Hibernation.... I miss my turtle!

[txturtle13]

Ok... so this is probably silly but I miss my turtle Dora! I'm sure everyone is missing their guys. She is hibernating in a 50 gallon in our gaurage. I have checked on her once just to see how she's doing. She seemed fine to me, asleep. I'm leaving her be until "Spring" comes around.

Well, we have had a very warm winter here (Houston) so far. What month should she be brought out of hibernation? Will it be more like mid January or February? Is it based more on temperatures? We have only had one day of 32 degree weather here. The rest of the days it has been low 60's, reaching into the 40's at night. We've even had some low-mid 70s weather. I feel like I should have just let her hibernate outside on her own, but then again we could have had a much colder winter.

 

[Saleama]

She will wake up when ready. If you do decide to take her out of hibernation, do not warm her up all at once. Increase the temps slowly over a few days or so. Remember, while ambient temps outside might go up fast, temps underground rise slowly. After a few days give her a warm bath and let her do what she does. Down in H-town I would say late February, early March.

 

[thea lester]

I really miss my turtles too! They're hibernating outdoors and even though they're dug down and covered in leaves and branches I'm all stressed out because it's been so cold here. Record lows, down in the 20's for hours and such. I added a blanket and some cardboard for these few days, will take that off tomorrow when it warms up.

 

[lisa127]

This is one of the reasons I overwinter indoors.

For the record, our low yesterday was -11 (yes, below zero) not factoring in windchill. Windchill was -38 (yes, below zero..lol).

 

[TortsNTurtles]

Well I do not have box turtles yet still in the dreaming stage. I was planning on letting them hibernate outside naturally but after this unusual cold winter I must admit I am a little nervous now. Hoping everyones box turtles will be ok. It is comforting to now the ground temperatures are more stable so hoping they all buried deep.

 

[james1974]

That's one reason why I don't hibernate any of mine,for one I like to enjoy my pets year around,two it's not necessary to hibernate any turtle or tortoise,I have a pair of eastern box turtles for over ten year's now without hibernating them once they breed and live just fine without it.I have many middle eastern greeks and never hibernated them either,I do separate the male's and female's during the winter and place them back together in the spring I also shorten the time of daylight indoors in the winter.They do awesome every year never know the difference,hibernation just isn't necessary very risky for something that can be avoided..

 

[edwardbo]

james do yours really breed without hibernation ? i dug mine up to put in basement,temps around 40,im in new england and its very cold,hoping they will be ok.also have a choice pair that is indoors with me,although they have slowed a bit they are still eating and sneaking around.....when i dug mine up they reminded me of lobsters crawling arond in the snow,they still move around a bit but very slow and stiff.hoping all goes well.i miss mine crazy bunch too....

 

[terryo]

I hibernate all mine outside naturally. This is the first year that I can remember...and I'm olddddd.....that we had such a severe Winter. I'm hoping mine have dug down far enough and I see them again this Spring. They usually start coming up around the end of March. All the years that I've let mine hibernate...about 30 years....I never lost one. A few times one came up with her eyes closed, and I would soak her and then she'd be fine. This year is really scary. I have 5 little one's that are inside because they're still too young to hibernate outside, but they have slowed down a lot.

 

[jeninak907]

Well I can agree with you all on the stress of hibernating out side. I let my female russian hibernate out side for the first time and I am stressed about it. Will she be ok? Will she come out? It has been pretty cold here in Myrtle Beach- 20's. She is dug down deep in the ground. I tried to "find" her but no luck. I am hoping as soon as it warms up she will pop out. But until then I am worried.

 

[txturtle13]

I wrote this before the cold snap, and I've been offline for a few days. I can't imagine how you all must be feeling north of me. I'm in Houston, TX and it dropped down to 24*, which is nothing compared to you guys!!

Best of luck to everyone!! Warmer wishes.

 

[Saleama]

I let mine all hibernate outside. There are 5 that have been doing it for years and 4 new ones this year in one location (box turtles) and I have 3 Russian Torts in another location that are all hibernating for the first time in captivity (they are all Petsmart rescues). I worry everyday about them but always remind myself that they have many millions of years of instict to draw on. The Russians went to ground the week before Thanksgiving. I practically dug the entire garden up and never found two them so they have to be down pretty deep. The one I did find was about 18 inches down and next to the building so she should be fine. Still, for my sake, next year they will be hibernating in a refridgerator or a tote in the warehouse I work in.

