Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering if my turtle will totally bury himself,or will he just partially dig in.I put him in a plastic storage box with soil from the woods and then covered the soil with two inches of leaves and he hasn't dug hisself in to deep.It's getting a little chilly here in Deleware and I was getting a little worried.Nighttime Temps are getting to be in the twenties.

That's a good question, but more details would help.
Where are you keeping the storage box? You didn't mention...
If you have it outside, is it going to be kept somewhere where temps won't drop below 45 degrees? If you have it inside, it may not be cold enough, and in fact there's a potential for other problems to arise if its too warm.
Mine are outside, temps have dropped into the 30's the last couple of nights, but if I were to go out and lift a log I'd probably find them pretty close to the surface. I'm not very far from you, here in central VA.
In other words, they don't burrow deep immediately, necessarily.
Regards
Stephanie

Since you have them in a plastic storage box I assume they are not outside (that would be bad and will not work) but somewhere in a garage or shed where cold temps will lower the room's temp. Exactly where is the box and how cold will it get in there? That will determine how deeply your turtle will dig into the soil. If it get's below 45 degrees, you may have to provide more protection then you have at this time.
-----
Tess
Kingsnake.com Forum Host

Sorry I forgot to mention that I've been Keeping him outside.I have the container burried in the ground so he can bury himself below the frostline,Well thats what I was told he would do anyway.Well since he is outside what other materials should be added the container. Thanks for the other info.

Def take him out of of the container. Skip it all together, throw down some leaf litter, peat moss, grass clippings, etc. and let him be. Take him out of the container immediately.

-Jesse

It sounds like you are trying to use two very different methods for hibernating at the same time.
This is a BAD idea!
Get yourself a shovel, a small mountain of leaves, and maybe even a couple of small logs, then dig a hole in a spot in your yard that is not prone to flooding.
What has worked for me is to dig something of a trench (I dug down 2 ft., well below the frost line here), with a couple of sides that are sloped so that when spring comes, turts can climb out easily.
I then mixed in peat moss and lots of leaves with the soil (clay) that I'd dug out of the trench, and filled the hole back up with this loosened amended mixture (easier stuff for turts to dig in).For good measure I put a few inches of leaves on top of the amended soil, then put logs aross the trench, leaving the two sloping ends unobstructed. More leaves get piled over top of this. Turts hibernated successfully in central VA this way, with climate very similar to what you have in DE.
After mine emerged last spring, I checked the trench and found evidence that they had tunneled around quite a bit during the winter, and two tunnels went nearly to the bottom. They need to be able to move around quite a bit, in otherwords.
The sweater box method is for "artificial" hibernation in refridgeraters or garages, when turts are living outside their natural range, eg., and can't be hibernated naturally.
Putting the box in the ground is creating a potential coffin: please don't risk the chance of inadequate exchange of air, misjudging the appropriate depth to avoid frost, or the box filling with water and drowning your turtle.
Please get out there and take it out of that box ASAP!!
It sounds like you may just need to make a minor adjustment or two in order to correct the situation.
Once its out of that box, and in a good hibernaculum, it would probably be best to leave it alone and not check on it constantly: they have an innate ability to find the safest place to be, given the opportunity, and you may not be able to correctly duplicate those conditions, once disturbed.
Good luck!
Stephanie

Agreed, except I would periodically take him out (2-3 weeks) to weigh him and soak him. Make sure he doesn't lose more than 10% of his body weight. Also, soak him for 10-20 minutes in relatively cold (not freezing) water. Then put him back in. If you hibernate him outside don't cover the area as he needs moisture and snow is an excellent source of insulation. It gets pretty cold in delaware.

-Jesse

Hey thanks for the information ,it's a good thing I asked.I put him in the basement until I can get an area ready.Thanks Again.

for my tutles i have dug a burrow for them to hipernate in. i dug it like 5 feet deep on a 45 degree angle. i did that last winter and they came out just fine in the spring after the coldest winter in like 15 years. I guess they dig them self in when they get to the bottom. They climb out on the own in the spring.
-----
Jack

Hey thanks for the idea Jack I plan on Penning in an area tomorrow I might try your burrow technique.Thanks again for your help everybody much appreciated.

I used a trench shovel which makes for a smaller dimater whole. Also i piled some of the dirt form the hole around the entrance so that its like a dike and water will not run in down the hole in case of heavy rain or when the snow melts in the spring. I put them down the hole sever times befor they stopped climbing out. Then i coverd it with some old boards and then coverd the whole area with a ton of leaves. In the spring when it warms up i removed the leaves and the boards to let in the sun. This method has worked for me in NJ.
-----
Jack