Box Turtle hibernation in captivity

[j***@yahoo.com]

My box turtle has been hibernating since October. He is buried in
aspen substrate
in a large plastic tub. He's come out a couple times and then buried
himself again.

He stays outdoors in the spring and summer, but it's too cold here in
Colorado to keep him outdoors in the winter. I don't have a garage
or basement so he's in room temperature indoors. Is this going to be a
health problem for him?

thanks

[Chris McMartin]

Post by j***@yahoo.com
My box turtle has been hibernating since October. He is buried in
aspen substrate
in a large plastic tub. He's come out a couple times and then buried
himself again.
He stays outdoors in the spring and summer, but it's too cold here in
Colorado to keep him outdoors in the winter. I don't have a garage
or basement so he's in room temperature indoors. Is this going to be a
health problem for him?

It "shouldn't" be, but monitor his weight, and I'd soak him at least once a
week. The water loss will be the biggest concern.

The last couple of years I brumated my turtles in a small wine fridge at 55
deg F. I modified it to incorporate an air line pumping bubbles into a cup
of water in the fridge to keep the humidity up. This year, though, I'm
keeping them active and at room temperature.

Do you use any sort of artificial lighting? You may want to try increasing
the "on" time to simulate the approach of spring and get him feeding again.

[j***@yahoo.com]

Thanks Chris, I gave him a long drink about 2 weeks ago, but then let
him
hibernate again. I'll wake him up for another soak. I'm not using any
artificial
lighting, thinking that they'd normally be buried anyway. I guess I
need to rethink
that one.

[Chris McMartin]

Post by j***@yahoo.com
Thanks Chris, I gave him a long drink about 2 weeks ago, but then let
him
hibernate again. I'll wake him up for another soak. I'm not using any
artificial
lighting, thinking that they'd normally be buried anyway. I guess I
need to rethink
that one.

The light trick may or may not work; sometimes the urge to sleep is
extremely strong! If nothing else, just keep the turtle hydrated and let
him tough it out for the next month or so.

[j***@yahoo.com]

I woke him up today. For a minute there, I couldn't find him and I
thought he got out somehow.
He was buried deep in the substrate. I gave him fresh warm water in
his pool and set him soak for
a while. I coaxed him into eating one of those "super worms" that we
sometimes feed to the Beardies.
The turtle ate one worm and then dug back under his hide and buried
himself again. I'll wake him up
again next week and repeat the routine.

[Jules]

Post by j***@yahoo.com
I woke him up today. For a minute there, I couldn't find him and I
thought he got out somehow.
He was buried deep in the substrate. I gave him fresh warm water in
his pool and set him soak for
a while. I coaxed him into eating one of those "super worms" that we
sometimes feed to the Beardies.
The turtle ate one worm and then dug back under his hide and buried
himself again. I'll wake him up
again next week and repeat the routine.

Being from the UK, i know nowt about these animals, but feeding them while
bruminating i thought was bad? for exampe, snakes have to have a totally
empty stomach....for obious reasons

just curious

[Chris McMartin]

Post by Jules

Post by j***@yahoo.com
I woke him up today. For a minute there, I couldn't find him and I
thought he got out somehow.
He was buried deep in the substrate. I gave him fresh warm water in
his pool and set him soak for
a while. I coaxed him into eating one of those "super worms" that we
sometimes feed to the Beardies.
The turtle ate one worm and then dug back under his hide and buried
himself again. I'll wake him up
again next week and repeat the routine.

Being from the UK, i know nowt about these animals, but feeding them while
bruminating i thought was bad? for exampe, snakes have to have a totally
empty stomach....for obious reasons

It's a mixed bag in this case...the turtle WANTS to brumate so his feeding
response is diminished; however he's being kept at room temperature so the
digestive process should continue (as opposed to cooling the animal which
tends to stop digestion and leaves food in the gut to cause problems). I
wouldn't worry about feeding the turtle as much as I would hydrating the
turtle.

[Jules]

Post by Chris McMartin

Post by Jules

Post by j***@yahoo.com
I woke him up today. For a minute there, I couldn't find him and I
thought he got out somehow.
He was buried deep in the substrate. I gave him fresh warm water in
his pool and set him soak for
a while. I coaxed him into eating one of those "super worms" that we
sometimes feed to the Beardies.
The turtle ate one worm and then dug back under his hide and buried
himself again. I'll wake him up
again next week and repeat the routine.

Being from the UK, i know nowt about these animals, but feeding them while
bruminating i thought was bad? for exampe, snakes have to have a totally
empty stomach....for obious reasons

It's a mixed bag in this case...the turtle WANTS to brumate so his feeding
response is diminished; however he's being kept at room temperature so the
digestive process should continue (as opposed to cooling the animal which
tends to stop digestion and leaves food in the gut to cause problems). I
wouldn't worry about feeding the turtle as much as I would hydrating the
turtle.

i missed the first posts...of course fluids are the most important.
we dont get them here....

Post by Chris McMartin
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