Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i see that you guys use a fridge to hibernate your tortises. i didn't need to do that as my russian went into hibernation on his own last fall. he cam out 8 or 9 weeks later and is pretty active. was this a long enough hibernation? whats the norm here?

I've never used a fridge to hibernate my russians.

I bring them inside the house and into the basement sometime in October. I slowly reduce the heat/light schedule through early December. About the time the ambient temperature in the basement gets below 60F, the torts have quit eating and don't move around much. I've been soaking them regularly during this time.

I then shut off the lights and heat, move them to a cooler space that is consistently in the 45-55 range, cover them with newspapers and a carpet section, and check on them every couple weeks. This year I've kept them in a slightly warmer area (about 55) and they've lost very little weigh after 6+ weeks. I do give them a brief soak every few weeks and weigh them.

When the temps get up to 60, I'll put them back under the lights and prepare them to go outdoors sometime in early April.

Total time in hibernation will run about 75-100 days, depending on the temps in the basement.

Total time hibernating is going to be highly variable depending on the lattitude in which you live. I don't know if there is any minimum on the length of time that it should hibernate but if it is going through a cycle I would think that would be enough time.

>>i see that you guys use a fridge to hibernate your tortises. i didn't need to do that as my russian went into hibernation on his own last fall. he cam out 8 or 9 weeks later and is pretty active. was this a long enough hibernation? whats the norm here?

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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

The amount of time tortoises hibernate in the wild varies quite a bit according to what the climate is in their native land. It is kind of hard to say exactly what the "norm" is, but my basic rule in domestically kept tortoises is to keep them in hibernation from 8 to 18 weeks. Much longer than that can be dangerous, especially if they are not kept cold enough. Russians in the wild and in the northernmost part of their range sometimes hibernate as much as 9 months out of the year. That is longer than any other tortoise. They are adapted for that and it does them no harm at all.

The reason refrigerators are so good for hibernation is because you can control the temperature and duration of their hibernation. In the winter, if you aren't careful about where you let them hibernate, outside tortoises can either get too cold (freezing can be lethal) or stay too warm and remain too active for proper hibernation, depending on where you live. The ideal temp is from 38 to 40 degrees F. It is important to know that if they are kept too warm they can sometimes use up their fat reserves during hibernation and emerge very sick or can even die. I always use the fridge and have never had any problems. I keep them in during the months of Nov Dec Jan and Feb and then let them back out into the yard around the first of March. I live in southern California, so their is very little danger of them freezing at this time.

"i see that you guys use a fridge to hibernate your tortises. i didn't need to do that as my russian went into hibernation on his own last fall. he cam out 8 or 9 weeks later and is pretty active. was this a long enough hibernation? whats the norm here?"

back when i was in minnesota, i often let the adults (russians) go 5 months, once i tried 6 months. but they were all in a large camping cooler, in shredded newspaper, 60-70% humidity, in a walk-in refrigerator set at a constant 4 degrees C. they came out groggy and the males were a little dehydrated, but actively breeding and eating within 2-3 days.

i think the "cold basement method" is the best. fairly similar to what brad outlined. i placed my juveniles in large sheep tanks in the basement in the fall. heat lamps on timers at one end, set about an hour shy at the beginning and end of the daily photoperiod. as the ambient temp drops, the tortoises spend less and less time out and basking. they eventually go off food and stopp coming out of their hides in the cool end. the heat lamps then go off until i see them start to come out of the hides on their own, usually by the end of february. heat lamps come on, torts start to eat within a couple of days. this way the changing ambient temps and their behavior controls the hib period.

matt