At what nightly and daily temperatures cause box turtles to break hibernation and start appearing in the woods?
What temps do turtles emerge in the spring?
- Thread starter austinl01
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I don't know for sure, but it seems that here when the earth starts to warm up to about 50F degrees I start seeing little box turtle faces poking up.
jojodesca said:
No. I'm not sure why you would assume this. I have seen many box turtles in the wild, but I have none of them.
austinl01 said:
OK..sorry to jump to that conclusion..but the context of your post made that be my first thought......but they start to appear mid April to May..depending on the warm winter..later May-June if it's colder
Some will be up earlier then others. If their hibernaculum is being hit by direct sunlight, they'll feel the warmth on days that hit the high 60's and start coming out to bask for a few hours, then they'll go back down. Others won't have the direct sun hitting the earth above them and will have to wait for sustained warmer temperatures before they'll come up. But the nights need to be consistently well above freezing before they will actually be out exploring.
With lots of woods and a nice stream right near our new house, I can't wait to see how many box turtles (3-toed) will be around. This will be my first spring there.
That's ok. I know a lot of folks are very sensitive about this subject.
jojodesca said:
That's ok. I know a lot of folks are very sensitive about this subject.
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