Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it normal for a E.boxie to fall asleep just walking around.
Two of my big girls Lady and Miss muddy face will be walking around in the afternoon and just stop in the lawn or out in the open and fall asleep. All the other kids have logs and brush piles they prefer and will forage in the morning and late afternoon but by dark they are in their place 95% of the time. If they don't make it all the way home they find a good place to wedge themselves in good.

I always walk and check after dark and put the girls in a log or under leaves to hide them. The pen is designed where they are never more than 10' from deep cover on the boarder with a large grass area in the center. Thank Scott

I read this earlier & needed to think about it for a while. I've never heard of one doing this but it occurred to me.. maybe they do it because they feel safe & secure in their enclosure.
That's the only reason I can think of that they'd just sleep anywhere like that.
Maybe someone else has some thoughts on this?
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PHRatz

My females sleep in the direct sun almost daily virtually all spring and early summer. They are probably sunning to help "incubate" the eggs developing within. The males bask also, but not as often. That's my best guess.

Ok, I re-read your post. I misunderstood. I rarely have turtles that "bed down" in the open and intend to stay there all night. They'll typically bask in the sun, then seek cover as night falls. Unless they are actively nesting, my turtles are always under some sort of cover.

I can't figure it out,I just went today and raked up two more truck loads of leaves mixed with pinestraw out of the woods.Then spread it thick every where there was dirt or a light cover. Lady was in it next to the vegetable garden tonight,but Miss Muddy Face was in the lawn area dead asleep. We had rain today for the first time in two weeks and she may of been tired eating worms all day. I put her in a log so we will see what she does. I will get a picture, it is funny to see but dangerous for them and a habit I would like to break. Thank you for everyones imput Scott

It's good that your noticing unusual behavior...often that's the first indication that we get that something isn't quite right. Staying out in the open overnight is unusual.

I don't want to alarm you, but I would keep a close eye on her just in case...there can be a fine line between basking to warm up and basking non-stop because of illness. Is she eating? Is her breathing normal or does it sound different? Is her nose clear or do you see bubbles or even just moisture?

Mine will typically bask in a sunny spot for a limited amount of time each day, presumably to avoid over-heating. One year, though, one of the males found himself a sunny spot and pretty much stayed there for days, because he was sick as it turned out...I let him bask at first to see if it would resolve on it's own, but it didnt': he had a URI and ended up taking a trip to the vet for antibiotics.

Miss muddy face was one of five rescued in Dec.from a build site. She was the only one not to eat all winter Dec.- April. She had ear and sinus problems and after two sets of 15 days of baytril injections she was sniffing and eating colorful fruits and vegetables then worms. She is now eating everything and seems fine. Her energy level is great, she only basks if the temps are in the 70's if it gets too hot she gets in shade or a brush pile. It is only late afternoon that I will see her out again and wandering with no real purpose. Then she will just stop and put her legs out and head and fall asleep as night falls.

As she was a rescue and wintered inside next to my bed (wife loved that) I wondered if she had gotten use to me staying up and watching TV or the internet. Now outside she stays up and night falls and when its dark she just stops and falls asleep because she feels safe like sleeping next to me. Just a guess of course just worries me if I wasn't here to put her in a log-hole.I try to put her in the same place every night so she gets the idea that is her home now. She will seek shelter if it rains so I know she know what cover is.

The other one now gets under the pinestraw mix since I put it in so I feel a little better.

Thank you Scott

>>As she was a rescue and wintered inside next to my bed (wife loved that) I wondered if she had gotten use to me staying up and watching TV or the internet. Now outside she stays up and night falls and when its dark she just stops and falls asleep because she feels safe like sleeping next to me. Just a guess of course just worries me if I wasn't here to put her in a log-hole.I try to put her in the same place every night so she gets the idea that is her home now. She will seek shelter if it rains so I know she know what cover is.

I think you've hit on the answer here. She's a little bit spoiled and has gotten used to watching TV or internet.
I have my girls out in the pen now, Shell E our most spoiled one has been having a hard time choosing where to sleep for the night. I've been having to go out at dusk to make sure she picks a spot. I've been rearranging different places trying to make them attactive to turtles. I think I finally made something she likes last night when I put fresh cut grass down for to use as a bed in the little cubby hole she was checking out.
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PHRatz