Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there from the lower half of the planet(new Zealand)I have an old three toed box turtle that has been a member of my family for 43 years.She went into hibernation last fall over here about late march early april and would have normally come out about mid august or so.This year she never appeared at the normal time and I feared the worst,she had died or more likely been stolen (they are quite rare over here and priced accordingly)She has the run of the backyard and I poked and prodded here and there but short of a huge excavation just gave up on her as gone forever.The not knowing for sure what had happeneed to her was the worst and she had been in excellent health as far as I could tell visually at least.Imagine my surprise and delight yesterday when I came home and found her sitting there in the backyard!!she had emerged about 4 and a half months late?She looked quite normal other than her face and neck looked a little pale like she had not had much sun tan?and the joins of some of the scutes looked dry.she had a big feed of slugs,mealworms and some jellimeat but did not seem intererested in water at all but it had poured with rain earlier that day?
I found the hole she had come out of and it was just a normal looking hole no deeper or unusual than any other year.Has anyo ne else experienced this sort of behaviour in boxies?especially older ones,also any advice as to wether to let her hibernate again this winter which will be in 10 to 12 weeks time?

Itis nice to hear a story like this with a happy ending. You probably learned just how precious she is to your family.

It is odd for her to be so off on her hibernation schedule after 40 odd years. Did you have an abnormally dry spring this year? That might keep a turtle down longer than normal.

Whether or not to allow her to hibernate should be up to her health and weight. If she eats very well, gains weight and you have a vet check her health to be sure she is in peak condition-and all checks out- then by all means let her hibernate again. But if you are concerned, learn now how to keep her up all winter and set up her winter home now so you can fine tune it.

You have been given a second chance to insure her safety from both a bad hibernation/loss and theft-so you might want to consider how to lessen the chances of losing her by building up her preferred hibernation spots with a deep layer ofleaf mulch and putting locks on your gates-or even hibernating her in a small refrigerator.
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Tess Cook
www.boxturtlesite.info

thanks for your reply,exactly what I thought about the second chance thing.I have inherited her off my father when he could no longer look after her and she really is a living heirloom?
We do have a strange soil type here which is very free draining once wet but it is very hard to get wet sometimes and is more or less water repellent,like when you put water into flour when making a cake?Normally I have piles of lawn clippings/leaves etc which she hangs out in and then burrows deeper as it cools down.This is the first time like this in the ten years I have been looking after her.She layed two clutchs of fertile eggs last year as normal and was mated in the fall before going down.I wonder if she will want to lay this year but as we are already into declining day lengths?http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj271/repto11/jillnataliebday029.jpg that is a pic of her if it works?

She certainly looks chipper enough if that is a recent picture. Good looking old girl!

that was twelve months ago.

What a fantastic story!!!! such a happy ending for you, and yes a true heirloom pet for you, heirlooms weigh heavy on my heart as I have many from both my grandfathers that I treasure. Thank you for making my day with this story, after 40yrs there can't nor will ever be any down side or regrets. May your toilets keep flushing the other direction, if you know what i mean
I really hope to visit your country some day, it is on top on my wish list.
I wish you the best of luck with her
Jeff
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Jeff Benfer
gartersnakemorph.com

Beautiful girl. Given that three-toes come from warm humid environments that are mostly softer soil with plenty of leafy material, I would consider keeping her up this year to ensure she has enough nourishment to sustain her for the year. Such a short period between hibernations may simply drain her.

I would keep her in a humid indoor setting and allow her to replenish her water levels. Next year provide her with a leafy mulch pile. Not sure how wet your winters are but if they are relatively dry, you could supplement the pile with artificial rain.

Its hard to say why she's so far off her cycle but at this point the best you can do is ensure she has enough nutrients and shoot to reset her hibernation next year in more optimal conditions.

I live in Northern California where we get plenty of rain however our winters aren't really that cold. Box turtles are amazing adapters however if you provide them with their basic needs.

Thanks for sharing the story. Its amazing how a three-toed box turtle winds up in NZ and has been in a family for 40 some years. I grew up in Texas and three-toes were the first turtle I encountered in the wild. This story is touching.

Cheers.

thanks rattay,as an update she has been making up for lost time in the eating department at least.She spends more time up and active than she normally would as well.Up first thing and still mooching around when I get home from work,normally she was bedded down for the night unless laying eggs.The weather has also been briliant for her,heaps of warm rain which is most unusual as we are meant to be in mid summer with jan/feb being our hottest months with temps up to 95F.The humidity has been really high which she must be enjoying.Normally I have to use a sprinkler by now.I think what may have happened is she got into a dry spot and maybe went into a state of estivation rather than hibernation?Don`t know that much about it but someone may do?cheers.

Boxies are amazing adaptive creatures. Keep us in the loop on how she does. She's magnificent.

Congratulations on your finding your heirloom again!
She looks very much like one of mine, which I have kept for 19 years now, not as long as yours, but precious, nonetheless.
I also keep box turtles in the Southern Hemisphere, (Uruguay) and temps also reach 95 at this time, so I am spraying the boxies at least twice a day.

Its good to know I'm not alone-sort of- in the Southern hemisphere in my love of boxies.
How is turtle keeping in NZ? I would love to hear about breeding successes in your area

Good luck with your boxie,

David

hi David,Gladys is doing well and eating heaps.NZ turtle keeping is a bit strange with not alot around by overseas standards?We have a few different types in 1containment1 facilities(zoos,parks etc)but thats where they stay!In private hands they can fetch high prices and are often stolen,this has formed an underground type culture with people not telling anyone what they have etc for fear of theft.There are probably more out there than you would think but you never get to hear ,let alone see the collections.As an example there was an 8 yr old male 3 toed forsale recently with a reserve price of $5800.There are also a few herman`s and spurthighs(no sulcata)There is a 10yr spurthigh forsale at $6000 at the moment.I am breeding boxies and hermans but do not sell them as such but swap for other things or give to friends etc.Just good to get afew more out there.

thank you for your reply, NZ situation sort of resembles Australia,am I right?
Its good to see you are working to keep the turtle keeping and this species alive!
Are turtles ever imported into New Zealand?

not really,austrailia is nearby but a large continent,we are a long narrow island(two in fact)there climate is a lot hotter especially inland.ours is more temperate.No more turtles/torts are imported here.small gene pools for most herps that have been here since before regulations came in or were tightened up,late 60`s or early 70`s?

What part of NZ? I'm curious about the general temp/climate patterns. I keep boxies in Northern Cal which is quite different from where they come from so I'll be putting in moderate sized cold frame greenhouses for them to warm up on cooler days and stay comfortable at night.