Red Eared Sliders & Hibernation???

Question

Do you hibernate your turtle? If so how is this done if he is kept inside?

Answer 1

There are pros and cons to hibernation.

The reasons TO hibernate include breeding and reduced care needs. Reasons NOT to hibernate include health issues and a real risk of death.

Most casual keepers do not hibernate their turtles mostly because it is really a pain in the neck to do it. Also- Red-ears are a species that does not really need hibernation- many Red-ears do not hibernate in the wild since they live in nice, warm places. I do not know of any good sources that recommend hibernating pond turtles indoors.

Keeping a turtle active just means making sure the temps and lighting simulate summer all year, like they would closer to the tropics.

To hibernate a pond turtle, you'll need to basically put it in a pond with a thick muddy bottom and at least 18" of water. It needs a while to acclimated and it needs to be in perfect health.

No one has come up with a good, reliable way to hibernate a turtle indoors, but the basic idea would be to put it in a container of 39 degree water- cold enough to be super-oxygenated but not freezing. Much warmer, and the turtle will not really enter hibernation. I suppose you could do this with a fridge kept too warm for food storage.

Answer 2

You don't need to hibernate your turtle. That is not recommended, because during the hibernation they can get health issues. But if you decide to do it then you can get a bowl of sand sold in pet stores. You will put it at the bottom of your tank. Your turtle will berry it self there and hibernate. But you also need to lower down the temperature. After 3-4 months higher up the temperature and your turtle will wake up. But still I recommend that you don't hibernate your turtle.

Answer 3

if yuo decide to every so often check it for sores