Help Save the Box Turtles!

Just like the Black Bears that reside in North Carolina and hibernate during the winter months, so do our resident Box Turtles! However, for reptiles and amphibians, it’s called “brumation,” when they enter a state of inactivity and their body functions begin to slow. Unlike animals preparing for hibernation, turtles will stop eating in order to clear out their digestive system before brumation can begin. Because of this, as the temperatures continue to drop, so do turtle movements and sightings at Piedmont Wildlife Center.

Why is that?

For a number of reasons, box turtles must dig themselves underground and take a long nap for about 3–4 months. A big reason for this is that reptiles do not produce their own body heat like humans do. Going underground helps the box turtle conserve heat and stay out of direct contact with the harsh winter conditions. Another reason box turtles brumate is because the number of edible plants and insects that turtles rely on steeply declines in the winter months.

So how does this affect our research?

In late fall, we start to notice our turtles’ movements around the park get smaller and smaller. Eventually, we stop seeing our tagged turtles all together. Luckily, we can still locate our turtles with our telemetry devices; we just can’t lay our eyes on them. This year, all the turtles went underground by late November to early December. This time of year makes it easy for us to do our weekly turtle trekking, as our turtles will typically stay in that same brumation spot until it starts to warm up again. However, it is possible to see box turtles resurface on warmer winter days.

Thanks for your continued support! We will see you (and the turtles) in the spring!