box turtle still not waking up

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sheri85

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so my box turtle Whoopi has been hibernating since late november, and normally she's awake in april, but we're almost to June and she's still not waking up. i've taken her outside and let her walk around a few times (and she did walk around with her usual enthusiasm and speed), but as soon as she's back in the tank she goes back to sleep. i've soaked her several times, and she drinks plenty of water, but that also fails to keep her up. i've offered her worms (her favorite food) but she's uncharacteristically uninterested. i turn on her uvb light every morning, and i've taken away her mat and log so she can't burrow, though she's figured out how to hide under the paper towel.

last spring she had an issue with the inside of her beak, and we had it scraped. i've opened her mouth and can still see where the issue was, but can't tell if that's still bothering her or not.

i'm worried because she's shown no interest in food, so i was wondering should i try feeding her baby food with a dropper? leave her alone? i've had this turtle 15+ years and haven't had issues until last year. any advice would be appreciated. i'm keeping an eye out in the meantime for any other unusual symptoms.
 

Laura

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what is your weather like? Ours has not been very warm. its confusing the heck out of my sulcatas and Russian...
 

dmmj

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I know in california the weather has been warm, cool, warm cool warm cool so it might be weather related You could put her in a indoor enclosure and try warming her up and see if that helps.
 

terryo

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We've been having good weather here, although it goes down into the low 60's at night. All my boxies have been up for a few weeks now, and are eating normally, and active. Even on cooler days, they are up and about now. If you have her for fifteen years, then you know her routine, and if this isn't how she usually acts, I would have her checked now. Do you bring her outside at all? If not, do the lights in her enclosure mimic the outside ....night ...day? How do you hibernate her and have you changed anything? I hope you can figure this out and she'll be OK.
 

sheri85

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terryo said:
We've been having good weather here, although it goes down into the low 60's at night. All my boxies have been up for a few weeks now, and are eating normally, and active. Even on cooler days, they are up and about now. If you have her for fifteen years, then you know her routine, and if this isn't how she usually acts, I would have her checked now. Do you bring her outside at all? If not, do the lights in her enclosure mimic the outside ....night ...day? How do you hibernate her and have you changed anything? I hope you can figure this out and she'll be OK.

yeah, she's usually up by now (i always worry when my animals behave out of their norm). i don't do anything special when she hibernates. i keep her tank at the usual 80 degrees, and she sleeps under her log or burrows under her mat, and she gets up on her own. i turn her uvb light on during the day, and she's next to a window so some light does come in. i take her outside frequently in the summer, and have already taken her out a few times on warm days. it's been cold again, so i've let her sleep the last few days.

i'd like to avoid the vet if possible since we're short on money. her weight feels normal to me, and her eyes are bright and healthy. it looks like she might start shedding soon.
 

sheri85

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she woke up earlier today and is eating as i type this! hopefully she stays up and active now so i don't have to worry anymore.
 
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