 

[terryo]

I always want to "rescue" a pet store Russian but never wanted to set up another inside enclosure. I didn't know they could hibernate outside in such cold conditions. Now there's a thought....hmmmmmm.

 

[TortsNTurtles]

You need to rescue a Russian tort it will think it died and went to heaven!

 

[txturtle13]

I didn't realize the RT info either. I was told it is too humid in Houston to have them outside, otherwise I'd want to rescue one. The conditions at the stores near my house are awful, but I too do not want another indoor enclosure. I even had a coupon (believe it or not) for 50% off reptiles (RTs included), my husband about died when I got that coupon.....

I also worry they will just replace the one I rescue with another.

 

[jeninak907]

I let mine all hibernate outside. There are 5 that have been doing it for years and 4 new ones this year in one location (box turtles) and I have 3 Russian Torts in another location that are all hibernating for the first time in captivity (they are all Petsmart rescues). I worry everyday about them but always remind myself that they have many millions of years of instict to draw on. The Russians went to ground the week before Thanksgiving. I practically dug the entire garden up and never found two them so they have to be down pretty deep. The one I did find was about 18 inches down and next to the building so she should be fine. Still, for my sake, next year they will be hibernating in a refridgerator or a tote in the warehouse I work in.

That is about the same time my russian went down. And you are right they have instinct on their side.

 

[Chey]

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Hi! I've had my first eastern box turtle for a few months now. She was born and raised in captivity for 5 years before I bought her. She was kept outside all that time, and was allowed to hibernate every winter. This is my first one and I'm not quite sure how to handle the winter months. I have her inside with a heat lamp on during the day. And i soak her every other day or so. And she seems to be doing just fine but recently she has started slowing down, becoming really slow and lazy. Not finishing any of her food not even her favorites. And she just sleeps even when I let her roam, and prior to this she was very active and happy to wander and move shoes. I'm not quite sure if she's slowing down to hibernate because its early. And if she is I'm not sure which way to go about it is. Some say that it's not healthy for them physically and mentally not to hibernate. And there's so many different ways to keep them. I just want her to be happy an healthy. So if you or anyone else can offer some insight that would be amazing. It's still early enough to construct an outside enclosure for her. And with proper instructions I can help her through her first winter with me. Please help me out here I want my sweet Annabel to be comfortable. What should I do?

 

[johnsonnboswell]

How are you keeping her? Where are you?

It's a big switch to go from outdoors full time to indoors. She's probably too hot, may be too dry. She misses the outdoors, the temperature fluctuations, rain, sun, being able to hunt. She should be living outside. Walking around the house isn't a close substitute.

What are you using for substrate, light, what are your temps, what's her diet?

You must question everything you are doing for her care. It's time for her to eat a lot in preparation for hibernation, not to start hibernating. It's easy to mistake misery for hibernation.

So before we get into hibernation questions beyond 'no, that's not what she's doing if she's anywhere near my latitudes,' get her back outside.

It's hard to keep a turtle up for the winter if she's used to hibernating. It's especially hard if your set up isn't optimal. Her behavior suggests that yours isn't.

 

[terryo]

All box turtles should be kept outside. If you have the room, make her a nice turtle garden with lots of plants to hide under and at one end, lots of leaf litter and loosen up the soil to about two feet with the dried leaves on top. You can cover that part with something to make a cave where she could hibernate for the Winter months. None of mine are slowing down now. It's too early. They usually start slowing down in late October. Then I stop feeding them and eventually they dig under the leaf litter and I won't see them until around Easter. I also know many keeps who keep them inside for the Winter. They will slow down and not eat for weeks sometimes, but are checked once a week and offered food. Many different opinions on hibernation.

 

[Chey]

Thank you I was worried we being inside would make her depressed but I was also worried about predators. I live in the Central Valley. And you guys are right inside living isn't right for her. Ill build her a safe outside enclosure and have her back outside as soon as possible. Hopefully she'll perk back up. Thank you so much I'm a new turtle owner and I guess we make mistakes before figuring it out.

 

[terryo]

All new owners make mistakes. When I first got my Cherry Heads, I changed the enclosure 5 times....soil and everything.....until I got what I thought was right. Each animal is different and we can only do the best we can for them, as they are not in the wild and it is up to us to try and mimic where they come from. Good luck. I'm sure you will do just fine. That's what this forum is for.