Hibernating

[Turtle girl 98]

My turtle Elvis is one this year. Should I hibernate him or bromate him this winter? And if I should how do I go about doing that?

 

[mark1]

I would vote no ……… where it says you live , never , unless in a fridge ……… I believe ornate box turtle may dig down deep enough to survive your winter , I seriously doubt an eastern does …...

 

[Turtle girl 98]

Was asking for my snapper. They hibernate right?

 

[mark1]

absolutely...……. it's a lot more involved to artificially hibernate water turtles ….. outside you need water that doesn't freeze and maintains a semi- stabile temperature low enough to keep them down …… in a fridge you need a reasonably large quantity of water (for a fridge) and something to circulate the water to keep it somewhat oxygenated …. snapping turtles are right up there with painted turtles in surviving anoxic environments , small ones being less tolerant than large ones …. while they can survive it , done for too long it will kill them , small ones faster than big ones ….….. you may be able to just stick a small snapping turtle in a bucket of water in a fridge ,i'd oxygenate the water somehow . personally i'd make sure he could reach the water surface easily , probably an easy rock to climb…….. I use hang on the side aquarium filters to circulate/aerate the water , and a low watt led light on a timer for a light cycle ……. not real hard but not something you'd want to do wrong …...i'm sure there are websites with methods , explanations and instructions for it ...……...

 

[Turtle girl 98]

absolutely...……. it's a lot more involved to artificially hibernate water turtles ….. outside you need water that doesn't freeze and maintains a semi- stabile temperature low enough to keep them down …… in a fridge you need a reasonably large quantity of water (for a fridge) and something to circulate the water to keep it somewhat oxygenated …. snapping turtles are right up there with painted turtles in surviving anoxic environments , small ones being less tolerant than large ones …. while they can survive it , done for too long it will kill them , small ones faster than big ones ….….. you may be able to just stick a small snapping turtle in a bucket of water in a fridge ,i'd oxygenate the water somehow . personally i'd make sure he could reach the water surface easily , probably an easy rock to climb…….. I use hang on the side aquarium filters to circulate/aerate the water , and a low watt led light on a timer for a light cycle ……. not real hard but not something you'd want to do wrong …...i'm sure there are websites with methods , explanations and instructions for it ...……...

Oh thank you so much that was a very instructional reply. Yes you're right I don't want to do it wrong and have him not wake up. I have time to read up on it before doing it at least. I was thinking my 10 gal aquarium in my basement? Would that work you think?

 

[mark1]

if your basement stays near 40 degrees ? i'd think more along the lines of that 10 gallon tank in the fridge , most refrigerators are set at 40 degrees …….. they don't just sleep when hibernating , they are active …...

I brought these guys in one winter when I had problem with the pond they were in ….

 

[Turtle girl 98]

if your basement stays near 40 degrees ? i'd think more along the lines of that 10 gallon tank in the fridge , most refrigerators are set at 40 degrees …….. they don't just sleep when hibernating , they are active …...

I brought these guys in one winter when I had problem with the pond they were in ….

Yes the fridge sounds like a better idea. Seeing yours in the fridge was cool thank you for sharing. I didn't know they were active during hibernation. That's a crazy thought lol

 

[Len B]

In years past I have hibernated water turtles including common snappers and never had them submerged in water. I just set them up in solid color Tupperware type containers, kept them moist and cool and they did fine. In my local water turtle enclosure there are red bellies, red ears and painted, Had common snappers for years but no longer Some would stay in the water and others would dig under the leaves outside of the pond for winter. No rhyme or reason to it. When it stays cold enough to freeze the surface water some are still active under the ice.

 

[Turtle girl 98]

Oh wow that is so cool. I had no idea there was so many ways you can hibernate them. That is also such a crazy thought that they are active underneath the ice. I thought they dug down in the muck at the bottom and slept. Lol.

 

[mark1]

your experiences are good to hear , in the event of a winter emergency it's helpful to know ...…. not something i'd have thought of doing ,because I never seen it , we can just duplicate what we see as best we can , which is what I've always done ....I've read of water turtles hibernating out of the water , and box turtles hibernating in the water , I've not seen either ....I've done box turtles like you describe …….. the temp at the bottom of a leaf pile is pretty stable ... the water turtles here all take to the water in winter as best I can tell……I think possibly the behavior you see in your area would be genetically selected against here by our winters ….. the ones that don't instinctively go to the water are likely to get culled at some point by our weather , we get brutal winters every few years…. our ground can be frozen for 3-4 months in a bad winter , I remember a particularly bad winter where the ground was frozen solid at thanksgiving and didn't thaw until the end of march ……. I keep a temp probe under a 3 foot deep 15-20 foot long by 8 foot wide, south facing , all day sun , leaf pile , I put a tarp over it when were getting single digits and sub zero , it can get down to 24-25 degrees at the bottom , ground surface , during the dead of winter ……… I've never seen my water turtles not go to the water to hibernate…if one didn't i'd bring them in ...…… the ones I keep are consistent in how they go about it , they too have a choice . I've read about wood turtles in particular hibernating out of the water , I've watched my original 3 hibernate for many winters , their behavior is like clockwork , always the same …….. I built them another pond I thought would be better for them to hibernate in , they do use it in the summer , but they go back to the old pond to hibernate …….. it's obvious water turtles feel safer in water , year round ……one year I cleaned all the debris out of a pond for the winter , the turtles in that pond were unsettled all winter ……. I believe they were stressed all winter , now I actually throw leaves in the ponds in November …….. ………..they don't always do what's best , picking an unsuitable hibernacula is a substantial cause of death in turtles in northern climates , I do know of a few that froze to death , and read of many , wild and captive ….

