Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have seven spotted turtles and several of them have apparently decided to hunker down for the winter in the woodchips I have at the end of the Waterland tub. Should I just leave them alone? The basement is 68 degrees.

My vote would be no. I'm an all or nothing kind of guy. Either fully brumate them at around 45 degrees F, or keep them at the recommended maintenance of around 75 with a hot basking site. They can stay at 68 degrees for a while, but not nearly as long as typical brumation. 68 is not warm enough, typically, for them to want to eat. However, it is warm enough to where they'll burn calories and lose body mass. In my experience, it is a recipe for illness.

The set-up is identical to what it was during the summer, i.e. water temp is the same, basking lights are on, and house temperature is the same. For some reason, a few of the turtles are dug in. If I dig them out, they will eat...and then go back in their hiding spot. I am trying to figure out if I should continue to physically move them into the water or just leave them alone and assume they will move when they get the urge.

How many spotteds are in this waterland tub and how big. If too many spotteds are in one setup, some may be getting stressed and going on land to get away. Also I would say no for the hibernation, at 68 degrees most spots will be active, especially if you have a sun light on. I agree with ken either warm the cage up or cool it down. An in between temp(in the low60's) can be really dangerous for any turtle. There metabolism is still going but there appetite is not.

Like JG indicated below, they are responding to some sort of environmental cue. Who knows what it could be? Photoperiod, a very slight temperature change (nighttime or daytime), barometric pressure, trick or treaters, the fact that you're now wearing long-sleeved shirts...who knows. If you're dealing with CB, never been brumated turtles it would be much easier to keep them active year-round. If these turtles were WC or have been brumated consistently, it may be tough to trick them into staying "awake".

You'll have to use your judgement. I'm biased, as I think that Spotteds should be brumated when they're old enough and healthy. The benefits are not clearly understood either way. Think about it, researchers don't even fully know why HUMANS sleep much less brumating in turtles. It's just my opinion that turtles from temperate regions should be brumated.

You're in a tough spot this year. Your turtles seem to want to brumate, but you're not prepared. If you're in their native range, they can be brumated outdoors or in a cold garage. Some people, regardless of where they live, prefer to brumate their turtles in a refrigerator. If I were you, I'd keep them active this winter...make sure they eat, observe them closely for illness. Then, research brumation methods thoroughly and decide which you'd like to do next winter.

Gemsofnewjersey is a fridge brumator...chime in Chris.

Paul, you say your spotted's are in the basement? Is this entirely closed underground or are there still glass windows or doors. Just asking, because if so, the turtles can still be effected by the decreased outside photoperiod even though you may have a basking lamp on and the temp is still somewhat warm. If so, I would move them away from sight of any such windows so they react to the timed basking lamp and not the outside photoperiod. Just a thought. But, I concurr with the others, don't hibernate indoors unless, like Ken said, you go "all the way" with it. It is not a particularly simple task to get indoor temps to hover at 40-45 degrees for their hibernation and like previously said, can be a recipe for illness. I always hibernated my spotteds naturally outdoors. As soon as the spring temp hit 57 degrees they would be out again. I don't know why 57 was always the magic temp. Good luck.

-jg

Thanks Ken, I haven't been on here in a few days.....

At 68 degrees Spotted Turtles are typically active possibly showing courtship signs or even feeding in some cases. This all depends on the amount of light they are subjected to. If it's darker they will remain inactive to a certain extent.

Spotted Turtles like most North American emydids have a biological clock which tells them that it's time for Autumn. Even if they are failry warm something inside is letting them know times are changing. I have a Florida Box Turtle that stops feeding right around now every year and always starts back up in a few months. So keep all of this in mind.

You need to ckeck the weight of the turtles individually and also see what kind of appetite they do have. They may be ready for a cooling period but by NO means should you force them into it or rush it. If the turtles have sufficient weight and if they appear otherwise healthy, then you can gradually begin to cool them off until they reach the 38 to 40 degree temp which they will sleep in. Even 45 degrees can be too warm for a spotted turtle. Remember, like Blandings and Wood turtles these animals are very cold tolerant and actually prefer the cooler temperatures.

Like Ken stated, I do use refridgerators to hibernate most of my turtles and tortoises. I gradually cool them by offering less food each day and shortening their daily light schedule until it is completely dark and they have stopped feeding. I then wait 2 to 3 weeks to make sure they have no food inside of them and off they go to the fridge for 3 to 5 months (depending on species). I place them in their own individual plastic containers filled with water, leaves and sphagnum moss. I weigh them every 2 weeks and keep an air pump running outside with a tube that runs inside the fridge to keep a constant supply of fresh air.

It's not hard to accomplish but the biggest challenge is making sure your turtles are ready for it.

They could be trying to escape one another if too many are together, sometimes females especially will run from males and hide.

Some spotteds have also been known to burrow underground like that of a box turtle and some wood turtles and hibernate that way.

I do not reccomend this but it has been done.

Keep an eye on them and let us know.

You may want to warm them up and keep them awake for the winter...I reccomend doing this if you have ANY doubts about them surviving hibernation.

-Chris