General Care Discussion :: Hibernating Turtle

[fluffytheturtle]

I emailed my local reptile association:

Hi. My name is Jennifer and I have a couple of questions about red ear sliders. One came to our neighborhood, in San Antonio, and "knocked on our door" in July! (My mom thought someone was breaking in!) We took it in and it is in our backyard. We put in a pond for it and I feed it feeder fish, frozen turtle food, and shredded carrots and lettuce. (Sometimes I give it fruit and other veggies I found online that are appropriate).

Can Red Ear Sliders eat without the food being in the water? I thought she was eating the carrots and lettuce when I put it on a flat ziploc lid by where she liked to stay, but I read that Red Ear Sliders can only swallow in water-is this true?

I am also very concerned because she seems like she is hibernating.

When she adjusted to our yard, she picked out an area she loved to stay in. It is under a porch in a garden area with lots of leaves and plants and a very small tree stump.

In O ctober, she would stay there for long periods of time. Then, in November, it seemed as if she was hibernating in and out. On colder days, she would stay in the garden, on warmer days, she would come out and walk around and play in the pond. This went on until after Christmas. I have not seen her come out of the area with the garden and there were some dead leaves there from our oak trees, so I put some more on her to keep her warm. She has not moved, and I know it is best not to touch her.

She is protected under a roof and I do not water the area because I read that if a turtle gets wet while it is cold and hibernating, it can kill it. Is that true, or should I be keeping the soil moist (it gets a little moist from rain)?

I also read that Red Ear Sliders hibernate in ponds deep under the mud bottoms. Should I be concerned that mine is in a garden area hibernating? I just want to be sure she is ok and I love her and would like to care for her.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Jennifer

Jennifer,

A RES can only feed in the water. I place whole leaves of Romaine lettuce in the pond for mine. They take bites from it above water but pull back below the surface to swallow. Instead of shredded carrots, use a potato peeler and make long thin strips of carrot. I would avoid fruit and stick with green leafy vegetables and occasional strips of carrot or green zucchini squash. Normally, these turtles eat live things (fish, bugs, worms, crawfish...) that live in the water and develop more of a taste for water plants as they get older.

Generally, sliders hibernate under the water. They will dig down into the mud and leaves at the bottom of a lake or stream. However, some have been found hibernating under logs on the bank. The following web site has a good overview of Sliders. http://bss.sfsu.edu/geog/bholzman/cours ... slider.htm

I am just North of Austin and my sliders have been fairly active due to the warm weather we have been having. Since you are in San Antonio, I would expect that your turtle has been even more active than those here. Since the turtle appeared at your back door, I'm led to believe that your yard is not fenced. It is possible that the turtle has left your yard and moved on.

Gently dig in the area that you last saw the turtle to see if it is still there. Also, if you haven't checked, take your hand and root around in the bottom of the pond to see if maybe it is under leaves. Also, look in other areas of the yard where there are leaves or which may be damper. With the higher than normal temperatures and the drier than normal conditions, the turtle may be dehydrated.

If you find the turtle, you need to evaluate the state of health. If it feels very light or the eyes are swollen, I would suggest that you bring it inside and set it up in warm water (mid 70's) that just covers it shell. One thing to look for is the turtle passing an almost clear jelly like mass. This indicates that the internals of the turtle have began to function and the turtle is expelling what little is in the digestive system (mostly just dead cells). Wait a day, and if the eyes are open, offer some food. If after a day or two, the turtle is not eating or responding, then take it to a local reptile vet. I do not have the name of a good vet there, but, Frank Saling may know of one.

If you find the turtle and it is moving and alert, then place it back into the pond. If you have no fence or barrier around the pond, there is nothing that will keep the turtle in the pond.

Feel free to contact me with further questions that you may have.

Deborah Sydney
Austin Herp Society

[fluffytheturtle]

I emailed them back and said I could see her, she is fenced in, she appeared at our front door, and she has not moved.

They replied:

If you can see her, then she did not dig deep enough to maintain a temperature low enough to stay in hibernation. I would suggest that you pick her up and check that she is ok. Even in hibernation, a turtle will respond when handled. It will move its legs and head and open it eyes. Bring her into the house. You can put her in a box with some of the leaves she is buried in. Let her warm up to room temperature. Then soak her in a dish pan or even in the bathtub. Just make sure that the water is not hot and not cold (Mid 70s would be good) and no deeper than to just cover her shell. With the temperature going up over the next few days, I would then put her back in her pond if she looks and acts normal.

Hopefully, she is fine. But, there is always a chance that she is not. Let me know what you find out.

[fluffytheturtle]

I just emailed to see if I should do it now, it is dark our or in the morning. I am shaking and almost crying. I am so scared and lost.

