would this be a benefit of brumation?

[CourtneyAndCarl]

I have heard nothing except things that have scared me away from brumating lil' Carl. However, I am starting to wonder if some of my current issues could be solved by brumating him over the coldest portion of winter.

My biggest problem is the humidity. In Nebraska, it's ridiculously humid in the summer and very VERY dry in the winter. Well when I first got my little guy over the summer, it was very easy to keep the humidity up to a normal level, just misting twice a day did the trick.

Well in the winter, I have had a terrible time getting any humidity at all. I will mist every hour or so when I'm home, pour water into the substrate at least twice a week, and have added a whole bunch of sphagnum moss that I try to keep wet at all times. No luck, within an hour after the misting, the humidity is always down to very low levels (usually the humidity gauge says 0%).

Carl is definitely being affected by the humidity, he's sleeping a lot more underneath the moss, and I am definitely noticing the starts of pyramiding.

Would brumating him over this time period help keep him healthy during the Nebraska "dry season"?

 

[wellington]

I can't help with your question. However, do you have a cover on his enclosure? If you do, and your doing all the misting etc, you listed, I would venture to guess your gauge does not work right. If you do not have a cover on the enclosure, I suggest doing so. It should help you a lot keeping the humidity up.

 

[Tom]

Good advice from Barb. I was going to say something similar.

Don't be afraid of hibernation. Done correctly its no problem. The only time I've ever had a problem was when I tried to do it "naturally" outdoors here in SoCal. Our winters are not consistently cold enough for that. I have hibernated many species of lizards and tortoises indoors for many years and never had a single issue. Its actually very easy.

 

[wellington]

Also, unless I'm mistaking, and please correct me if I'm wrong. I am just starting to read up on the hermanns. Isn't the humidity suppose to be 30-50 and with a night hide of 80 for a hatchling? That's what I have found when looking it up on the forum in the past.

 

[Jacqui]

It isn't so much a problem with Nebraska's humidity levels (which right now is 28%), but rather your home. We close up our homes tight to keep out the cold, but that also keeps out new added humidity. We then turn up our furnaces and dry out our homes while we heat them. This is not good for your tortoise or yourself. It is because of this, it is helpful to run a humidifier or simply keep a pot on the stove boiling away, better yet cook some long simmer time soups and take advantage of it two ways.

This along with covering the enclosure and doing deep wetting of the substrate will help a lot.

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

I'm not sure if a humidifier would help I live in a split level house and Carl is in the completely open basement, so trying to humidify that one area when the air would be circulating around the entire basement as well as somewhat upstairs is going to be difficult.

How can I completely cover the top when I've got two heat lamps partially inside and partially outside of the tank, and a UVB light hanging from a homemade fixture into the tank?

Here's an older picture (everything looks the same right now, except the smaller heat lamp on the right is no longer facing that way, it shines over his preferred sleeping spot in the back right corner, and the heating pad is not there anymore)

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

And the added room humidity will have the added bonus of heating faster and staying warmer as well. Just watch your temps with the increase in humidity. Cold/wet=bad, warm/wet=good.

 

[ascott]

he's sleeping a lot more underneath the moss, and I am definitely noticing the starts of pyramiding.

I find that the first thing that I thought of when looking at the pic of his enclosure is that I would first add a bunch of substrate to give at least 5 inches of depth....this will benefit in a couple of ways, when you pour water into the substrate it has alot deeper area to be retained in down deep....also the depth will allow this species of tort to dig himself down into the moist substrate when they desire to....you could then sink that pot down half way into the deeper substrate---add some wet down moss along with the substrate into that pot and be sure it is kept warm...I also would only add water to the substrate directly under the basking spot/heat spot to make sure it does not chill on him but will allow you to have cooler dry spots he can also choose to visit.....

Also, brumation has been a natural portion of their cycle of life....some will say that since they are in captivity that there is no reason, well, I do not agree---you see, we only believe that temp and lack of food are the only reasons a tort goes into brumation---there is no way EVER yet proven that the sleep/rest time itself is not beneficial, along with other benefits we likely will never have a clue of....so, here I facilitate this part of the natural life cycle and will continue to do so...as Tom said, I prefer them to do this indoors--and that is only because we are only humans and can never ever mirror nature 100 % in her entire beauty....

