Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Do they Hibernate in Florida. Am I better to release it out of the city or wait for it to be summer. Any tips would be great.

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www.hybridhaven.net

That box turtle looks to me to be a captive bred ornate box turtle and not a Florida native box turtle. Do you have a picture showing it's head? How about a pic of the plastron?

Box turtles in Florida can become dormant during cool weather but to truly hibernate the temps have to be below 50 degrees both day and night and many places in Florida never get that cold.

A captive turtle should never be released into the wild, so unless this turtle is a wild, native Florida box turtle, it should not be release, but a new home found for it with an experienced box turtle keeper. Tess

>Do they Hibernate in Florida. Am I better to release it out of the city or wait for it to be summer. Any tips would be great.
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>>www.hybridhaven.net

>>That box turtle looks to me to be a captive bred ornate box turtle and not a Florida native box turtle. Do you have a picture showing it's head? How about a pic of the plastron?
>>
>>Box turtles in Florida can become dormant during cool weather but to truly hibernate the temps have to be below 50 degrees both day and night and many places in Florida never get that cold.
>>
>>A captive turtle should never be released into the wild, so unless this turtle is a wild, native Florida box turtle, it should not be release, but a new home found for it with an experienced box turtle keeper. Tess
>>
>>>Do they Hibernate in Florida. Am I better to release it out of the city or wait for it to be summer. Any tips would be great.
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>>>>www.hybridhaven.net
Here are some more pictures. I really couldn't figure out how a native got into the city. And do have a friend that has many turtles and much more experience. I would never release something unless I verified it was a native.



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www.hybridhaven.net

Post a picture of the bottom (plastron). Florida Box turtles usually have a plainer plastron and Ornates tend to have stripes that look similar to the ones on the carapace.

Nice pictures and I still think it's an ornate box turtle Florida's have higher domed shells and they have a keel where this guy has the typical yellow line where the yellow keel would be on a Florida. But yes, a picture of the neck (and hopefulyl two yellow stripes if it's a Florida) and the plastron will help us better decide. Tess

P.S. People have found tortoises in their yard from Africa and South America so don't be surprise if you've found an ornate in your Florida yard, lol!

>>Nice pictures and I still think it's an ornate box turtle Florida's have higher domed shells and they have a keel where this guy has the typical yellow line where the yellow keel would be on a Florida. But yes, a picture of the neck (and hopefulyl two yellow stripes if it's a Florida) and the plastron will help us better decide. Tess
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>>P.S. People have found tortoises in their yard from Africa and South America so don't be surprise if you've found an ornate in your Florida yard, lol!
Well here are the pictures of the stomach. I had to find the owner of a large Redfoot somebody found last night.

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www.hybridhaven.net

"P.S. People have found tortoises in their yard from Africa and South America so don't be surprise if you've found an ornate in your Florida yard, lol!"

Yup, a keeper at the zoo here found a Sulcata wandering around Grand Rapids. Fortunately, one of the zoo volunteers was looking to get a tortoise, and he took the tortoise and took care of it.