How do I put my russian tort in hibernation?

[Geng]

So it is on the planning to 'fake hibernate' my 2 year old russian tort this sunday for 2 weeks. It is her first time, so Im kinda nervous. I have some question about her going into hibernation:

- Her temps and lights (duration) has dropped to make her ready for hibernation. On the day for hibernation (sunday) I'm gonna give her last luke warm soak, dry her, weight her and put in her hibernation box. After an hour I put the box in the garage and she stays there for 2 weeks. Is this the right way to go over to hibernation?

- Her wooden hibernation box is ready where she can easily fit in. I'm gonna use paper shreds as filling, but what about soil like coco coir? Is that also needed?

- How do I know my tort is hibernating and not dieing from the cold? The temp upcoming days are gonna be between 31F-46F? Is this an okay temp to let her hibernate safely?

- I understand I should monitor her weight. How do I do this, must I pick her out of the box? But what if she wakes up?

 

[leigti]

Do a search here on the forum for hibernation. It takes some research to do it right.

 

[mark1]

just my opinion on my turtles , the only turtles I hibernate are those kept outside ..... when kept outside you can watch the natural progression of the process ....... I personally would never , and have never hibernated an animal I was keeping in the house ....... i'm sure I could do it if I was inclined to , it would require a lot of effort on my part as i'd have to mimic the changing weather and sunlight outside ............ in animals kept outside , you just let nature take it's course , and watch .... if you want to bring them in just dig them up on a really cold day when they're dormant and put them in a box full of damp dirt and leaves and stick them in the fridge .... 38-40 I think is the safest range .........