[steve]

It sounds like they offered some very good information. A lot of people have failed trying to hibernate their RES and if she is able to recover, you may need to re-examine on how you are keeping her. That may be an indoor setup or different outdoor setup. Good luck.

[fluffytheturtle]

She is Okay!!!!!! I just picked her up (well my dad did) and she is in a box in my room. I hope she is going to be alright because I think she was hibernating under the dead leaves and stems of the plant.


Is it safe to take a turtle out of hibernation?

Her shell is almost black with faded yellow-orangish stipes. It is curved and on top is a rectanle like shape in the print.

She seems scared, but I hear her slightly moving or tinkling!

[steve]

That's a relief! There are a lot of problems with hibernating RES, including putting them in and taking them out of that state. There is a deliberate lack of information regarding hibernation on this site, similar in the way there is a lack of certain medical treatments.

I suggest that you remain in contact with the Austin Herp Society, but you must decide quickly on how you want to keep your turtle.

[fluffytheturtle]

Based on the local Reptile Association's suggestions, I kept her in the box for about an hour, then put her in a metal tub with room temperature water about to her shell. Once she became fully alert and active in the box, she was trying to escape the entire time!

After 45 minutes in the metal tub and her trying to escape, I took her outside by the pond. (They suggested I try to feed her in the metal tub, but she did not eat).

She played in the pond for a while, then got out and went straight back to her hibernating spot.

It is protected from wind and rain.

Here are some other suggestions I got:


I wrote:
As suggested, I took my turtle out of hibernation. She is awake and I wanted to ask if it is safe to take a turtle out of hibernation once it started hibernating.

Howdy Jennifer,
Yes, it's OK. This far south they don't really go into a true "hibernation", and, come and go as the weather fluctuates.
Good luck with your RES.
Hope to see you at one of STHA meetings.
Frank.


I wrote:


Fluffy, as I call her, is okay for now! She moved when my dad went to pick her up and hissed a little. She is in a box in my room and seems very scared. Is it possible she is not an RES? Her shell is curved and at the very top there is a long rectangle like shape. It loks almost black to me with faded yellow-orange stripes. I am so happy, but this won't hurt her, will it? If I took her out of hibernation?



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Sound great! In the north, turtles hibernate in ice covered lakes. They can very much handle the low temperatures. What generally causes problems is when there is a sudden drop in temperature and the turtles have a full stomach. Hibernating with food in their stomach is a death sentence. The cold slows the body functions and the food rots rather than digests.

Now, about your pond. Turtles generally need 18 - 24 inch deep water for hibernation. There also should be a later of leaves at the bottom deep enough to cover the turtle. It is best to NOT have fish in the pond during hibernation because you don't want to risk her eating on a warm day. When the risk of freezing weather has passed, fish can be added. Also, make sure that there is a floating branch or board what she can climb up on and bask. The pond should have areas of full sun with the rest being shaded.

If you find that she again leaves the pond, dig a hole the same depth as she was in, close to the pond and in the shade. Put her in the hole and cover with leaves. Place a wooden box over the hole which has a opening at ground level big enough that she can get out. Lightly pack the box with leaves. The box only needs to be about a foot high and 18 inches square.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask,

Deb


I wrote:

She has not eaten yet. But there are fish in the pond and lettuce, carrots, and floating water plants (sea weed like). I will remove them. The pond is about three and a half feet deep and I put gravel on the bottom (a little over half a foot).

The area she was hibernating in was protected from wind and rain. Should I let her hibernate there again and just keep the soil moist? Also, should I remove all of the food sources right now?


They responded:

I would take the lettuce and carrots out. Just leave what would naturally be in a lake. The weather at least up here is going to be warm for at least the next week. If we have a night that is freezing or below, just bring her in for the night and put her back out when the temp is again about freezing.

It would be best if she stays in the pond. But, if she doesn't, then at least add more leaves and keep the area around her moist (not soggy) but don't pour water directly on her.

[steve]

One thing I am concerned about is that you are letting her back into a colder, unregulated environment. Though a wild RES or painted may be better suited for temperature fluctuations (how deep is your pond and is it heated?) it is still something that needs careful monitoring.

[fluffytheturtle]

The pond is a little over 3 feet deep with the gravel in it. It has a waterfall and no water heater (it is moving water so it won't freeze).

It was about 60 degrees when she went outside.

[fluffytheturtle]

I emailed my local RES expert and they said she will be fine. I just needed to do a check up on her to make sure she was ok. They said she knows what to do for the most part. You know what? She even survived a 27 degree night at the beginning of January! That is why I was so worried. But she is a very strong turtle who has lived outside locally all her life, so I'd imagine she has survived worse. I am just so happy she is ok.

[marisa]

That's very good news.