am I killing my turtle?

[cordell]

I have a 10 year old 3 toed boxie as some of you know. I recently moved her into a container for a little sleep. The past 2 days she has been in the container with NO digging what so ever. It snowed here today in Houston so I had her in the shed outside. I guess it was 40 degrees or so. I just brought her inside one of the cold closets in the house so she dont freeze to death. She has been in that container for 2 whole days with the top off 3 times for less that 1 minute each time. Why wont she sleep? And am I hurting her to a point she could die by not letting her out?

Please Help....
cordell

 

[dmmj]

I believe you are referring to hibernation when yo mean sleep, If I am incorrect let me know but when they hibernate they don't really sleep. Mine sometimes mover around while in hiberbation. they also react to my touch when I check on them evry other week or so. Now rereading your post are you hibernating your 3 toed or are you just taking it inside and overwintering it. I am a little confused becuase it sounds like you are not hibernating it but also not provifding a heat source. A clearer explanation at least for me and I think I can answer your questtions.

 

[cordell]

OK sorry I was a bit frantic when I posted this. I decided to hibernate her this year. She is very healthy and has been eating well, I even fattened her up with bugs for a month or so. I took away heat from her about a week ago, still inside but cold at night. She started acting a little different so I figured she was ready to hibernate. I then created a container for her, filled with coco fiber, shredded newspaper, and leaves. This was 2 days ago that I put her in this container. Today I checked and she is still above the substrate. I could see she walked around the container quite a few times, making a circle path. I thought since it was to be cold today I put the container in the shed. I figured she would for sure be buried by the end of the day. Nope, I went and got the container to put in the cold closet so she wont freeze overnight in the shed. Her body was COLD and when I picked her up she closed up and would not come out. I set her down and looked at her just now. Still above substrate, not as cold, but not moving around. Her head was just barely poking out and legs tucked in the shell. Though she did the hiss when I felt her temperature. What I am worried about is her refusing to hibernate and me being to stubborn to give in and warm her back up. The outcome from this fear is her dieing What do I do, or do I do nothing?

thanks
cordell

P.S. she lives inside, or has this year. i got her from a pet store, though i do believe her to be from the wild.

 

[dmmj]

well it sounds like she is hibernating to me. I am no box turtle expert I only have one right now but they need about 40 degree temps for hibernatig and about a good 6 inches or so of soll to dig down into, I hear mulch works good for box turtle hibernating. Remember turtles are only as warm as their surroundings Without an outside heat source she will be cold to the touch which is natural during hibernation. If you have taken well care of her for more than a year then you should feel safe in hibernating her. I hope this helps out some and If I have given out any incorrect info I am sure one of our box turtle experts will be on sooner or later to help out, but IMHO everything sounds ok.

 

[cordell]

She is not digging down tough. During hibernation, assuming she stays on top of the substrate, should she be fully shelled up, shrunk in the shell but not closed, or like when they sleep during the summer time, head laying on the ground?

cordell

 

[Yvonne G]

I would use a lighter substrate, lighter than coco fiber. Something that won't get clogged around her nostrils. Moist leaves would be good. Cypress mulch would be good. Then put her down into the moist leaves (or whatever) and leave her alone. Put the container in a quiet place where it will be below 50 degrees but above 40 degrees. You can stand outside the area and listen every so often to see if you can hear her digging around, but don't disturb her more often than once a week. If in a week you see her up on top of the substrate again, place her back down inside. If the same thing happens in another week, then get her up and set her up as an indoor turtle with lights and heat and say good bye to hibernation.

 

[cordell]

set her up as an indoor turtle with lights and heat and say good bye to hibernation.

She has been indoor since I got her this spring. She was in a 10 gallon with a male. I was told they mated but I have seen no eggs. Maybe they were pets rather than wild caught. Though when I take her outside she wants to run, and she knows which way to go. She heads for deep cover, cover that she can not she but has a sense it is in the general direction. She even escaped once, I made a sign and stuck in my front yard. A few days later a neighbors dog had located her in a drainage pipe. She wasn't hurt, just staying hydrated. She has survival skills! I will get a better substrate in the morning, Thanks.

cordell

 

[cordell]

So I get up this morning, cold mind you. I walk by the closet my turt is in and I hear scratching at the container. Great she is taking a nap! I decide to take a peek, nope there sits Myrtle clawing away at the side of the container. Yes right on top of substrate. After I buried her once again. I just dont think this is going to work....

 

[Kadaan]

When you fattened her up, did you make sure to not feed her for a week while lowering the temperatures to ensure she didn't have anything left in her stomach/intestines? I read that they need to have empty stomachs or it can get infected and they can die.

Everything else sounds fine for hibernation. Do you keep track of the weight to see how much weight she's losing? I think the danger level is when they lose 10% of their weight, or if they lose more than 1% per week.

You also don't _have_ to hibernate her this year. If it's too stressful for you and the turtle, you may want to wait another year. Do you know how old she is?

 

[cordell]

Yes, I stopped her food intake and also soaked her for 30 minutes or so a few times during that week. I took away the heat for roughly a week as well. I do not keep track of weight but I believe I am going to start in the near future. Its like I can hear it in her noises she is cold. Her hiss when I attempt to put her down in the substrate is slower and cold sounding, lol. They are like kids, I know when they are cold, hungry, tired, ect. LOL On the serious side I do think I will get her out of the container if she is still awake by the end of tomorrow. Age, I would say she is 8 to 12. It is hard to figure out. I counted the lines on the plastron and I got 8 solid ones. I am sure there are some that I can not see, so she could be much older than that. The shell is formed correctly, and pet store bought. That is the reason I am wanting to hibernate, she has to be from the wild.

cordell

sorry pic is so bad, but the bigger one is the one in question, Myrtle

 

[cordell]

I looked at her again this evening and she was standing straight up against the side of the container. I took her out, toosed her back into her indoor area with some worms and she went right to eating!

cordell