Box turtle hibernation

Question
Hello,  my son purchased a box turtle from a local reptile show.  We have had it to the vet for general checkups and vitamin A shots prior to hibernation in our unheated (but not freezing) attic. Now that the days are longer and weather is warming, we thought we should take her out of the attic and start warming/waking her up.  Is that correct procedure, or should we wait until she does something to indicate she is ready to awaken?

Answer
Hi Rheo, I'm glad to hear you had your boxie to the vet prior to hibernation, that is a very wise precaution. I assume that your vet was able to advise you on all the other critical pre-hibernation preparation as well. It's important to be able to monitor the temperature (and ideally the humidity) throughout the hibernation period. A thermometer with an external probe that can be place in the chamber is perfect for that. Your turtle will start to become metabolically active once the temp. inside the hibernation chamber starts to reach just above 50 F and he should be removed at that stage and gradually warmed up and hydrated. I have linked the hibernation article from tortoise trust which is an excellent information source for boxies as well. There is a thorough section on the "waking up" process. The gradual warming up can be done over a couple days as well with a day or so at normal room temperature before an external heat source is provided. I start the re-hydration process with daily soaks right after emerging.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/safer.html