Hibernation for aquatic turtles
12/15/08
Good morning Neale,
...I have 2 babies aquatic turtles
(yellow belly and northern red belly) in a 10 gallon tank. 2 inches each of them
in size....Suddenly one (the Yellowbelly) of them decrease his activity, remain
in a corner of the aquarium and principally stop of eating. I'm very carefully
with all conditions of the environment and the turtle looks good at his external
characteristics.....is possible that he is trying to hibernate?....What is the
best to I can do it?
Thanks in advance
Victor
<Hello Victor. Generally aquatic turtles won't/can't hibernate in captivity. It
is possible to "force" them to do so safely by controlling temperature
carefully, but otherwise it is simply much safer and much better to leave them
pottering about their tank as normal. Day length may regulate activity levels,
and decreasing temperature (if your tank is
unheated) certainly will. But
otherwise just leave them doing their usual thing, cutting back food if they
aren't feeding much. It won't do your turtle any harm at all not hibernating,
and indeed the risks caused by improper hibernation are much more serious.
However, because your tank is small -- much smaller than I'd consider safe for
even a single turtle, let alone two -- I'd be very cautious about water quality.
Also check the diet is correct (lots of greens!) and that their is UV-B light
for basking. When turtles, and reptiles generally, don't get the right food and
the essential UV-B, they slowly become less active and healthier, eventually
getting sick. If your turtle is seemingly lethargic, and temperature is
appropriately warm, I'd double check your turtles is healthy. Cheers, Neale.>
Frozen painted turtle 11/29/08
Hi.
<Hiya Deb - Darrel here this morning>
We recently found a
painted turtle (4 inch diameter) frozen in the ice of our pond. We
chipped out a section of ice with the turtle and brought it inside to
thaw. Incredibly, the turtle does appear to be alive but still in
hibernation.
<Yes, he was hibernating to the point of stasis. The Emydid turtles, for
the most part, do quite well in frozen creeks and ponds by shutting down
to an almost imperceptible metabolism until the thaw comes. On the other
hand, this is never something we intentionally do to our pets because
not all do survive. In your case, I would have suggested to leave him
alone and let nature take it's course, but I understand the desire to
"jump in" (pun intended) and try to help. Now that he's out, we'll press
onward>
We aren't sure what is best for his survival now ... keep him
indoors and let him come out of hibernation or place him in a shallow
goldfish pond that hasn't frozen over yet. The daytime temps are still
in the mid 30's with overnight lows dropping to high 20's. What is his
best chance of survival?
<Deb, at this point, I'd like you to bring
him indoors, place him in a cardboard box or some other suitable
container with high sides and then place him in the coolest part of your
house. Not a porch or area exposed to the outside temps in the 20's, but
not next to the heater either. I'd like him to experience temps in the
40's, 50's & 60's for a few days, if possible and then up to the
comfortable indoors temps of your house. In other words, we want to warm
him up FAIRLY quickly, but not so fast as to shock his system. If he
warms up gradually over a few days or a week, you'll see occasional
signs of activity (mostly looking around probably the way WE do when we
first wake up in the morning) and then small movements until he has
shaken the hibernation off and then begins to walk around.
Wait a
week after he's fully active to place him in a shallow bowl of
room-temperature water to soak and hydrate for a few minutes, and then
another week before offering him some Repto-Min sticks or Koi pellets
(same thing only less expensive) in the water.>
<At that point, might as well give him a name and create a more
{semi}Permanent winter home for him and either keep him there as a pet,
or plan to release him to the pond when the nighttime temp is
consistently above 60 and the daytime has consistent sunlight and at
least 75 degree days.>
Thanks you,
Deb
<Yer welcome, Deb!>
Putting my turtles to
hibernation 11/19/07
Hi
<Hiya! Darrel here>
I have a Three Toed Box Turtle (about 6 or 7 inches long) that I have had for 6
or 7 months. I keep him in a large outdoor 5x8 cage built out of cinder blocks 2
high and lined with bricks sunk in the ground inside to keep him from digging
out. There is a small shallow pond in it and I also have a chain link cover over
the top. Our dirt is mostly clay so I mixed up a patch of it with lots of sand
for him to dig in but he never digs.
<Box turtles seldom dig actual holes. They're more likely to just find a natural
depression at the base of some plant and hunker down for the evening or the
season that way.>
It is starting to get colder so I figure he should go into hibernation soon. The
thing is he doesn't dig so I don't know if he will just go sit somewhere and
hibernate. That would be bad for him right?
<"Bad" is a relative term, Amanda. Winter causes their systems to shut down to a
minimum for the season, but you have to remember that in nature, not all of our
animal friends survive each winter. When possible or practical, I arrange for my
animals to be spared the entire process>
I also considered putting a box stuffed with hay for him to dig into in his cage
so he wouldn't have to go underground.
<Two course of action here. You could find a bigger box of cardboard or wood,
put some straw or hay in the bottom and bring him inside, maybe to your room,
and spare him the whole hibernation process. Two, you could get a smaller box,
fill it with straw as you suggest and place him in a safe place on your porch or
in your garage and let him shut down for the season. You don't say where you
live, so I'm not sure just how cold or dangerous your winters are. More on this
in a moment>
Should I stop feeding him yet so his food won't rot in his stomach?
<As fall approaches their appetites should start to shrink and yes, you should
slowly reduce their feedings, both in amount and frequency>
I also have a Map Turtle (about 4 or 5 inches long) I keep in an outdoor
aquarium. Last year I just put him in a smaller container and put him in our
glassed in porch (its unheated) and he hibernated on the bottom of the tank. Is
this an okay way for him to hibernate this year?
