Here is what I have given to various people in the past.... This is what I do for my Hermann's:
Pick a date to start wind down, stop feeding torts from this date, but bathe daily, if they are hatchlings or juverniles do the heat and UV as following:
Heat and UV as normal for first 5 days
Heat and UV for 6 hours for the next 5 days
Heat and UV for 3 hours for the next 5 days
No heat or UV for the next 5 days, and have them in a cool room.
Then into the fridge
For older torts just change the 5 days to 7. If they are tinies then change the last couple of things to 3 days.
I use the fridge method. In the fridge I have a thermometer and I make sure the temp in the fridge is 5 degrees C, 2 is too low and 8 is too high! Some people use expensive thermometers, but mine is just a cheap fridge thermometer and has been fine for the last 4 years.
When my Hermann’s were tiny I put them into a small plastic box which had aubiose in it. That box then went into a bigger box, and between the two was foam of an inch or so thick. Both boxes had lids which weren’t airtight, but I used to open them every couple of days to let fresh air in anyway. Now they are a bit too big for the small box I put them both into the larger box which was filled with aubiose so they could dig down. But inside the box, at the end that would go near the back of the fridge I put foam, just to make sure it was extra insulated if it was knocked too close to the workings at the back.
Weigh the torts before they go into the fridge. For hatchlings I would weigh them every week or two once they are hibernating, do it in a cool room, or when the house is at it’s coolest so they don’t start to wake up. Bigger torts can be weighed less after the first couple of weeks. If they lose 10% of their body weight wake them up. If they wee also wake them up, but if they poo don’t worry about it. If their weight remains good then go for 12 weeks hibernation, some people do 14-16 for an adult tort.
Once your hibernation time is up remove the box from the fridge, take off the lid and leave the open box in a warm room. It may take a couple of hours but the torts should begin to appear at the top of the aubiose. After 2-3 hours I put the tort into their tort table close to the basking light (which is on!), but not right under the middle of it. After half an hour under the lamp I give them a warm bath for 20-30 minutes. That should really wake them up. If they have their eyes closed still when you put them in the warm water they probably won’t have when you get them out. Mine have always been fully awake after their bath, so I then just put them under the basking light and put a small amount of food in their normal place for them. Sometimes they will eat within minutes of having their bath, sometimes it take longer. If they are a bit sluggish a couple of hours later, you can always try bathing them again and then put them next to their food.
Another way I have woken mine up is : Remove box from fridge and take of lid. Put the box into a warm room for half and hour. After half an hour I take the torts out and put under their basking light, again not right under the middle of it, but to the side so they are not getting the full force of the heat. After half an hour there I bath them as I said before. And bingo they are awake!
Hope that helps, if you have any questions just ask