 

[jaizei]

This is the last picture in the OP from the Closed Chambers thread. Tom posted it, but I believe it is Tyler's. I think something similar with pvc and plastic may be the easiest way to cover the top/entire enclosure.

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

he's sleeping a lot more underneath the moss, and I am definitely noticing the starts of pyramiding.

I find that the first thing that I thought of when looking at the pic of his enclosure is that I would first add a bunch of substrate to give at least 5 inches of depth....this will benefit in a couple of ways, when you pour water into the substrate it has alot deeper area to be retained in down deep....also the depth will allow this species of tort to dig himself down into the moist substrate when they desire to....you could then sink that pot down half way into the deeper substrate---add some wet down moss along with the substrate into that pot and be sure it is kept warm...I also would only add water to the substrate directly under the basking spot/heat spot to make sure it does not chill on him but will allow you to have cooler dry spots he can also choose to visit.....

Also, brumation has been a natural portion of their cycle of life....some will say that since they are in captivity that there is no reason, well, I do not agree---you see, we only believe that temp and lack of food are the only reasons a tort goes into brumation---there is no way EVER yet proven that the sleep/rest time itself is not beneficial, along with other benefits we likely will never have a clue of....so, here I facilitate this part of the natural life cycle and will continue to do so...as Tom said, I prefer them to do this indoors--and that is only because we are only humans and can never ever mirror nature 100 % in her entire beauty....

Thanks! I have also changed the substrate since I took this picture to all coco coir from a top soil mix. It is a little deeper (about 4 inches deep) and definitely holds moisture better. He never went inside that pot after it had been in there for 5 months so I finally took it out, too.

Well I guess I have changed a lot of the stuff down in the tank, so I should probably post a new picture of that... he's all bedded up for the night though, so I can do it in the morning.

I guess I will have to look into brumating more, just the thought of it is so scary!

 

[Edna]

Courtney, two of my Hermanns have been brumating in their indoor enclosure since the second week of January or so. They are burying themselves deep (6-8-inches) in the damp substrate. I dig them up every few weeks because this is our first season of brumation and I am trying to develop faith in the process. Anyway, buried in the damp sand/dirt/coir/cypress mulch mix, their shells and skin stay moist and I know that respiration is also bringing humid air into their lungs. They look gorgeous!
Funny, but the other Hermanns in with them are not choosing to brumate. The criteria that drive that decision are not universal, apparently.

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

This is the last picture in the OP from the Closed Chambers thread. Tom posted it, but I believe it is Tyler's. I think something similar with pvc and plastic may be the easiest way to cover the top/entire enclosure.

That looks really nifty, I will have to try something similar, would you happen to know what type of plastic that is covering the pipe? Or does it matter?

 

[ascott]

I guess I will have to look into brumating more, just the thought of it is so scary!

I know. Just so you know, even after years of facilitating a brumating tort and the tort doing it successfully---there are still moments that you will always double check yourself that you have the set up good

You can go to the hardware store and get a piece of black pvc pipe and have it cut down the middle---make it long, like 3 times the length of your tort(s) bury that down a bit in the substrate and then take additional substrate and completely cover the top of the entire pipe ---this will give them a half moon place to retreat to as well as a place on top to bask and lounge about.....

This year one of my guys insisted on brumating outdoors in his natural dug burrow---it is deep enough to keep him in appropriate temps and the rain has been nice to him---so I am sure when he comes up he will have a satisfied smug look on his beautiful face..but until then, I still have a moment when I have to remind myself (and my son also reminds me) that this species has done it just beautifully for a few years P)....lol and I know that this tort has personally done it in the wild for all of his life....so the other guys rest in their sleep boxes inside and this year he is the rogue rebel....

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

Well I broke down and bought that elephant humidifier and am going to pipe the mist into Carl's tank. Am I supposed to leave it on all the time? I am a little bit confused about that...

And now all I need to do is figure out how to cover Carl's tank

 

[jaizei]

I would use a timer at the least. If you want to get fancy they have controllers that monitor the humidity and turn it on when needed.

---

That looks really nifty, I will have to try something similar, would you happen to know what type of plastic that is covering the pipe? Or does it matter?

Looks like plain plastic sheeting or painters plastic. I'd avoid the light duty stuff (.5, .7 mil) and get something 4 mil at least.