Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone. Well I have a problem. I have had my male Russian for 5 years and I have never hibernated him. I have tried but every time I did either something went wrong or I got too scared and took him out. This year I am definately going to do it because he doesnt seem to want to breed with the females so I am hoping this will help. He is outside where it is in the 40's at night yet he still gets up in the morning and walks around when it is in the low 70's during the day. I live in Phoenix AZ so they are used to it being around 115F in the day and around 90F at night. I made a burrow out of a rubbermaid tub that is about a foot and a half under ground and it is very cool in there. I filled it about half way (about 8 inches) with dirt so they can dig in and sleep there. Is it posible that he has forgoten how to hibernate after 5 years? My female Russian on the other hand (who I have only had a year and a half) knows what to do. She has been digging like crazy trying to hibernate but it is in the wrong places so I keep digging her up. I put her in the burrow that I made and she has been in there since friday afternoon and has dug in. It will be getting into the mid to low 30's here in a little bit and low 70's during the day but with them being almost 2 ft underground it should stay cool. I am going to get a min/max thermometer (anyone know where I can get a cheap but good one?) and I will put it in there so I know exactly what the temps get. Sorry its so long and thanks for reading.
*~Meghan~*

Your day time temps are too warm.

They need to drop below 60 for a few days.
Link

And you know this how?
Ed

Years of experience.

.

n/p

The lack of hibernation could very well by why your male Russian does not want to breed. That is actually quite common.

Tortoises that have not hibernated in years can be a little more reluctant to do so than those that are not so far out of that mode. The main reason he is not settling down is because it is still getting too warm during the day. You should get that thermometer and see what the temps are getting in the hole where the female is. It should stay from above freezing (33 or over) to around 42 or 43 degrees in order for everything to go well. If they cannot dig deeply enough into the soil for whatever reason, and it gets 32 degrees or colder, the tortoise will be in BIG trouble. I don't know what kind of situation you have the female in as far as her hole, but if she can dig as deep as she wants to, she will dig to a depth that will keep her at the right temp and so will the male if he is allowed to dig on his own with no limits. Tortoises will adjust the depth they are burried at all during hibernation to keep just the right temperature. When the male gets cold enough, he WILL hibernate. If you cannot be sure about the temps for the entire duration of the winter hibernation under natural conditons, you should use a refrigerator. I discussed how to do this in previous posts.

Russians are one of the easiest torts to hibernate. They can stay under for 5 or 6 months and not bat an eyelash and as long as you don't ever let them freeze or get avove 45 or 46 degrees for very long, they will be fine. Of course, you will probably only need to hibernate them about 4 months or so until warm weather returns. I'm not sure what the seasons are like where you are.

Hi. Thanks for all the info. I live in AZ so it stays around 70 in the day sometimes around 60 and around 32F at night. I got a 16 gallon rubbermaid tub and cut a hole in the side then got a flexible dryer vent and put that on the hole. I filled it with about 8 inches of dirt and put the whole thing about 1 1/2-2 ft under ground and it stays quite cooler than above ground. The female came out for a little bit yesterday but that was because it was warmer than usual and it was sunnier. I am going to be getting a mini fridge when I get the money (probably around thanksgiving or xmas) so I will put them in that after everything is set up. Thanks
*~Meghan~*

I was wondering, since it is too warm in the day for them to actually
hibernate, what about putting them in the fridge for a week or so
then putting them outside would that work? I would get everything
setup for them to go in the fridge but then once they started
hibernating I could put them in the artificial burrow for them to
hibernate the rest of the time. I think if they got cold enough and
actually started hibernating they would stay there when they went
outside because the burrow stays a lot cooler than outside of it
does. Thanks
*~Meghan~*

Without knowing exactly what the temperature is in the artificial burrow, your chance of failure is high. They will go into hibernation when you put them in the fridge, but when you take them out and put them in the burrow, they will probably wake up because it is not staying in the 40s in there. It may seem cold to you, but it is unlikely it is cold enough to keep them hibernating.

Best to either 1)keep them in the fridge permanantly for the hibernation, 2)wait for it to cool off more outside and hope for the best with a natural hibernation, or 3)keep them under heat lights indoors through the winter and forget the hibernation alltogether.

If you go with option 2, I would allow them to dig in much deeper than you are currently letting them.

this is soooooo wrong.

Wow, your in-depth analysis is truly amazing. The way you took apart my position point-by-point is nothing short of brilliant! Maybe next time you could edit it down a little bit and just say, "nuhh uhh!!" You remind me of the kid on the Simpsons who just points and says, "ha ha!" He says so much with so little!

You impress me in ways normally reserved for room-temp oatmeal.