tortoises and winter

[GloOhland]

I've had 2 desert tortoises living with me for almost 3 years and in the winter they live in burrows in a very large fenced in space outside my home in Joshua Tree, CA. I worry, like any new tortoise mother, that I'm doing something wrong. The very handsome Romeo is supposedly 80+ years old (could that be true?) and Mojave is a little girl 1/3 his size who is about 25 and can easily outrun him whenever he tries to sex her. Her burrow has been registering a consistent temp of about 59 degrees—I use a Yolink device to keep track of the temperatures in the burrows—and his much larger burrow is about 57 degrees, though temps are likely to go down a bit with the weather. I often read that temps of 50 down to 40 are ok but I worry about anything below 50. I cover the burrows with tarps when it rains (it hasn't rained yet this winter) and I have been covering the entrances to the burrows with blankets and/or tarps when it starts getting chilly. Are we good or does anyone have any advice to give me? I SO VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE TORTOISE FORUM though I am a newcomer. (I hope I'm not in the wrong space...)

 

[wellington]

@Yvonne G @Tom

 

[Maggie3fan]

But they are in deep hibernation now right? Oh, in this situation I personally would trust those tortpises because in this situation I think they are more experienced than me or you...relax, I think...

 

[Tom]

I've had 2 desert tortoises living with me for almost 3 years and in the winter they live in burrows in a very large fenced in space outside my home in Joshua Tree, CA. I worry, like any new tortoise mother, that I'm doing something wrong. The very handsome Romeo is supposedly 80+ years old (could that be true?) and Mojave is a little girl 1/3 his size who is about 25 and can easily outrun him whenever he tries to sex her. Her burrow has been registering a consistent temp of about 59 degrees—I use a Yolink device to keep track of the temperatures in the burrows—and his much larger burrow is about 57 degrees, though temps are likely to go down a bit with the weather. I often read that temps of 50 down to 40 are ok but I worry about anything below 50. I cover the burrows with tarps when it rains (it hasn't rained yet this winter) and I have been covering the entrances to the burrows with blankets and/or tarps when it starts getting chilly. Are we good or does anyone have any advice to give me? I SO VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE TORTOISE FORUM though I am a newcomer. (I hope I'm not in the wrong space...)

In the wild they go deep underground, and choose the perfect spot facing the perfect direction with the perfect slope. They don't have those options in our back yards.

DTs brumate well at a consistent 45-50 degrees. Ground temps where they come from are a steady 50 degrees in winter way down deep where they are and a steady 80 in summer when its well over 100 every day.

Here are my thoughts on brumation:

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

 

[GloOhland]

In the wild they go deep underground, and choose the perfect spot facing the perfect direction with the perfect slope. They don't have those options in our back yards.

DTs brumate well at a consistent 45-50 degrees. Ground temps where they come from are a steady 50 degrees in winter way down deep where they are and a steady 80 in summer when its well over 100 every day.

Here are my thoughts on brumation:

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

THANK YOU TOM. I had been reading what you've written but I hadn't come across that particular essay. PLEASE KEEP WRITING; I think I know you will. I have been a journalist and writer for 50 years and should you ever want to write a book about this I would love to help. You could just send me what you've written and I could figure out the rest—with your permission of course. I think there are just too many people who don't have the experience that you do, and their tortoises are the ones who suffer.

 

[Yvonne G]

Your tortoises are native to your area. The male will do fine in his burrow and you taking precautions with it as you are, however, the smaller tortoises burrow isn't getting col enough. That one might do better in a box of leaves in the shed or garage, or refrigerator like Tom suggests.

 

[Cowgirl]

I've had 2 desert tortoises living with me for almost 3 years and in the winter they live in burrows in a very large fenced in space outside my home in Joshua Tree, CA. I worry, like any new tortoise mother, that I'm doing something wrong. The very handsome Romeo is supposedly 80+ years old (could that be true?) and Mojave is a little girl 1/3 his size who is about 25 and can easily outrun him whenever he tries to sex her. Her burrow has been registering a consistent temp of about 59 degrees—I use a Yolink device to keep track of the temperatures in the burrows—and his much larger burrow is about 57 degrees, though temps are likely to go down a bit with the weather. I often read that temps of 50 down to 40 are ok but I worry about anything below 50. I cover the burrows with tarps when it rains (it hasn't rained yet this winter) and I have been covering the entrances to the burrows with blankets and/or tarps when it starts getting chilly. Are we good or does anyone have any advice to give me? I SO VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE TORTOISE FORUM though I am a newcomer. (I hope I'm not in the wrong space...)

I think you are in the right place, coming to this Forum. I am relatively new also. There are many successful breeders and keepers here who share their experience freely. Welcome! I am in Northern CA. I am getting some Egyptians in a few weeks and hopefully a few Western Hermann’s in the spring. Claudia