ground hibernating temperate turtles

[mark1]

36hrs ago it was 34F
right now

i accidently dug up these two 6-7yr olds, so i put them in some water in case they want a drink..... they been down since the first week of november

i accidently dug up the 2 above sub-adults, because i was looking to dig up these two babies, they are 3yr olds, and somehow the two above were in their pen

the ground temperature yesterday morning

the ground temperature right now

looking at our weather, next week end i will most likely be digging up any box turtles that aren't up...... lowest temperature i see in the 10 day forecast is 44F....

some ground temps from january 2025...... there are 9 species of turtles that live withing 30 minutes of my house.......

the water turtles never experienced any temps below 32F

 

[Tim Carlisle]

83 in Cincinnati today. Have to wander out in the woods and look for some box turtles.

 

[mark1]

you got to wonder why the box turtles and the mushrooms both emerge at the same time in ohio, probably not a coincidence......

the two i accidentally dug up, went from closed up balls of mud to wide awake in less than a half an hour.....

 

[Tim Carlisle]

you got to wonder why the box turtles and the mushrooms both emerge at the same time in ohio, probably not a coincidence......

the two i accidentally dug up, went from closed up balls of mud to wide awake in less than a half an hour.....

Could it have something to do with the soil acidity?

 

[mark1]

they both emerge with 50F soil temperatures, which requires 40 degree nights in ohio....

 

[mark1]

2 eastern box turtles came out on their own today

i was pleased to see this guy, out of all the ones here he is the first eastern box turtle i got

this girl been here a long time also...... i saw her eat a lot oct 29th last year, she dug in 3 days later and this is the first i seen her

i found this one spring 2020, he's hibernated every year of his life

2020

2025

thunderstorms today and 64F

 

[jeff kushner]

Turtle lovers eye candy!!

Thanks Mark

 

[mark1]

last one came up yesterday..... i've seen every turtle i know is here in the last week........ every box turtle here was dug in before november 6th 2024, last guy to come up, on his own, april 24th 2025, 168 days..........

i'm pleased some folks do like seeing the pictures....... the temperatures are more to my objective..... it was 28F here 7 days ago, the fluctuations are completely normal to temperate reptiles..... living in the climate i do, i've seen them react from -20F to 104...... given what they need none of it is a problem to them..... the "your backyard is not the wild", mine is ..... for the ground hibernators it is absolutely the best of the wild..... the water hibernators do endure a bit more temp fluctuations than they would in the wild here , i keep to a minimum as best i can, and they have no problems with it, i've got 10-20yrs in raising hatchling wood turtles, box turtles and blandings turtles, i'm not depending on luck.... water hibernators here in the wild endure much greater temp fluctuations than ground hibernators, assuming the ground hibernators are in a good hibernacula, not all of them find "good" hibernacula in the wild.......i've seen snapping turtles in the river by me sitting in full sun on a march day at 70-80F, only to drop back into 40-50F water after the sun is gone.........

 

[jeff kushner]

I'm pretty sure that like me, other box turtle owners also appreciate the wealth of information that you share in your posts...even above the great eye candy pictures!

They make great reference material!

 

[mark1]

pretty sure winter is in the rear view mirror.......everybody looks brand new....... hibernation, imo, is a great thing......

 

[Markw84]

@mark1 Where are you getting your soil temperatures? They seem to be quite shallow depth figures - perhaps from an agricultural website? That would make sense if used to help decide when to plant certain seeds/crops.

 

[mark1]

@mark1 Where are you getting your soil temperatures? They seem to be quite shallow depth figures - perhaps from an agricultural website? That would make sense if used to help decide when to plant certain seeds/crops.

the temps i get the graphs from are 0-10cm, the leaf pile can be 10F different either warmer or colder..... the shallow temps are all that matters in my case, eastern box turtles do not burrow..... here's a link

soil temperatures



this is actual here right now in the box turtle pen, 1/2" in the dirt..... 5-17 1:40pm......

i look at this one too. here's a link

soil temperatures