Box Turtle and Tortoise Discussion :: Hibernating??

[Aqua8]

Squirts been hiding under the wooden substrate in his vavarium!! He's been under there for two days now... I've fed him lettuce and turtle pellets and he's been eating like crazy. And I mean large leafs of lettuce and he ate it all!! But now he's buried himself!! And whenever I touch him to take him out he hisses at me...

And that's another thing is it fine for him to be hissing at me???

HELP!!!

[Blue Flamingo]

What’s your setup like. If its heated properly your turtle should never hibernate. It could be not even related to hibernating. Hissing is fine, mine hiss at me. But does he usually hiss at you. Any time an animal changes it behavior drastically it usually means something is wrong.

[jenaero]

Both my box turtles tend to slow down in the winter even when temps are kept steady. As juveniles, they will stay buried/hiding most of the time. That's how they avoid predators in the wild. My boxies will even cut down on what they eat this time of year.

As long as he's eating well, and temps are constant I wouldn't be concerned.

[RunninWideOpen]

Ditto to what jenaero said. All of mine stay in hiding most of the time. They come out in the morning as soon as their lights come on, and then go back in hiding for the rest of the day. Sounds like your turtle is acting completely normal.

Actual hissing isn't really normal..... but what you're probably hearing is their quick exhale when they suck themselves into their shells. They do this for protection, but in order to fit their body in quickly, they have to let out some air.

[Aqua8]

Thanx all!! And yeah Squirt was hiding for some time in the dirt by his plant but surprisingly out of no where some time last week I found him bathing in his water dish!! And since then he's been travelling around, exploring and mainly pooping in the water dish!! Which I have to change now EVERYDAY!! l lol But he's soooo cute, what can I say! But yeah he's been active and has eaten everything I've given him from lettuce to carrots to turtle pellets!!