I have....for lotsa years.....

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Posted by Annie Lancaster-TortoiseAid on October 20, 2001 at 01:26:26:

In Reply to: Russian Tortoise Hibernation - in the SF Bay Area posted by andy on October 16, 2001 at 22:38:59:

I'm originally from the SFBA...grew up in the south bay.

My horsfieldii hibernated VERY well in a box, with shredded plain paper (plain newsprint) in a closet in an unheated troom inside the house. It gets cold enough to keep an unheated room at 50F or so.....I never had a problem hibernating any of my Testudo there...and did so for many years.
With all of the microclimates of the area...dampness could *possibly* be a factor in hibernation...but unless you are living right on the breach...a horsfieldii shold be just fine if kept in a dry hibernation place. Outdoors? I'd say no...don't do it. And BTW no, you do not need a fridge...unheated closet/room works just fine...(and costs less too)
Hope this helps!

Annie

: First off, has anyone here successfully hibernated a tortoise in the Bay Area? If so, please reply here or email me at thenerve13@yahoo.com. I would be extremely grateful for any tips experienced people can give me.

: Winters here average around 45 degrees F, but we often have cold spells down into the 30's and warm spells into the 60's, so hibernation outdoors is out of the question. This leaves me with two options: fridge or ice box.

: I have no idea what an ice box might consist of, but the thought entered my brain anyway. I was thinking I could construct a chest of some sort with ice on the bottom, lowering the temperature into the safe zone (this would be in my garage). I wouldn't know how reliable this would be.

: The fridge seems like my most likely option, but putting my tortoise in the fridge just scares me. The logical side of my brain says he should be OK because tortoises don't breathe too much during hibernation. But then a friend will come along and say I'm going to kill my tortoise that way. Are fridges reliable? Has anyone here successfully hibernated a tortoise in a fridge? How do you ensure the tortoise has enough air, or how do you do daily health checks, without risking overheating?

: I just printed out the Safe Guide To Hibernation by the Tortoise Trust, I'll set about reading that within the next couple days.

TortoiseAid

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: I'm originally from the SFBA...grew up in the south bay. : My horsfieldii hibernated VERY well in a box, with shredded plain paper (plain newsprint) in a closet in an unheated troom inside the house. It gets cold enough to keep an unheated room at 50F or so.....I never had a problem hibernating any of my Testudo there...and did so for many years. : With all of the microclimates of the area...dampness could *possibly* be a factor in hibernation...but unless you are living right on the breach...a horsfieldii shold be just fine if kept in a dry hibernation place. Outdoors? I'd say no...don't do it. And BTW no, you do not need a fridge...unheated closet/room works just fine...(and costs less too) : Hope this helps! : Annie : : : First off, has anyone here successfully hibernated a tortoise in the Bay Area? If so, please reply here or email me at thenerve13@yahoo.com. I would be extremely grateful for any tips experienced people can give me. : : Winters here average around 45 degrees F, but we often have cold spells down into the 30's and warm spells into the 60's, so hibernation outdoors is out of the question. This leaves me with two options: fridge or ice box. : : I have no idea what an ice box might consist of, but the thought entered my brain anyway. I was thinking I could construct a chest of some sort with ice on the bottom, lowering the temperature into the safe zone (this would be in my garage). I wouldn't know how reliable this would be. : : The fridge seems like my most likely option, but putting my tortoise in the fridge just scares me. The logical side of my brain says he should be OK because tortoises don't breathe too much during hibernation. But then a friend will come along and say I'm going to kill my tortoise that way. Are fridges reliable? Has anyone here successfully hibernated a tortoise in a fridge? How do you ensure the tortoise has enough air, or how do you do daily health checks, without risking overheating? : : I just printed out the Safe Guide To Hibernation by the Tortoise Trust, I'll set about reading that within the next couple days.

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