Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hibernation for res's is seldom spoken of in full here and I'm just wondering if anyone's practiced at 'wintering over' their res's.

Mine are now in semi-hibernation. By this I mean, they'll eat at times, surface and float around, but for the most part they aren't sleeping. They eat very little too. The weather where I live doesn't get below freezing, so they won't stay asleep for long intervals and I feel I should feed them occasionally.

I'm just afraid they'll become malnourished if I don't. I'd heard this before, that they could even starve if they don't go into deep hibernation. I'm also worried about their well-being.

The wild res in southern Illinois dont hibernate , they brumate.It gets very cold here but , on warm winter days they will surface and get some rays. I dont believe they feed all winter(bout 4 months}. Snapping turtles are seen crawling on the bottom of frozen ponds on sunny days.They are semi active but dont need to feed

Hey, thanks. I've seen res's in Northern Illinois too. I brought some res's outside the states(they're pets,) and the temps are very mild. So I wanted to know if you should feed them. It appears they don't eat much anyways.

Thanks. And I'd heard about snappers doing what you said.

But Southern Illinois? It gets pretty darned cold there too, no?