Sonoran Desert Tortoise Hibernation Question

[Brandonscotth]

I’ve had my Sonoran desert tortoise for about 6 to 7 years now so I’m not new to this hibernation time. But for some reason it’s already the beginning of November and he has not gone down for hibernation. He used to burrow under my house but I believe he has since outgrown it and wasn’t really taking to his burrow that he constructed. So I built him another artificial borough for him that is a little higher above ground so when it rains he won’t get flooded and for some reason he has not gone completely down yet. I’m wondering if the temperatures are too high during the day which is the high 60s low 70s. I am wondering if I need to place more dirt on top of his dome to help regulate the temperature is a little better to stay down. Or is anyone else running into this issue right now? His burrow is under shade all day no direct sunlight. His previous burrow was not that deep under the house maybe arms length just under the concrete foundation to this.

 

[janetm]

My DT's have been in and sleeping for about 2 weeks now. Just as a guess, tortoises do not adapt quickly to change so perhaps the new burrow is just "different". Did you try putting him in it? And, yes, I'd recommend some soil on top to help retain heat. Can it be moved to a place that gets some sun? All shade may be too cold...

 

[Tom]

I’ve had my Sonoran desert tortoise for about 6 to 7 years now so I’m not new to this hibernation time. But for some reason it’s already the beginning of November and he has not gone down for hibernation. He used to burrow under my house but I believe he has since outgrown it and wasn’t really taking to his burrow that he constructed. So I built him another artificial borough for him that is a little higher above ground so when it rains he won’t get flooded and for some reason he has not gone completely down yet. I’m wondering if the temperatures are too high during the day which is the high 60s low 70s. I am wondering if I need to place more dirt on top of his dome to help regulate the temperature is a little better to stay down. Or is anyone else running into this issue right now? His burrow is under shade all day no direct sunlight. His previous burrow was not that deep under the house maybe arms length just under the concrete foundation to this.

This will help:

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org