Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my little boxie, over the past few weeks, has stayed in the warm part of the Sphagnum in my 20 L tank and has been eating a lot. But starting this past Sat or Sun, has been staying in the cool part of the tank and eating very little. Any idea what would cause this change in behavior?

Photoperiod is often regarded as the most important factor that sets the biological cycle in many organisms. Temperature is also very important but is not as consistent as photoperiod.
Is it possible that the turtle is aware of the decreased photoperiod that triggers the preparation for hibernation?

definate ditto

Even in the long days of summer, most of the light this turtle received was from a heat lamp and UV lamp, both on 14 hours per day - and they still are on 14 h per day. The tank is by a window, but year-round the blinds on that window are almost always closed.

The temp in my home is cooler than in summer, but I'm betting the Sphagnum right under the heat lamp is about as warm as it was in mid-summer.

So - possible, but I guessing not likely.

Bill

Also, I noticed that he/she has his/her head out over in the part of the tank with cool Sphagnum. Wouldn't one expect that if the turtle is attempting hibernate that he would withdraw the head and limbs?

you might be surprized how much effect a window has even with blinds and artificial lighting. The slow dimming, gradually changing natural light has a very powerful effect on the instincts created by millions of years of evolution. I think the general concensus is that it is good for the box turtle's health to brumate for at least a couple months. You would want to gradually decrease the heat and lights via timer over a few weeks to a point of no heat and lights and in as cool a spot as possible like a basement or next to a cold north facing window, then when the days get longer in early Feb start slowly increasing the heat and lights with the timer. Stop feeding but always keep water fresh and provide plenty of substrate for burrowing. This is a pretty standard practice for indoor captive reptile keeping. Purhaps there is something else wrong with your turtle and Vet. visit before brumation wouldn't hurt, but I really think you should consider brumation anyway. Hope this helps and good luck.

The fact that the turtle almost always, during the day at least, has the neck extended quite a ways suggests to me that instinct of hibernating is not the reason. Am I wrong?

I took him/her out today to feed the critter. He/she ate only one wax worm, but this time when I placed the turtle back in the tank, he/she burrowed down in an area between the cool spot (where he/she has been for the last week or two) and the warm spot under the lamp.

While you may be correct that he/she is not entering hibernation, the extended neck is not a reason to write it off.
Based on the information that you gave us, the logical explanation is he/she is preparing for hibernation. If your husbandry has not changed and you have just now observed these differences in behaviour and feeding, then the time of year is the best explanation.

I appreciate all the input.

Since feeding this morning, though, the turtle has moved from the "medium" temperature area to being very close to right under the heat lamp (the approximately typical spot before this "odd behavior change" occurred). Will continue to observe.