Hi All--

I've been browsing many a forum & it seems like you all know what you're talk about & really care about turtles!

My problem is that I adopted a western painted (the previous owner said it is about 1 year as of this summer---is that turtle hatching season?) & it is half in a state of half hibernation, half awake (which by reading past posts, is very bad news!). She seems to be active (meaning she awakes & jumps in for a sluggish swim) in the mornings when I turn on her light (with UVA/UVB & heat). She was sleeping almost ALL the time from December until mid-February, but when I first adopted her (November) she was much more active.

Like I said, I read on one of your forums that it's either all hibernation or all active...so I'm worried since she seems to be in this in-between stage. She won't eat, but she's not asleep 24/7 either. Does this warrant a trip to the vet? I bought a submersible heater but it tends to be too strong if left on for more than 4 hours, and I thought she would be ok if the average temp is 68-70.

Also, her shell isn't as smooth as the pics I've seen. I'm guessing her previous owner didn't take very good care of her, contributing to "pyramiding" (though it's not quite that extreme) but I'm anxious to keep her with me in the long run!!

Any help/advice you could give would be greatly appreciated!

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