Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was curious if somebody could give me some information on artificial hibernation. I planned on hibernating four of my turtles this year with the mini fridge technique. What I need to know is below

Can I hibernate them close together?

Do I bury them or let them bury themselves?

What's the best substrate to use?

What's the best container to use?

I know about checking them to see if their eyes are sunken and I know I have to open the door once a day for fresh air exchange. Does anybody have any information? It will be greatly appreciated. thanks
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Mike

1.1 Peninsula Cooters
1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Southern Painted
0.0.3 Western Painteds
1.0 Ornate Box Turtle
0.0.2 Pink Belly Alligator Snappers

If you go to the forum main page you can search the archives: there have been plenty of posts in the past.

I don't have permission from my publisher to quote from my book so this is different -- but here's a little of what I said and if you want to learn more please buy my book-it's linked on this forum.

Box turtles housed indoors all summer should not be overwinter in the ground. And it is dangerous to allow turtles to “hibernate” in the indoor set-up as household temperatures are not cold enough. These turtles are starving to death, not hibernating. It must be cool enough for them to enter a state of torpor (low energy expenditure). Use of a modified dorm refrigerator is one of the better solutions to the indoor hibernation problem.

Preparations for hibernating your turtle in a refrigerator are the same you would use for overwintering a turtle outside. The turtles should be slowly cooled down and have stopped eating for several weeks before putting them in a dorm fridge.

Use a dedicated small dorm refrigerator for hibernation. Adjust the refrigerator temperature to a range of 45° to 50° F (7° to 10° C) prior to placing the turtle inside. Use a digital thermometer for accurate monitoring. Once temperatures are stable in the refrigerator, place EACH turtle in a medium-size plastic container lined with moist sphagnum moss (about half full). The container should have about a dozen 1/4" (0.64 cm) diameter holes drilled into the top to insure a regular exchange of oxygen. Once in place, opening the refrigerator door a few minutes each day will usually provide enough oxygen, unless the refrigerator is packed with turtles. Crowded conditions will require a constant exchange of oxygen. Do this by inserting a one-inch diameter tube approximately 10" long through a hole drilled in the top portion of the door. Cold air inside the refrigerator will settle towards the bottom, so make sure to place the turtles and thermometer as low as possible.

It is now possible to monitor their health and soak them in water a few times during the hibernation period. 6 to 8 weeks is usually long enough for the turtles to achieve the desired health benefits.

Slowly awaken them and bring them back to optiumum temperatures before feeding them again. However, they should have immediate access to water.
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Tess Cook
www.boxturtlesite.info

I live in Iowa, very cold winters, I hibernate mine in large rubbermaid tubs with holes on the sides up near the top that I melted with a sodering iron(old snake tubs). I put easterns in one tub 3 toes in another with the lid on. I use substrate from the outdoor cages which consists of sand,milled peat, top toil, compost, hardwood mulch all mixed up well. You can burry them or let them burry themselves I have done it both ways, I wait untill they have been burrowed outside for a couple weeks and cooled down naturally anyway. I put their water dish in too, and check it, rinse, clean, and fill it every several weeks, and also every several weeks I take a plant watering can and lightly water the entire substrate, they can soak up water that way, I don't ever disturb them, nor do I get them out to soak them. I keep the tubs in our walk out basement right next to the sliding glass door on concrete floor, very cold spot, substrate50's most of the winter and dips down to low 40s in Feb. My boxies hibernate from mid to late Oct thru late March to early April. Never had a problem, and they don't loose more than a couple grams and sometimes even gain a couple grams, and never had any eye problems, or problems getting them eating afterwards. I don't disturb them at all, or even chech them, when they pop there heads up in late March I just leave them alone, and when they are ready they come all the way up to the surface and then I offer food and they usually eat right away or with in a couple days, and then if the weather is not below freezing they go back outside. This has worked for me for 8 yrs, but if I didn't have a basement set-up that could keep them below 60, usually 55-45, I would use an old dorm fridge and wouldn't worry about it a bit, I would do every thing the same, I would probably open the door every couple days for air, and use my watering can method as needed by feeling the soil, I let it dry out a bit then wet it good but the idea is to never have standing water or to stay soggy and get rotten. Hope this helps
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Jeff Benfer
1.0 cinnamon pastel Python regius
1.1 pastel Python regius
1.1 mojave Python regius
0.3 normal Python regius
1.3 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.2 double het albino and anerythristicThamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
2.3 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
0.2 het Christmas albino Thamnophis radix
1.1 double het cherry erythristic, albino Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 melanistic Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
2.0 66% het snow Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 triple heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 butter p.h. stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 carmel stripe p.h. amel Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 amelanistic p.h. carmel,stripe Pantherophis guttatus

One thing I have noticed is that even though I provide a water dish (just in case)and change water periodically, I have never seen any evidence of them using it. Once they are down they stay down until they come up in spring.
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Jeff Benfer
1.0 cinnamon pastel Python regius
1.1 pastel Python regius
1.1 mojave Python regius
0.3 normal Python regius
1.3 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.2 double het albino and anerythristicThamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
2.3 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
0.2 het Christmas albino Thamnophis radix
1.1 double het cherry erythristic, albino Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 melanistic Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
2.0 66% het snow Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 triple heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 butter p.h. stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 carmel stripe p.h. amel Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 amelanistic p.h. carmel,stripe Pantherophis guttatus