Maybe it's just anxious box turtle keepers? I hibernate mine outside, so my situation is different than yours, but I worried like crazy about them the first year, but never checked them and they were fine.

Watch this clip from a BBC reptile special.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZJy9NwNLYI

It shows how newborn painted turtles, NEW BORN, hatched and then went right into hibernation. It shows time lapsed photography of them just laying there with frost, water, and mud covering them and even going into their noses and bodies, but come spring, they thawed out and were perfectly healthy and fine. I hope this encourages you.