General Care Discussion :: Red-eared slider’s hibernation problem

[tringlee55]

Hello, we have a female red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) and we are worried about the way she is hibernating.

Early in November she stopped eating, however se continued moving, climbing on the basking zone, etc., she was more inactive in general but still had activity, and of course no eating anything. Now in December se has decreased her activity even more but she’s still moving and no eating anything either.

We thought that maybe the direct sun over the tank could be interrupting her hibernation, so we decieded to cover it with a black cloth, leaving just a little gap so she is not completely in the dark. Even though having the tank covered she continues waking up, a few hours ago we have seen her awake and leaning on the basking zone, with half of her body outside the water.

Shouldn’t she be ‘slept’ 24 hours, or is it something normal for these turtles to wake up and move? Is it correct what we have done covering the tank so that she has almost no light?

[steve]

Can you offer some more details...

how big is the turtle
did she hibernate before
how big is tank
how much water is in there
whats the water temperature
is there a water heater

Can you post a picture of the tank?

[tringlee55]

Can you offer some more details...

how big is the turtle
did she hibernate before
how big is tank
how much water is in there
whats the water temperature
is there a water heater

Can you post a picture of the tank?

Sure, I can give you more details.

- I think she's on her maximum size, about 25-30 centimeters (around 11 inches)
- She has hibernated before, now she's 22 years old, and has been hibernating for the last 15 years
- The tank is 240 liters (63 gallons), it is placed outdoors, in the balcony
- The tank is filled with water three quarters of its height approximately
- I don't know the temperature of the water, I don't have any thermometer, here where we live in Spain we are 15-20ºC (62ºF) during the day and 5-10ºC (44ºF) during the night
- We are not using any water heater, we don't know if these things are made for outdoors.

I'm adding two pictures, the first one was made 1 week ago, before covering the tank. The second one has been made yesterday, as you can see the tank is covered all around but leaving a gap so it can enter some light.

[steve]

She's not really hibernating at those temperatures. The seasonal and temperature is causing a decrease in appetite, though it's not cold enough for her to brumate. I don't know if there is a name for it, but I think what you've done before is putting her in a semi-dormant state. I've seen/heard people do this before, sometimes simply by putting the turtle in a dry tank with no food for a few months. Brumate/Hibernation is a very tricky matter, but I generally advise people not to do it if they have other options.

Can you think of what's being done different from years past?

[tringlee55]

She's not really hibernating at those temperatures. The seasonal and temperature is causing a decrease in appetite, though it's not cold enough for her to brumate. I don't know if there is a name for it, but I think what you've done before is putting her in a semi-dormant state. I've seen/heard people do this before, sometimes simply by putting the turtle in a dry tank with no food for a few months. Brumate/Hibernation is a very tricky matter, but I generally advise people not to do it if they have other options.

Can you think of what's being done different from years past?

That is what we were assuming, but our concern still remains. If she is in a semi-dormant state she's obviously consuming more energy, so, is she at risk of dying of starvation?

The difference from past years is mainly her tank and location. In recent years she has been living in a smaller tank, with less water (so she could just breathe without the need of swimming), and the tank was placed on the floor so it was no getting direct sun most of the time. Now, is the opposite in almost everything I mentioned, she needs to swim to the surface to breathe, and the tank is getting direct sun almost all the morning and afternoon until 16-17PM. Another new thing is that we have installed a water filter, could the filter interrupt her hibernation? I don't think so because is completely silent...

On the other hand, the cloth thing that we have put over the tank is appropriate?

[steve]

Yes, I think there is more risk.

The cloth thing will not likely work as she is active and on a diurnal cycle.

[tringlee55]

Ok thank you