Box Turtle not hibernating

[jambi1214]

Hello
I have an about 3-4 year old desert box turtle who will not and has never hibernated. Rescued as babies this one was injured and does have a missing portion of his rear shell. He is very small but over the past few years has done OK inside. This past spring he was put outside with others and did overall well. Would not hibernate so brought back in and put in aquarium. The turtle still will not hibernate. Granted he is inside, in a heated home. Temps outside are now in the 50s. So since would not hibernate have been leaving food and water and light but wont eat. Tried giving nothing and putting under substrate, lights off, etc but keeps coming out and into the water dish. Any ideas on how to help him? He is looking very thin and has had eyes closed for months now. @Tom @ZEROPILOT @Yvonne G PLease tag anyone that can help thank you

 

[wellington]

Does he have basking temps? They have to be able to bask under 95-100 temps in order to digest their food. If he is not kept warm enough he won't eat and if he can't bask he can't digest.
Set him up properly in an appropriate size enclosure with all the correct temps

 

[Tom]

Hello
I have an about 3-4 year old desert box turtle who will not and has never hibernated. Rescued as babies this one was injured and does have a missing portion of his rear shell. He is very small but over the past few years has done OK inside. This past spring he was put outside with others and did overall well. Would not hibernate so brought back in and put in aquarium. The turtle still will not hibernate. Granted he is inside, in a heated home. Temps outside are now in the 50s. So since would not hibernate have been leaving food and water and light but wont eat. Tried giving nothing and putting under substrate, lights off, etc but keeps coming out and into the water dish. Any ideas on how to help him? He is looking very thin and has had eyes closed for months now. @Tom @ZEROPILOT @Yvonne G PLease tag anyone that can help thank you

Read this:

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

Your turtle is in "limbo". You need to decide which way to go and make it happen.

 

[enchilada]

turtles cant decide whether to hibrenate or not over night,, you have to make this decision. stop feeding him for a week first then leave him outdoors .

 

[jambi1214]

I did that previously but he just sat outside, wouldn't hibernate so going to add supplemental UV lights and see. Havent had food out in weeks but he just wants to come out and soak in water. Will be reading Tom's thread later for more help as well.

 

[jeff kushner]

You live in MO, it's much too late IMHO to START hiber/brumation.....there is some real talent on this forum, I am not one of them....LOL

My suggestion is that you reach out to any of the mods, they're all pretty sharp here and WILL hook you up with someone who can, if they can't!


I will share my experience...
Last year(winter 21/22) I was worried that my Eastern Boxy wouldn't make it, she was very light weight so I kept her indoors. This past year she was moved outdoors early enough to adapt to her outdoor enclosure, her pond and where the food could be found and she did rather well. She was already dealing with 20's and 30's at night by boring into her big leaf pile. She would have been fine this winter outdoors but was predated and chewed so I brought her back in for her own safety. Next year, we will try again!



Good luck!

jeff

 

[jambi1214]

Definitely not starting hibernation. Have been trying but wanted to troubleshoot. Need to get though another about 2 months then go back with others! We did loose 2 over the past few years likely due to terrible inconsistent weather but learning from others now! Thanks for info.