Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need advice. I rescued a baby painted turtle that was on the side of the road of an extermemly busy intersection near my house back in late April. At the time she was estimated to be 2 weeks old. I brougth her to a wildlife center to make sure she was healthy and she was. The wildlife folks felt strongly that she returns to her "natural environment" but said it would be ok for me to care for her until she got a bit larger to fend for herself. They recommended that I release her in mid-September so she can get accustomed to her natural environemtn then prepare for hybrination. I care about her well being and truly want what is best for her but I worry about her lack of skills in finding her own food and surviving when she has been used to a tank environment. My question is: Is it absolutely essential that she hybrinates? I know many people that have pet turtles for pets so they must not hybrinate for the winter. If she doesn't hybrinate will that affect her ina ny adverse way? Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

I have had red ear sliders for years and always kept them in the house. Now i have 1 Eastern Painted, and 2 Southern Painted, and they are outside in a pond. I will bring them in as soon as the weather starts to turn..before the fall comes. I never let my water turtles hibernate. I am sure others do, but I never did. I would never release that baby back into the wild after caring for it until it got older. It will never know how to find food itself, and will be looking for you to come with his food. Terry