Hello, I am starting to think about the process of hibernating my 2 4yr old horsefields. I have read the guides on here but I have found that I am left with questions.

1) when should hibernation start or more to the point when is the latest they should start
2) what fridges do people use if they use this method? I am guessing it's not the one in the kitchen but that is the only one I have. Do people buy fridges just for this purpose?
3)can anyone recommend a good thermometer?
thanks in advance for any help, it's a worrying subject and I know I will be on tender hocks when they are actually hibernating.

Hello, good questions.

Hibernation, pr the wimd down for hibermation, very much depends on your situation. If your tortoise is outdoors it good to let them wind down as autumn starts, let them make the decisions, they know what to do. You can then put them into the fridge once the outdoor temps are down. If they are indoors, you can decide when. Ive hibernated as late as January before.
Things to think about are provision of food, weeds are pretty scarce december through to February, so this is a good time.

One other point about letting them wind down is its a lot easier to wake them up then it is getting them down for hibernation.

Fridges. People use small undercounter fridges (without the ice box is best) beer fridges or wine coolers. Confession time, I have used my kitchen fridge in the past.

Thermometers. You need a digital minimim/maximum one that stores the min and max temps. It also needs to have a probe so you can take readings where the tortoise is. Exo terra make good, reliable and accurate ones.

Thanks for the answers, they have been a great help.