a dog bed inside and blankets on top of him and blankets over the bed. I hung the blanket down over the front to form a cave. As I was sitting outside next to him today at 4:50, it was about 70 degrees outside on my patio, I found him sitting next to me outside his crate. He loves to sit by my feet. He is very social, interactive and bonded to me. I put him in the grass and gave him some hibiscus leaves to eat. He ate a few. My question is can I safely let him stay outside after waking up? I did wake him up on January 3rd to soak him and he ate then also since it was 75 degrees. I offer food like I usually do and he just eats it out of habit I think. I always put him in the grass to eat and offer Hybiscus flowers. I just read online not to let them go back into a deep hibernation. If I let him stay outside it will get into the mid 30's tonight and soon into the 20's, a deep hibernation. Last year I would wake him up every 6 to 8 weeks or so to drink and eat and then back in my closet to sleep but it was a light hibernation. That worked well while he was in my closet. I just follow his schedule really. Am I really screwing this up or should I just let him sleep where he wants, in my closet? I am tempted to just continue what has worked for us in the past. He wakes up and comes out of my closet when he wants to eat and drink. I am looking for input. Thanks!