 

[Pastel Tortie]

@Turtle girl 98 It's worth mentioning here that the term brumation is often used for reptiles. The terms hibernation and brumation are used interchangeably for the most part, but for me it helps to think of brumation as "hibernation-lite." Turtles move around... Not as much, but they dig further down, move upward, move into or out of the water (if given the choice)... and they aren't sleepwalking. Even turtles that don't go into a heavy brumation or hibernation will still slow down when temperatures drop.

 

[Turtle girl 98]

@Turtle girl 98 It's worth mentioning here that the term brumation is often used for reptiles. The terms hibernation and brumation are used interchangeably for the most part, but for me it helps to think of brumation as "hibernation-lite." Turtles move around... Not as much, but they dig further down, move upward, move into or out of the water (if given the choice)... and they aren't sleepwalking. Even turtles that don't go into a heavy brumation or hibernation will still slow down when temperatures drop.

Oh why thank you pastel tortie for explaining that. I'm new to turtles and evidently hibernation as well. I always thought they dug down and slept all winter. So technically bromating and hibernating are the same thing? And pretty much they just slow down their bodies because of the cold and that is good for them correct? Lol just asking so I know all about it. I should just Google it but lately I can't find anything on Google. Especially turtle wise.. hence why I am now a tortforum girl [emoji846]

 

[Lrodmyre]

@Turtle girl 98, I've rescued a lot of turtles over the years, and 2 years ago, in January, I received a huge female red-eared slider that my neighbor brought me because a man was going into a nursing home. When she handed me the container, the turtle was in 40 degree water. I had never hibernated a turtle before. If you choose to hibernate your snapper, you will need to lower the temp by 5 degrees every week. When you hit 60 degrees, you stop feeding any food so it has time to process the food that's left in its stomach. Keep going until you hit 40 degrees. It's really not hibernation, its brumation. I had a filter going, but you could just do a bubbler of sorts. I kept the red-eared slider out in our garage (it is insulated, and heated if I wish to turn on the heat). I had a 110 gallon black horse trough that was half full of water. I kept her out there until the end of March. You will see them move, but it is slow. They will come up for air once in a while but not very often. I kept a tarp over the top so it was dark, like in the lake. I also kept 2 thermometers to keep the temp at 40 degrees. Then at the end of March, I just did the opposite, and raised it 5 degrees a week until she was up to temp. I didn't start feeding her until 70 degrees, that was when she really started moving. You don't need a basking spot during brumation, they don't need it. Once I got her up to 60, I put one in with a basking light and took the tarp off. That's it. It worked great!

I have a Western Painted Turtle, Gracie, that I received 5 years ago. She was very, very sick when I received her. She had a huge abscess in her ears. The vet took care of them, but she needed 3 different sets of antibiotics to get her up to healthy again. It took a year and a half before she was normal. I do not ever hibernate her. She slows down and mostly sleeps on the basking spot pretty much all day during the winter. I have the lights on less hours during the day to follow our winters. She lays eggs every spring (I also have a male rescue painted turtle the neighbor kids named Albert). This last year, she laid 3 different sets of eggs. The first time, 7, the second time, 6, and the third time, 5. I guess my point is, you don't have to hibernate them to let them have a natural life.

I hope this helps you in your decision.

