Hibernating without indoor set up?

[Tom]

I have a feeling Mac will give me a hard time to go in that box, he's the type of tort to go to his little corner, dig down and be happy with that. At first I would put him under the log hide every night and he would stay there sometimes but never go into the hide on his own at night time. He only uses that hide when the sun is beaming and he wants shelter. How would you shrink that box in size? Do they sell smaller mats? Smaller radiating heat things?
Do you feel Mac would benefit from this more than me just setting up an indoor temp box for him? Where's he's at, I don't have power, I would have to run an extension cord from my outlet against the house to him, that might be a problem.

1. You never know. Sometimes they dive right in on night one, and other times they fight you on it for months.
2. Shrink it? You'd just cut the plywood pieces smaller during assembly.
3. Yes on the smaller mats. They sell a 24x24 that would work well in a 24x26" box. Kind of big for one russian, but this will allow him to be on or off the pad while in his box. They sell a 21x21" RHP, if you need it.
4. I think in your climate an outdoor box will work better than a small indoor set up. This is highly debatable. Either way can work for you.
5. I've used lots of extension cords. It can be done safely and work well.

 

[AnimalLady]

I'll take these one paragraph at a time.

1. There is not a tortoise house and heating system that is all-in-one and ready to go for every situation. But don't be afraid. A bunch of us have done this many times and we will hand-hold you through this as much as you need or want. All of this stuff is really simple to use. There is always an element of customization with every set up.
2. The overhead radiant heat panel is a way to add more heat in a safe way. The box in that thread is made for tropical species and the Kane heat mat alone is not enough to keep them warm in my climate on our below freezing winter nights.
3. In YOUR climate, the bottom heater MIGHT be enough for YOUR species. Only your thermometer can answer this question.
4. Yes. They can sit directly on the mat. Those mats are also called "pig blankets" or "farrowing pads" because they are designed for newborn piglets to lay on in their first few hours and days of life. They are heavy duty, yet safe.
5. You cannot put ANYTHING on top of the pad. This will make potentially dangerous hot spots and possibly trip the safety mechanisms of your pad, shutting it off on a cold night.

Ok,
1. Got it, I will mostly likely need to be guided way more than others. I'm going to compare this to the indoor set up and see what works best for us. I really like the outdoor thing, this way I don't have to move him from his home and stress him out.. (I have small LOUD children)
2. Hoping I don't need that here, I mean, its never really that cold for long, below freezing is just never going to happen here (thank goodness)
3. I work for a walkin cooler co, I have a 2" dial thermometer that I keep in stock here. It has the face and a probe, nothing else, it is not electronic. Do you think this will work?
4. Great!
5. Good thing you said this.. I imagined me just getting a box putting the mat under a thin layer of soil and calling it a day. Boy, was I off.

 

[AnimalLady]

1. You never know. Sometimes they dive right in on night one, and other times they fight you on it for months.
2. Shrink it? You'd just cut the plywood pieces smaller during assembly.
3. Yes on the smaller mats. They sell a 24x24 that would work well in a 24x26" box. Kind of big for one russian, but this will allow him to be on or off the pad while in his box. They sell a 21x21" RHP, if you need it.
4. I think in your climate an outdoor box will work better than a small indoor set up. This is highly debatable. Either way can work for you.
5. I've used lots of extension cords. It can be done safely and work well.

Thank you~!

 

[Tom]

Also, when hibernating, I get the feeling that it is critical to have them maintain a cold temp (I think you said 45F). The only way I see this as possible is buying a dedicated fridge for him.
Has research been done on NOT hibernating a hibernating species of tort? Will he be okay if I don't do it? Or would he benefit from me doing it? I would imagine he needs this? Honestly, hibernating scares me a little, I don't want to attempt this until I can fully grasp the entire concept and be sure that I can do this properly. Something I should have researched before I made my move.

So you aren't hibernating your Russians this year? Is there a reason for it? Their age?

1. I hibernate russian tortoises at around 40 degrees F. I don't go lower than that because the danger of getting to freezing is too great. I prefer a little margin of error. Much higher than that and they can burn though their fat reserves too quickly and also become active in their hibernacula. I do use a fridge. My garage does not stay consistently cold enough all winter long for russian tortoise hibernation. I use the controls on the fridge to slowly cool them to my desired temperature and then slowly warm them up in spring. I also use at least two different thermometers, one of them always being remote so I can easily see it at from a distance.
2. I don't know about "research" but lots of people do not hibernate their tortoises. They report that it goes fine. Sometimes the tortoises have other ideas and want to go to sleep even when temps stay warm and lights stay on, but there are techniques for overcoming this. If you don't want to hibernate you don't have to. I am of the opinion that if a species comes from an area where they hibernate in the wild, then they should also hibernate in captivity. This definitely applies to russians. I believe there is benefit to hibernation, but this is highly debatable and "feelings" tend to run high on this subject. Do a search for "hibernation" and read some of the old threads. Should be entertaining and informative.
3. I am hibernating my russians this year. I hibernate all of my hibernating species of both lizards and tortoises every year. My russians are all between 2 and 3 years old. At the breeders request, I did not hibernate some of my Russian babies in their first year, but I did hibernate them all their second year, and will continue to hibernate them every year. I've been hibernating tortoises for a long time...

 

[Tom]

3. I work for a walkin cooler co, I have a 2" dial thermometer that I keep in stock here. It has the face and a probe, nothing else, it is not electronic. Do you think this will work?

It sounds like it should be fine. Maybe ask someone in the "tech" department how accurate they are? Or check it your self against other thermometers.