Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Buried under all this snow are three wading pools
containing hibernating juvenile box turtles born
from 2001 to 2004.

I almost died from exhaustion on Wednesday getting
all their "habitats" covered and surrounded by hay
before the storm came in. The only thing I didn't
get on is the tarp I normally cover them up with.

I put the hay on in flakes, so it is pretty dense.

My red eared sliders are in the pool in the corner,
kept mostly thawed by a heater. Yesterday it was
so cold, only the water surface close to the heater
was thawed.

WOW now that is real snow!
I lived in OK when I was a kid, I remember when we would have actual snow like that. It's so pretty but I remember how cold too.
It snowed here the other day too but when it snows here it doesn't last. It was just a light layer & was gone by noon.
Even though I don't want snow because of the sulcata, I like to see it now & then.
-----
PHRatz

There is still some snow on the ground even
though its been getting up above freezing the
last few days. This is the biggest snow we've
had, probably in five years.

Are you in Texas?

>>There is still some snow on the ground even
>>though its been getting up above freezing the
>>last few days. This is the biggest snow we've
>>had, probably in five years.
>>
>>Are you in Texas?

Yup I'm in west TX, very close to the border of NM.
My parents are bona-fide Okies, born & raised there and my sister was born there too- but I wasn't.
We ended up here because of oil.. like most people I know. Today my dad is a retired petroleum engineer and we're still here. Don't know where else to go now, too used to the sand and the box turtles!
I really could live without the rattlesnakes though.
-----
PHRatz

Wow! I can't believe it! I thought they had to hibernate so I never put mine outside in the winter. They hated coming in. Do they still bask even though its cold? I live in New York, and always wanted to put a "water" turtle pond in the yard, but never did. Thanks for the info.
Terry

Well I consider my sliders "hibernating" or maybe
"brumating" is the better word.

They stay down and dormant for weeks at a time if it
is cool or cold, but they do sometimes pop up and bask
if the temps get above 70 for very long.

I think I've read that they might do this in the wild
also, depending on the climate.

If you were to put them out, I would put some type of
water heater in whatever your "pond" is so the water
doesn't completely freeze over, or freeze solid.

And I at least would let some leaves, etc., accumulate in the
bottom so they have the feeling of something to hide in.

I don't know about mud, other than it couldn't hurt. I don't
in mine because it is really just a wading pool and I don't know how that would effect keeping it clean. As it is, during the winter, I drain most of the water out and replace it every few weeks, although that is somewhat dependant on the weather. I don't bother if it is really cold. But if the weather is warm and its been awhile, I'll change the water. I change the water once a week in the spring, summer, early fall. I want to get some sort of pond filter for it and if I did have a larger pond, one that I had built in, I would definately have a filter on that.

You might check out the slider forum and see what they say about it. I had been afraid to put them out, but as they got
larger and the water changing really got to be a pain, I saw where a local naturalist, who had a "wildlife" park where you could come see his animals, left his sliders out in a man-made
cement pond that he made and it was shallower than my wading pool. I don't know if he used a heater (he died recently and the park closed) but I decided I would feel "safer" trying hibernating them if I could use a livestock water heater and keep the water from freezing.

Let me know if you have any other questions!