spring 2026

[mark1]

march 1rst is meteorological spring...... this is as early or earlier than i've ever seen the box turtles come out..... i can only attribute it the the snow cover we had and the apparent short duration of this winter, i have to think some of these turtles spent the winter in the leaves and not the ground..... was 74 here yesterday, it's 70F right now

not much experience in the genetics of turtles, but i'd be inclined to think the turtle on the left (above) is the offspring of this guy (below)

gus 15weeks

 

[NorCal tortoise guy]

Always enjoy your pictures!!

 

[KarenSoCal]

Gus is gorgeous! Better tell him I said handsome though...he might not like gorgeous! I think he and Ruger would get along great!

 

[mark1]

Ruger would probably love gus, he might like him a little bit too much for gus...... if i remember correctly he is a great dane, and at this time he'd be an adolescent/still a puppy......

hoping gus can pick up where gabe left off...... when gabe passed my yard became over run with wildlife......

 

[mark1]

weather for march is probably the most erratic here , 3-01 was 19F, the 2nd 17F, the 6th thru the 11th was 70-80F, the 15th was 80F ,16th around 1am was 70F, the16th by 5am was 17f with wind gust of 80mph, 17th and 18th were 18F and 15F........ the 6th thru the 15th all the water turtle were out and most were eating, a few box turtles came out but didn't eat, the surface ground at the bottom of the leaf pile has maintained 44-45F when it was 70--80F, and when it was 17F......

one of these girls i treated for a respiratory infection last october, she appears to have done well over the winter.....

the rivers here which are native to eastern softshells, common snapping turtles, spotted turtles, blandings turtles, northern map turtles,and midland painted turtles.....
the river closest to me was 34F on 3-02, was 60F on 3-11, and was 34F on 3-18.... 26F degree temperature swings up and down each week.........

 

[TammyJ]

What are the water turtles eating when they come out? And do they only eat when they "know" that the food can be digested? The temperature fluctuates like crazy.

 

[mark1]

they ate worms, and some fish pellets......... i believe the temperature needed to digest food is a lot less than touted...... obviously there is an optimal temperature, it appears to me optimal is not necessary for a reptiles systems to function, it's clear "hibernating" turtles and tortoises are functioning during brumation..... even at the coldest temperatures they can survive, if you touch them they react, they are functioning........ in the fall they will not eat at the same temperatures they will in early spring......

there are cold water fish that normally eat at 32-50F temperatures......their gut microbiome is adapted to it, through evolution....... while i've never seen any information on this in reptiles, through observation and information on winter feeding, i have to believe that temperate reptiles do not need 80F to digest food....... some temperate climates have relatively mild winters where food and water is at their most abundant.... to have evolved in these climates and not have the ability to make use of the available resources doesn't really make sense, one thing i personally believe is nature does make sense.....

reptiles can be found above the arctic circle.....

 

[jeff kushner]

Interesting Mark. I don't know the actual science but i always thought water turtles could digest at much lower temps than the terrestrial guys.
I also am curious in the depth used to take the river temps. My own swimming history has taught me that the temps in a lake usually get REALLY COLD really quick as you get deeper but rivers because of the flow are more mixed.

Neat pics brother!

 

[mark1]

it's a shallow river..... where that gauge is, it is 4-5 feet at most, unless you go to where the river empties into lake erie, the deepest spots you could find in this river might be 6-7 feet..... the river without a doubt is the same temp throughout, year around with the exception of some backwater spots and marsh areas...... in the winter lakes and pond temps are pretty uniform throughout....


i think the temperature required to digest food is not any different, i think it may appear different as water turtles for the most part are out and active, attaining higher body temps earlier than terrestrial hibernating turtles buried in the ground, often under insulating material and in environments protected from the weather.... today was 80F here, the below pics were all taken at the same time.... air, pond, ground surface under leaf pile, the leaf pile is south facing all day sun........ ground hibernators are often in shaded areas protected from the weather..... from what i've seen turtles hibernating in the shade emerge later than those hibernating in the sun

air

pond

leaf pile

water hibernating turtles are usually exposed to the suns heat while hibernating under water and also under ice.... the box turtles don't see the sun and the suns heat doesn't penetrate the leaf pile like it does the water or ice.....

