Hi,

I am in contact with a breeder at the moment about getting a hermanns hatchling end of october\start of November. Been looking into this for over a year and now seems the right time so I am pretty excited! :D However I am a little confused over hibernation and the breeder seems very busy so I thought I could get more diversity of opinions quicker from everyone on here. Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read this and reply. It is very much appreciated!

Should I be keeping her (its so pretty it has to be a her haha - unisex name has been picked just incase though haha!) awake for her first winter with me or if she is healthy enough should I be ready to hibernate her? Its a bit of a shock getting her and putting her go sleep not having a clue whether she will be okay but I want to do whats best for the animal and push away my personal feelings about it.

Also if I was to hibernate her this year or next what is the criteria for a healthy tortoise and what kind of fridge do you have to use? If it fits in a normal every day fridge can it go in with all the other food haha? Or does it have to be a seperate one? Also why cant it have a freezer compartment? Does that make it too cold? Also does it have to go in a special box for hibernation when in the fridge and what do you put in with it? Soil? Or just the lone tortoise?

So sorry for all the questions I just want to know I am completely organised and ready for when I am able to go and collect her!

Kind regards,

Jasna

Hello,

HELLO im Daniel I live in NJ. I have one NJ articulated female she was crossing the street in a very busy part of the rd. i was on my bike I saw her walking across the street with her head stretched out as far as she could put it trying to run across the street. thank god a girl in a van pulled over and ran over and got her I ASKED her for the turtle she gave her to me ive had her for 3 years and i bought her a male on line for 2 hundred dollars she is worth 5 hundred and is endangered I i got permission from the state to mate her and hold on to the little ones. although she. has laid eggs the mail destroyed them. so be careful and keep them apart. As for your question on hibernation I don' t let them . I kept them outside in a large pen but they are animals that don't like to be bothered by other male turtles only to mate on occasion  so as for you letting them hibernate don't let it for the first few years. if you really want to you can let it get a little bigger and put it in a Tupperware bowl with holes in it and put it in a room that is a little cold but not freezing in the top of a closet. leave it there for a while. but i don't let them hibernate. Remember keep them apart unless they are the same sex.. They like to be by themselves  I just took mine from outside to inside the house and i have them in a large habitat where they can tunnel and be by themselves. GOOD LUCK as they are so relaxing to look at they relax me so much. and the one i saved actually eats from my hand when she sees me coming she runs to me. The male is not as cool as the female aging GOOD LUCK....Daniel. .

Hi Jasna,

I have had a hermans female for around 7 years, i habernate fridge method every year, i use a large box with about 6/7 inches of soil mixed with sand, i use an everyday fridge, i have two thermometers reading the temp of the soil, i keep it at about 3 to 5 degrees, i put her on the middle shelf, the lid has manyholes in and i check at least two times a day, just to read the temp, and circulate the air, i dont actually look in her box every day, but i do check in it probably once every three days...and i take her out and weigh her about avery two weeks... you need to keep a check on her weight to make sure she isnt losing too much.. last year mrs b did about 13 weeks .. i think.. havnt got my notes with me at this moment..if you have only had her a few weeks, maybe wait till next year, but im deffo not an expert and would rely more on the advise of the experts from the sites.. but good luck what ever you decide.