Posted by:
jscrick
at Fri Aug 28 16:51:54 2009 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by jscrick ]
I leave mine out all year. I live in Austin TX. The pen is against the house on the West side.
They stay buried most of the time. Either too hot or too cold. They seem to bury in the lowest wettest part of the pen. Never a problem.
They come out when the weather is cool and damp. Rain doesn't bother them. I posted pics of a female I've had for a few years. Took her picture today. She was out. We had a good rain last night. Found a baby Box Turtle in the pen from the rain last night, as well. You can see her growth since she's been with me. She is the biggest and most perfect one you'll ever find. She was an ordinary dark unremarkable round thing when I first got her.
They will come out when it is 50 degrees and find the only patch of sun. Then they go back underground after the sun is gone.
They also eat, digest, and defecate normally at these temperatures.
They definitely prefer cool damp to hot dry. Never see them for the 4 hottest months of summer. The male I do see. The females, I don't.
The winters have been mild here. Usually just a few days of frost a year. We don't see temperatures down into the teens much anymore. An occasional ice storm for a few days, max. So it's not like a serious hibernation. It's more like year round activity with periods of aestivation during extreme heat and cold.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer
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RE: Hibernaculum for Russians - jscrick, Fri Aug 28 16:51:54 2009