2 box turtles came out march 7th for three or four 70f-80F days, our temps then went down to 15F,17F, and18F, they dug back in and haven't been out since..... was 80F today, it dropped to 48F in less than 30 minutes, supposed to be 32F tomorrow, and 26F saturday.... saw a wood turtle eating a worm earlier......

 

[DoubleD1996!]

Happy birthday!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Happy birthday!

 

[jeff kushner]

I'm late...HB..good info contained as always. Thanks for the answers too!

 

[mark1]

was 80F today, i seen every water turtle i have, i also believe i've seen everyone of them eat..... i've seen 3 box turtles, today the 2 i saw both ate...... next two days have 40F for the high, then back to 80..........

i moved this girl into a different enclosure, i think it was last august, i never seen her through the fall, i never seen her eat after i moved her...... today i seen her for the first time since last summer, she looks good and i seen her eating..... she has been in the same enclosure for 10yrs..... moving established turtles is not something i like doing

this girl was obviously eating some of the fish pellets i put in the enclosure..... they're on her face and head......

all the blanding's turtles look good

both these guys ate today..... i've seen 3 this year, last i knew there are 17 of them

the two wood turtles i was concerned about all turned up healthy....... the one i moved and the one i treated for a respiratory infection late last fall...... i'm kinda of the opinion the opportunities to warm up during brumation is not a bad thing...... might be why the most northerly temperate turtles or tortoises are water hibernating turtles.....

 

[DoubleD1996!]

I've finally been seeing everyone pop up as well. We dipped back down to 30 then it started warming up for the past two days. Now we're headed into a week of rain where the box turtles should be a lot more active, but I believe a few more cold nights will follow by Sunday.

 

[mark1]

i haven't seen but 3 box turtles this year with one on february 22, that was crazy early, i buried her in the leaf pile and seen her one more time march 7th and not since......... the one pictured here i seen on the 7th also, and quite a few times since, along with one other male........

this morning when i went to work it was 35F, i just took the dog down the park and it was 82F...... folks who haven't experienced this don't fully understand how normal this is for these guys..... we can get down in the 20's and these guys are not hibernating again this year...... all the water turtles are active, healthy and eating, i expect the same for the box turtles by the end of the month......

 

[mark1]

another 80F day......anyone who leaves their turtles or tortoises outside year-around, this has to be a favorite time of year, it is mine...... it's like getting new turtles every year.... whatever not eating for 6-7 months does for them , they absolutely glow in the spring......

removed some leaves and turned over the leaves i left so the leaf pile warms up faster..... it's going to be in the 20's at the end of next week, i left plenty of leaves for that......our next warm up i'll remove a few more leaves and turn them again, the lows will not get that low and will be shorter duration with the warm being warmer and longer duration........... i never remove all the leaves, it makes for an excellent brumation spot for them next year, the leaves break down and make the perfect soil for brumation......

some turtles i ran across turning the leaves over, i left them alone they're still buried in the dirt......

this guy i did dig out for him to soak and get a drink if he needed it, he is real small, maybe 3"

i do not recall ever seeing this guy, she's pretty small, looks to me to be 6-7yrs old.....

 

[DoubleD1996!]

Couldn't have said it better. It's like seeing them for the first time every spring.

I'll finally get to remove some of the leaves out of my enclosures come next Friday. As well as clean some out of the ponds.

 

[mark1]

was 35F yesterday, was 40F this morning, got up to 80F today, next week supposed to be 75-80F with rain, all week, lows in the 60's, hopefully winter is gone and spring is here to stay........ box turtles still not out, the ones that did come out disappeared on the 5th and haven't come back out yet...... next nice day i'll dig them all up......

 

[mark1]

it's been 80F everyday for the last week, i believe i seen 15 of the 17 eastern box turtles i have, along with one i don't recognize...... i need to remove some of the leaves to accurately tell what's in the pen...... i'm waiting another week or two to do that, it's supposed to get below freezing sunday and monday......

first time i seen all three of these at the same time...... i dug up 2 of them, the 3rd emerged on her own this week

all the water turtles are accounted for...

surface ground temperature under the leaf pile after a week of 80F, the 5 day average for uncovered ground is 62

 

[DoubleD1996!]

Those are some beautiful juveniles