hibernation?

[sammy28]

I'm beginning to notice i'm the only person asking questions on this forum, which is fine, i just feel like a noob

my turtle keeps burying herself almost completely in the dirt, head-first and everything. I pull her out and she just buries herself again. Should I leave her buried, or what? I'm slightly confused...

-sam

 

[Millerlite]

I'm assuming its a box turtle of some kind. Box turtles will dig into the ground to sleep. They dont only do this to hibernate. My box turtles always dug down in the same area. I would guess they do it to stay warm and be protected from predators, you can leave him buried. Also they dont have a high oxygen demand like humans so they wont suffocate, Thats why we can ship them as well.

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't remember if you ever told us how old your box turtle is, Sam, so forgive me if I have the wrong info for you. Baby box turtles are prey, and as such stay hidden most of the time. I have a tub with 8 little babies in it. If I didn't dig them up and place them in front of the food, I'd never see them. Then I have to jump out of sight real quick or they immediately scurry back into hiding.

If its an older box turtle, they usually come out in the early morning and scrounge around for food, soak a bit them go back and bury themselves again. Its just nature..what they do. Nothing to worry about. Once they become comfortable in there enclosure, they stay out more, but when not looking for food or water, they usually dig in.

Yvonne

 

[sammy28]

well, I don't know how old my turtle is, but she's not a baby, not that anyone would know on here. I tried figuring out her age, but she has such a smooth bottom shell I couldn't see any lines.

Anyways, that makes sense about just the simply hiding. early in the morning (about 7-8am) I can hear her moving around and eating, and then when I wake up (9-10am) and open the curtains, she'll hide. She does seem really scared of me, which also makes sense because the last owner told me that they never saw the turtle, and kept it in its own room and forgot about it for weeks. She's probably freaked out to see people (and cats) everyday!

I feel dumb asking about burying themselves, but I've never had a turtle before and didn't want to accidently let her kill herself.

-sam

 

[tortoisenerd]

As long as she is eating regularly and the enclosure is the proper temperature, burrowing is completely normal (especially for the species). It is not hibernation unless the temperatures are too cold, etc. It's just a normal turtle activity! They think it's fun and safe. Also, make sure there are also above ground hiding spots for her (at least one in each of the warm and cool areas). Half log, box, etc. I wouldn't pull her out unless she skips food--that could make her feel unsafe in her surroundings. Hopefully someone else can quote you the proper temperature range because I am unfamiliar for box turtles.

 

[Millerlite]

Temp range. They dont like it super hot, i always had mine between 70-90.. they dont like to many bright lights either.