<A lot of the same advice applies, Amanda. For my inside animals and individual
specimens, I bring them inside the house or porch and add a little heat and
avoid hibernation, but for my outdoor ponds I have no choice but to let nature
take it's course. The worry is that the pond is deep enough and the body of
water large enough to maintain some temperature balance (cold or hot) and here's
the reason: Most of our reptile and fish friends from temperate climates can
hibernate over winter without problem, but what I call "almost winter" can be
lethal to them. "Almost Winter" is where it is clearly winter and their
metabolisms shut down according to plan, but it's not cold ENOUGH to shut down
all the way .... or it has too many warm periods where they reheat and become
semi-active only to be hit by another cold snap .. these transitions can be
lethal to them.>
<Here's an example: Yes, you could put your Map turtle in a large enough tank
and allow him to over-winter, or you could keep the water warm to around 65-70
and a basking area warm to 88-90 and avoid winter altogether. BUT .... if you
were to let the water become 50 or 55 and still have the basking area active,
his only choices would be TOO HOT (for winter) and TOO COLD (for summer).
Personally, I'd rather see the Map Turtle in a tank on top of the dresser in
your room all year 'round than outside.>
I would appreciate any reply to this.
Thanks. -Amanda
<You're welcome & best of luck to you!>
Re: Putting my turtles to hibernation
11/24/07
Thanks for all of the tips but I have a few questions about what you said. I
live in Southern Louisiana and the weather has been going under 35 for a few
days and back up to 85 for awhile from what you told me this is dangerous for
them.
<Well, see .. this is where more information is better. Southern Louisiana
doesn't really have "winter" in the conventional sense. Your turtles won't
really "hibernate" in the traditional sense but rather slow way, way down to a
state we call "torpid".>
Should I just take them in the garage where the change is less severe until the
weather levels out?
<In the climate you have as I now understand it, they'll both be fine outside
during the winter PROVIDED that
(A) - They are healthy, active and properly fed until this winter started,
(B) - you stop feeding them until the weather warms permanently and
(C) - the winter is more or less "normal" and starts warming again in late March
or April>
I would bring them both inside for the winter (the Map Turtle all the time) but
my parents have a no pets in the house policy.
<I have two sons. Reptiles and fish are welcome in my house ... it's a no KIDS
inside policy I'd like to have!>
How big would a box for the box turtle have to be for him to live comfortably if
I were to take him inside?
<For "over wintering" not very big at all. Twice his length would be fine, but
in Southern Louisiana I wouldn't worry about it.>
I don't have a basking lamp for my map turtle but I have his tank where the sun
hits it in the morning and afternoon sort of a natural lamp does he need a real
lamp?
<Make sure the sun isn't filtered through the glass. Standard aquarium glass and
even window glass filter out a great deal of the healthy UV waves and can over
heat them as well. If you do that, you should be fine. Make sure that all
animals that get direct sunlight can also get OUT of that sunlight when they
choose.>
Thanks again for a reply.
Amanda
Turtle Surviving In the Outdoor Koi Pond 10/5/06
My wife found a tiny baby turtle in our yard in the spring, we named him Sal
Manilla. We constructed an enclosure in the shallow end of our koi pond, about
12" wide by 24" long, and about 8" deep. He's been there all summer, and grown
to around 2 inches in size on a diet of turtle pellets, koi pellets, blood worms
and brine shrimp. We had considered bringing him indoors for the winter, but now
are wondering if it might be better for him if we released him into the pond.
The pond is about 3 feet deep, 3000 gallons, and our koi survive the winter well
there.
Our concerns are due to cold winter (we can easily expect long stretches where
it will remain below freezing, and occasional overnight temps as low as 0
degrees F), his young age, and in some small part, also concerned he might
burrow into the gravel bottom and tear the lining of the pond.
Option 2 is a 5 gal aquarium. Do you think our turtle Sal has a decent chance of
surviving the winter outdoors in Rhode Island? After all, he was born wild...
You opinion would be greatly appreciated. Dave
< I would keep him indoors. The natural pond is made of a soil/clay bottom. If
the water gets too cold then he could bury deeper in the mud and increase the
insulation. Gravel is too porous and allows the cold water all the way through
to the bottom liner an offers no insulation.-Chuck>
Hibernating Turtles 8/12/06
Hello. I have 2 red eared sliders and I have them outside in a pond.
They have plenty of basking space and shady places. I have been keeping them in
the pond for a few summers now and have been bringing them inside during the
winter. I was wondering if it is possible to keep them outside during the
winter and if so do I need mud in the bottom or what should I do. Thank you
<Hibernating turtles can be somewhat challenging. First your turtles must be in
good health. Sick turtles do not usually survive a season of hibernation.
Secondly, is make sure they are well fed. They must have enough fat reserves to
last them through the winter. Do not feed them in the late fall when things have
already cooled off. The food will rot in their gut and cause problems. Depending
on where you live the pond needs to be fairly deep so that it doesn't freeze
solid. In the south a couple of feet may be fine. Deeper the farther north you
go. They need mud to bury themselves and to help insolate them. This year many
turtles came out of hibernation early because of an unusually warm winter and
early spring. Sudden cold fronts caught them already out and many turtles got
sick with respiratory infections.-Chuck>
Red Eared Sliders Changing With The Seasons 12/13/05
Should I adjust the basking and UV lamps for my sliders with the
changing light conditions as the seasons change outside? I keep my 3
RES's in a large indoor pond that is heated all year round. Should I
keep it spring and summer all year (maybe 12-14 hours of light), or
should I shorten their days to reflect the fact it's winter coming on?
Again, the air and water temp will remain the same all year. Thanks!
LARRY in Los Angeles
< As long as the water temperatures don't change then I would not change the
lighting. If you were trying to breed them then I might try a different diurnal
period along with a cooling period. Then in the spring I might try to increase
the water temp and the lighting to simulate spring.-Chuck>
