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Old 08-09-2016, 02:11 PM   #2
sandy
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Kent UK
Posts: 12,144
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Quote:
Originally Posted by baldocktort View Post
Hi,

I am sure all of this has been asked many times so sorry!

I have custody of my daughters 4 year old horsefield. He has never been hibernated!

She works away a lot and I have refused to let him hibernate in case i kill him.

So, I now have custody for about 18 months and am contemplating hibernating him but i am, frankly, quite terrified!

My house is modern, insulated, and heated so never get cold enough for a tort to hibernate.

I have a brick garden shed/store but having monitored it last winter it doesn't often get below 4 or 5 degrees and being south facing if the sum appears it warms up very quickly.

Ant advice on how to hibernate safely would be very, very welcome
If you go to www.thetortoisehouse.com you will find some great hibernation info.
With the weather we are having at the moment, you have quite a lot of time to sort things out.
It all sounds complicated, but if you are strong minded, then its a doddle:0)
I have been hibernating tortoises for over 35yrs with no losses yet, fingers crossed:0)

I let my tortoises hibernate naturally in the garden soil in my greenhouses. If the shed has soil in it, or you could section a part off, and put soil in it, then you have a good chance of hibernating in the shed.
Using a thermometer you can monitor the temps easily. Which is what I did in my GH around 15yrs ago. I found no matter what the temps were on the outside (being glass the GH warm up quite quickly even in the Winter) once the tortoises were down properly then they didnt come up until the actual soil began to warm up.
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Last edited by sandy; 08-09-2016 at 02:15 PM.
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