 

[Turtle girl 98]

@Turtle girl 98, I've rescued a lot of turtles over the years, and 2 years ago, in January, I received a huge female red-eared slider that my neighbor brought me because a man was going into a nursing home. When she handed me the container, the turtle was in 40 degree water. I had never hibernated a turtle before. If you choose to hibernate your snapper, you will need to lower the temp by 5 degrees every week. When you hit 60 degrees, you stop feeding any food so it has time to process the food that's left in its stomach. Keep going until you hit 40 degrees. It's really not hibernation, its brumation. I had a filter going, but you could just do a bubbler of sorts. I kept the red-eared slider out in our garage (it is insulated, and heated if I wish to turn on the heat). I had a 110 gallon black horse trough that was half full of water. I kept her out there until the end of March. You will see them move, but it is slow. They will come up for air once in a while but not very often. I kept a tarp over the top so it was dark, like in the lake. I also kept 2 thermometers to keep the temp at 40 degrees. Then at the end of March, I just did the opposite, and raised it 5 degrees a week until she was up to temp. I didn't start feeding her until 70 degrees, that was when she really started moving. You don't need a basking spot during brumation, they don't need it. Once I got her up to 60, I put one in with a basking light and took the tarp off. That's it. It worked great!

I have a Western Painted Turtle, Gracie, that I received 5 years ago. She was very, very sick when I received her. She had a huge abscess in her ears. The vet took care of them, but she needed 3 different sets of antibiotics to get her up to healthy again. It took a year and a half before she was normal. I do not ever hibernate her. She slows down and mostly sleeps on the basking spot pretty much all day during the winter. I have the lights on less hours during the day to follow our winters. She lays eggs every spring (I also have a male rescue painted turtle the neighbor kids named Albert). This last year, she laid 3 different sets of eggs. The first time, 7, the second time, 6, and the third time, 5. I guess my point is, you don't have to hibernate them to let them have a natural life.

I hope this helps you in your decision.

Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me all of this! If I weren't to hibernate/brumate Elvis it wouldn't cause any issues? Also if I do decide to brumate him should I go according to the weather? Like in nature, start lowering his temperature now so he's brumating by the time there's snow on the ground? I think it is so cool you do rescues. [emoji3526]

 

[Lrodmyre]

No, it won't cause him any issues. He's still pretty young, but you may notice him not eating like he was. Gracie goes down to practically eating nothing. She might chomp on a part of a minnow, and then that's it. Sometimes she won't eat at all. I feed all of my adults every other day. Babies every day. If you shut down your lighting as the days get darker, Elvis will sleep more, move less. My lights all go off right now at 7:30. They used to be on until 9:30. I just keep moving them according to our daylight/darkness.

If you want him in brumation, yes, start lowering his temp now, 5 degrees a week. Just remember, very important, to completely stop feeding by 60 degrees so he has time to process all of his food out of his stomach. Even if he is looking to you for food, after 60, don't feed him. He could die if he has food left in his stomach. That still gives him 4 weeks to finish processing his food out.

 

[Turtle girl 98]

No, it won't cause him any issues. He's still pretty young, but you may notice him not eating like he was. Gracie goes down to practically eating nothing. She might chomp on a part of a minnow, and then that's it. Sometimes she won't eat at all. I feed all of my adults every other day. Babies every day. If you shut down your lighting as the days get darker, Elvis will sleep more, move less. My lights all go off right now at 7:30. They used to be on until 9:30. I just keep moving them according to our daylight/darkness.

If you want him in brumation, yes, start lowering his temp now, 5 degrees a week. Just remember, very important, to completely stop feeding by 60 degrees so he has time to process all of his food out of his stomach. Even if he is looking to you for food, after 60, don't feed him. He could die if he has food left in his stomach. That still gives him 4 weeks to finish processing his food out.

Maybe I will do it next year so I have more time to prepare me and him for it. I have noticed he slows down and sleeps more when the weather is cold and the house doesn't get as warm. Sometimes he digs down in his sand and sleeps for a week. I wake him up and he has no interest in food and goes back to sleep. I was wondering if it was his natural instincts kicking in.

 

[Moozillion]

I have never brumated my tortoise or any of my turtles. The turtles live in aquariums inside my house, so I reduce the photo period a bit, and they eat a little less than usual, but nothing different than that.
I bring my tortoise inside and keep light and heat in her enclosure, but she always digs in and tries to sleep. I dig her out every other day to soak and feed her- she is never deeply asleep, wakens easily, moves well, eats, pees/poops and digs in again for another couple of days. I've done this for 7 years and she seems healthy and happy![emoji2]

 

[Turtle girl 98]

I have never brumated my tortoise or any of my turtles. The turtles live in aquariums inside my house, so I reduce the photo period a bit, and they eat a little less than usual, but nothing different than that.
I bring my tortoise inside and keep light and heat in her enclosure, but she always digs in and tries to sleep. I dig her out every other day to soak and feed her- she is never deeply asleep, wakens easily, moves well, eats, pees/poops and digs in again for another couple of days. I've done this for 7 years and she seems healthy and happy![emoji2]

Thank you Moozillion! I wasn't sure if brumation was absolutely needed and or if it would cause Elvis to not be as healthy. I might do it next year. Certainly not this year I want to prepare for it if I do. It's nice knowing that it won't cause any issues. Thanks again Moozillion! [emoji3526][emoji170]