diff --git a/config/boot.rb b/config/boot.rb
index afa16ad5a..517524d87 100644
--- a/config/boot.rb
+++ b/config/boot.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 if ENV['DISCOURSE_DUMP_HEAP'] == "1"
   require 'objspace'
-  ObjectSpace.trace_object_allocations_start
+  begin
+    ObjectSpace.trace_object_allocations_start
+  rescue NoMethodError
+    puts "Heap dumps not available for Ruby #{RUBY_VERSION} (> 2.1 required)"
+  end
 end
 
 require 'rubygems'