Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I hibernate my box turtles outside in NJ every winter and have never had a problem. I read that they like to hibernate underground in old rabbit burrows. What I did was dig a burrow of my own with a shovel. I used a trenching shovel which makes a smaller hole then a regular garden shovel. I dug it at a 60 degree angle and as deep as the shovel will go (over 3 feet). The dirt from the hole I mound up around the outside of the hole so that if we get lots of rain the water will not run into the hole. During the summer I keep the burrow coved with boards so that the turtles do not go into it. Around the middle of October I uncover the burrow. Every year with in 2 or 3 days of Nov 1st the male will climb down to the bottom of the burro. The burrow is very steep but the box turtles have no problem climbing up or down. The Female I have to give her a little push to get moving down the burrow. After they are down I cover the entrance with boards so that no other animals try to use the burrow. I then cover the whole area with lots of leaves (like 2 to 3) feet. The leaves act as insulation and also shed rain and snow water away form the hole. The turtles are now set for the winter. Come April when things are starting to warm up I remove the leaves so that the sun will reach down into the burrow. When I do this I always find the female at the top and under the boards and leaves. I don’t know when she got there, if she just climbed there or has spent most of the winter at the top under the boards and leaves. Because I am not sure were she spends the winter I always make sure that there are lots of leaves on top. The burrow is too deep for me to reach in and pull the turtles from the bottom so they have to climb out on here own. Over the years leaves have fallen into the burrow and I can not see the turtles at the bottom. My male does not come up until some time in May. Each year I start to worry that he did not make it, but he always shows up. The last 2 winters have been extra cold with freezing temperatures for weeks on end but the turtles have always come through in great shape.
-----
Jack

Since this topic will be coming up alot, it's useful to know how different folks handle the situation in different parts of the country.
For those of you out there who aren't sure how deep to dig, a good point of departure would be to find out how deep the frost line is in your area: your local gov't. building permit folks or your local agricultural extension office can tell you.
Also, any organic material you mound over top (dirt,mulch,leaves) will act as added insulation.
Stephanie

thanks jack i too live in new jersey, and the last two winters have been brutally cold for jersey. I have had my boxies outside for three years now and hate bringing them in, in the winter. However, i am afraid to hibernate them outside since i have never done it. I have had these guys since i was 8 and am now 23, so i don't want to chance anything. I do have a couple yearlings which i bred and may sacrifice one of those as a guinea pig in my hibernation experiment. My problem is is that when i built my enclosure I laid chicken wire in the bottom to keep rodents out and to prevent possible escape attempts. Therefore it is not deep enough for them to hibernate. I am thinking about doing what you did. Had a few questions though. How do you prevent the borrow's walls from collapsing. This probably isn't a problem in the winter but what about in the fall when the soil is loose. Also have you ever tried to line the hole with pvc pipe or any liner to keep its form.

The soil i made the hole in was, i guess u would call it virgin soil. In that it had never been dug befor so it was not loose soil but well packed over thousands of years. I dug the hole 4 years ago and it has not caved in or any thing like that. I did use a "trench shove" in stead of a regular garden shove because you can get a smaller diamater hole with it. The smaller hole might be better in that it will not cave in as easy as a larger hole. They sell them at home depot and are used to lay cables under ground. The hole does not go down straight but does go down at a very steep angle(about 60 degrees) when i fist used it i was afraid the tutles would not be able to climp out but that has never been a problem. I watched the turle sink his claws into the sides and climbed up with ease. I Have not had any hatchling yet but i would bet that they would do fine if hibernated like this. The only thing i would worry about is finding them in the spring but i was thinking that you could inclose the area around the hole so that they could not go far when they did climb out.

It did take a lot of work to dig a hole as deep as i did ( over 5 Feet at a angle)but i wanted to make sure they would not freez. You can't dig the hole in one day but if you dig a litte each day its easy. I dug the hole as far as the shove would go and my arm would reach.

I like hibernating them outside. I feel thats it best for the tutles because its the way they would do it themself in the wild. Im sure there are lots of rabbit and ground hog burrows in the woods were they live. The fist time i put the turle next to the hole i just dug he took a real long look down it. I got the feeling watchin him that this was just what he was looking for. By hibernating them outside you get a break for taking care of them and come spring I look forward to them coming out of hibernation again.
-----
Jack