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I am going to sart getting my EBT ready for hibernation.

I am going to dig a hole for her.

Any suggestions on what I should fill the hole with for her to dig into.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Note: I am in New York State

I use soft compost. Each fall I have to re-dig the hibernation area out because the roots of the nearby shrubs and trees will grow into it. I then back fill the whole with the soft compost and I will pile it high, so it looks like a pyramid. The turtles seem to dig right in and then dig down once they decide to hibernate for the winter. I do this around the second week of October. I have never seen any of my turtles eat anything after October 15, here in NJ. Like clockwork they all seem to hibernate around Nov. 1st. give or take a day or two. Latter on in the month when the oak leaves start to fall I will pile them up on top of there hibernation area. I like to use a lot of leaves, like 2-3 feet deep. The leaves help keep the ground from freezing and sheds water away from the area, just as important they keep the ground cold in the spring so they don’t come out of hibernation to early. I have been doing this for 8 years now and have never lost a turtle.
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Jack

Thanks Jack.

When do they usually emerge in the Spring?

How deep do you dig the hole? Also my Three Toed is only 9 months old now, and am wondering when I shoud start leaving her out to hibernate. I live in New York, and have already taken her inside.

Digging a hole isn't a good idea. Just loosen the soil and gradually pile leaves, pine needles, straw, etc. over the loosened soil. They don't need to go deep. They just need to have lots of insullation on top. The cold temps come from the top, not the bottom. The problem with digging a hole is that, if the surrounding ground is really hard and you get a sustained hard rain after the turtle is already dormant, the hole will act like a big bowl that will collect the water and may drown the turtle. If the drainage is good around the hole it may not be a problem, but a hole dug in hard clay soil can be a death trap to a dormant turtle.

I forgot to add that if the hole does fill with water and freezing temperatures set in quickly, the turtle can get frozen into a block of ice if there isn't enough insulation on top.

MJ3151 has a point with the cold just coming form the top. All the effort I put into digging them a hibernation burro that is 18 inches deep might not be necessary. This summer I got a phone call form a friend who had a friend who knew someone whose father had died. He had turtles and his daughter wanted to have them removed form his house. I went over to see what kind of turtles they were. He had 7 eastern box turtles and he keep them in a small 3x4 foot pen made out of cinder blocks. There were no plants or any hiding places in it just plain hard dirt. His daughter told me that he has had them there for over 20 years. She said he always feed them dog food. When I asked what he did in the winter with the turtles she said that he would collect leaves and pile them into the pen. That was all he did and amazingly they had all survived in relatively good shape. I think that 2 to 3 feed of leaves are the most important things you could do to keep your turtles safe and warm in the winter.
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Jack

OK, so don't dig a hole..just losen the dirt all around and put piles of dried leaves on top. If my three toed is only 7 months now, will next year be good enough to leave her out? I have already brought her inside now. Next Oct. she will be about 20 months. Is that old enough to leave outside? Also when would you stop feeding?

I kept mine (an EBT) inside until after its third winter, but that is not to say that it could not go out earlier. I was not ready to risk it. I don't know if it would be the same for a 3-toed or not. On one hand, they are the same species, but on the other hand, that subspecies evolved in a warmer climate. It woudl be best to get input from other keepers of 3-toeds in a cooler climate, hopefully one will chime in.

My young EBT went through a sort of hibernation inside during its second and third winters. Although temperatures indoors were relatively constant, it still seemed to become more active when there was a warm spell outside. Not quite sure what it was sensing.

Oh, as far as feeding. If they are outside, you can keep offering food but they will stop eating on their own at the right time.