Wind down update (and some questions)

[Emma25]

Hello Nina/everyone,

A bit of a wind down update and a couple of questions I hope that you don't mind helping with.

We are on day 21 of Penny's wind down. On November 13th, which was 3 days after we started she weighed 1381g, with fluctuations in between, today's reading is 1350g before her bath and 1352g afterwards. This morning we placed her under her lamp and she did seem quite alert and looking around, she is now back in her hide (she was only under her lamp for about an hour in total) the lamp has been raised to cool down the temps.

We go away tomorrow for two nights, and the plan will be to leave her in the tortoise table with the lamps coming on for about 3 hours, we won't have any heating on in the house so we expect it to be about 13/14 degrees.

When we come back on Monday we will bath her again, and then place her in her box and move to a slightly cooler room in the house about 10 degrees over night. We were then going to move her into our utility room on Tuesday which is currently about 7 to 8 degrees and leave her there until Saturday when we will place her in the fridge.

I am worried the gap between a final bath on Monday and putting her in the fridge on Saturday may be to long? Also, does the gradual cool down seem ok?

Sorry, so many questions. We are feeling so nervous and worried about about everything now, the final bit is so close! The ironic thing is last year it was too mild and she wouldn't settle in the garage, this year we have bought a fridge and are currently surrounded by snow and the garage is reading 3.5 degrees

Thank you
Emma

[Nina]

Emma25 wrote:
Hi Emma,

I think you're doing really well. The weight loss is fine, and the progressive reduction of light and heat sounds fine too. The plan after your return for putting her into the 10 degree room and then the utility room sounds fine (although if we have a warmer spell, I guess those rooms will be a few degrees warmer). You could probably put her into the fridge a day or two earlier if you want, but it's not essential.

What worries me is the temperature of your garage. Do you have the instruction booklet for the fridge? Many fridges won't function well if the temperature in the room they are in drops below about 13C or 14C. Just check and see about yours. What happens, I think, is that the fridge senses that the temperature in the room it is in is colder than the temperature setting in the fridge and the fridge turns itself off. I'm not absolutely sure about this, but I know that when I bought my fridge-freezer a couple of years ago the instruction booklet said it should be in a room with a temperature no lower than 14C. Your fridge might be OK, but if it isn't then is it possible that there is a place in your house where you could put the fridge?
I just looked online and found this:

"Do not use the refrigerator in unheated locations, such as garages, porches, or unheated rooms where the temperature is likely to fall below 60°F, unless stated otherwise in the Owner's Manual or Installation Instructions." (60F - 15.5C).

Beko says that their larder fridges and fridge freezers should be in a room that is at least 10C or above.

I also found this, which says that fridge-freezers are more at risk in cold rooms, but it seems there is a problem with fridges as well: https://www.whitegoodshelp.co.uk/fridge ... mperature/

I don't mean to worry you, but I think that with a temperature as low as your garage is now, there could be a problem.

Nina


Nina

[Emma25]

Hi Nina,

Thanks for your reply, its great to know we are on the right track.

Sorry for any confusion, the fridge we have for Penny is in a spare bedroom and not the garage. It's been switched on for about a week now & has fluctuated between 4 & 5 degrees...we have 2 thermometers just incase, both read min /max and have an alarm on if it drops below 3 or goes above 7....Hopefully we are all set and good to go.

Thanks again for your help, its much appreciated.
Emma

[Nina]

Whew! I'm glad i misread it! All is well then. Several days before you put her in (or sooner) it's always a good idea to put in some bottles of water (I fill the door of the fridge with them and put a couple on the shelves too). Once that mass of water reaches the right temperature, it helps to stabilize temperatures and prevent fluctuations (like when the fridge is opened for air exchanges, etc), so the temp goes back to what you want more quickly. I also put a small bowl of water in the fridge, just to add a bit of humidity, although I'm not sure how much good it does because very little evaporates during the winding down period.

Happy hibernation!

Nina

[Emma25]

Thanks Nina