I have a rescue tortoise that I've been looking after for the last 6months. I could do with some help with species identification and hibernation info on that species if anyone could help. I think he's a spur thigh but need to have specifics. I will try to add some pictures of him. His name is Albus.

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Pretty cergtain Albus is a male Testudo graeca ibera. This species in common in Turkey. I have some with very similar shells. I always hibernate mine as follows:

 I use for mine   80 litre plastic storage boxes of a soil/ compost mixture. Currently mine are in a cool hallway in 2-3 inches of soil. They are hardly moving these days. They must be wound down for about a month before. There is plenty of advice if you click on "tortoise" in left hand green box and follow links to hibernation.Once temps drop to around 10 degrees C, I will add extra mixture...damp, not wet to aroung 12 inches deep, and then watch the temps daily. Have you an outhouse or unheated garage to keep the box in? YOU MUST WATCH TEMPERATURES ALL WINTER. My groundfloor hallway is unheated and temps range from 2-10 degerees in winter. I have digital thermometers with alarms going off whem temp falls. I move boxes up and down a step or two to maintain temps in correct range. As they are in moist soil, it buffers temp changes and prevents dehydration too. I excavate them regularly to check they are ok.

Do post again if unsure, as you don't want any problems for Albus, he is a great example!

Regards, David nr York.

Thank you so much for your help. I've been winding him down for about 3 weeks now but didn't want to start hibernating until I was certain what species he was. Your tips will be very handy. Thank you

Hi there, this is the first time I have hibernated Albus my Ibera. I am concerned about his weight loss. He entered hibernation at 1450g and after 1 month is now 1415g. I followed the guidelines meticulously and we are using the fridge method with careful monitoring of temps. Should I take him out of hibernation? I'm so worried about him. He was a rescue tortoise so have no prior hibernation info. Please help.