Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all,

I have a hibernation question and would like your opinions and ideas. I have four boxies in my basement for hibernation. Two are three toed's one ornate and one eastern. All but the eastern are hibernating. The eastern sits out in the opn and in the dark. I have been soaking them every few weeks but not giving food. So, should i let her be or move her and give her light,food,heat...? Basement is dark and about 60 degrees.

thanks,
Jeff

I think that your basement is too warm for hibernation/brumation.

A good temperature range for hibernating is between 40 and 50 degrees F.

Thanks Steph,

problem is that I can't really get it colder. The temps here have also been unseasonable higher than normal...still waiting for winter to hit!!

I agree with Steph. It is too warm for brumation. If you cannot make the temperatures lower, you may be better advised to heat things up. The turtles may be able to tolerate temperatures in that mid range(60 degrees F) for a month or two, but any longer than that and you are risking weight loss and a lowered resistance to disease. In the least, I'd wake up the Eastern. It seems like she is trying to tell you something.

Some individuals choose to brumate their turtles in refrigerators. You can purchase a small "dorm room type" refrigerator at Wally World for about $60. Due to the small size, though, you would have to open it frequently for air exchange.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Sorry guys, but I'm going to have a different oppinion here, and mine is from my personal experience. I've hibernated my box turtles for 6 yrs without problems in 60 degree basement for 6 months under. Sometimes one will stay up or come up on the surface the first week or two because the temps are higher in the basement than they were outside at night prior to bringing them in but within a couple days the instincs to sleep kick in and they burrow down not to be seen again untill spring. If I were you I wouldn't worry a bit, just make sure they have fresh water available and check in a week or two and I bet they will all be nighty night till spring. Also, reptiles metabolism isn't solely dependant on tempature, day lenght and homonal changes will cycle and retiles activity and hence caloric needs, IMO 60 degrees is plenty cold for snakes and turtles. What is the soil temp in Texas right now 40 degrees? I doubt it.
-----
1.0 pastel ball python
0.1 mojave ball python
0.1 normal ball python
0.2 3-toed box turtles
2.3 eastern box turtles
0.0.5 3-striped mud turtle
1.0 northern diamondback terrapin
2.1 tiger salamander
1.1 red-sided garter
1.0 anerythristic red-sided garter
1.1 Iowa snow plains garter
1.1 Het butter stripe cornsnake
0.1 anerythristic motley cornsnake
1.1 Blue garter (Puget Sound)

The other thing to consider is that even when your air temp says 60 the linoleum covered concrete floor that the plastic tubs are sitting on is colder than that and sucks the heat right out of the substrate on the bottom where the turtles are. I still think your turtles will be fine. I don't loose a winks sleep, and never had a disease or feeding problem come spring.
-----
1.0 pastel ball python
0.1 mojave ball python
0.1 normal ball python
0.2 3-toed box turtles
2.3 eastern box turtles
0.0.5 3-striped mud turtle
1.0 northern diamondback terrapin
2.1 tiger salamander
1.1 red-sided garter
1.0 anerythristic red-sided garter
1.1 Iowa snow plains garter
1.1 Het butter stripe cornsnake
0.1 anerythristic motley cornsnake
1.1 Blue garter (Puget Sound)

60 degrees is too warm for real torpor to occur.

If we’re talking wildcaught box turtles (seems to usually be the case), where did they originate? Many specimens in the pet trade hail from Texas (three-toeds) or South Carolina (easterns). You might have more tolerance from those specimens for extended periods at 60F (a temp at which neither proper active or inactive metabolism is achieved) than you will from animals that originate farther north.

Some specimens (even from one population) take longer to go under than others. Under natural circumstances, this is not a problem, since days can warm reasonably through October/November and permit some activity. However, in a dark basement where constant terms are forced upon the animals without daily variation in light and temperature, box turtles will lose control of their regulatory abilities. This is the best way people have and likely always will encounter difficulty in reptile management – by inadvertently miscontrolling of their inmates’ regulatory abilities.

The answer to the eastern’s problem was posted synergistically with the question(s) – things aren’t working for the eastern, so consider other options (alternate mode to induce hibernation, continuing a light cycle till temps drop further to permit some daily warming, etc.).

My data comes from my personal notebook.
I don't think wild caught box turtles will "hail" or even rain from Texas anymore but I hope the CBB BT's continue to pour out or Texas.
-----
1.0 pastel ball python
0.1 mojave ball python
0.1 normal ball python
0.2 3-toed box turtles
2.3 eastern box turtles
0.0.5 3-striped mud turtle
1.0 northern diamondback terrapin
2.1 tiger salamander
1.1 red-sided garter
1.0 anerythristic red-sided garter
1.1 Iowa snow plains garter
1.1 Het butter stripe cornsnake
0.1 anerythristic motley cornsnake
1.1 Blue garter (Puget Sound)