Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello All,

I have a yearling eastern box who ate well through last(his first) winter through variying tempuratures indoors and out and did not hibernate at all. This winter about 2 weeks ago he started displaying digging behavior but would wake up every morning and bask and eat like ussual.

The dillema is... Now without any real change in outdoor or enclosure temps he has refused food for 3 days and has dug in and not woken up for the last 2 days.

If he is hibernating that is great! But I wont be able to get his temps any lower than 60 perhaps and I'm affraid of him being in a high traffic area of my home.

Any Advice.........???
Does anyone have any experience with these temps and hibernation?

Will they hibernate in a area of my apartment that is frequented daily?
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1.0 Ball Python
1.0 Burmese Python
0.1 Albino Banana California Kingsnake
1.0 Common Snapping Turtle
1.0 Eastern Painted Turtle
1.0 Eastern Box Turtle

I would just keep him warm and not hibernate until he gets a little and a lot bigger. Older animals have more body fat and takes longer to burn it all off, so it's not as dangerous if the temperature is too warm and he is actually starving... I would just keep him inside in a shallow rubbermaid tub and use a 25 watt light bulb to keep him warm. That's what I'm doing with my yearling, too.

Here is a video of my yearling:

Here it is:
My baby box turtle.

I'm sorry! I misread your question. The temperature has to be at least 45-50 degree I think and can't go lower than 40 I believe. If it's any warmer than 50 degree, then you are essentially starving your turtle.

It could just be that the temperatuer may be too cold inside the house. I'd double check those temp with at least two thermometers so I can get an accurate reading... I like to use the digital ones.

The best thing to do is to weigh your turtle every week or so on small digital scale used in the kitchen and watch for weight loss. They really should lose no more than 1% of their body weight per month. You may even have to soak it once a week in lukewarm water to keep it hydrated. My yearling box turtle hibernated for 10 weeks last year between 50-55 degrees with essentially no weight loss. 55 degrees would probably be sufficient for a very small turtle due to less body mass. Try to find an area close to an outside wall like a closet or basement and monitor the temps for a while to see if you can find a temp in this area. I have a tri-level home and I found that the space in the lower level under the desk worked. I put blankets over the opening so the heat from the furnace did not warm it to above 50-52 degrees during the coldest part of the winter. I would only allow him to hibernate for 4-6 weeks under close observation. You have to bring his temps down over a period of about 3-4 days and then bringing him out of hibernation you would do the same.

Hope this helps