sleeping outside the hide....

Hello,
I have a 3 toed boxie adult who has been inside for a year. I recently transferred him outside to a 12x16 enclosure. He seems to love it outside, the weather was still a bit cool when he was placed outside dropping down to low 50s at night. This has slowed his appetite along with the new home he hasnt eaten for about a week now. He does drink from the pond daily though. Anyway it is warming up hitting 83 by day and last night it was 70 for a low. I went out to offer food this morning, 5 am, and my boxie was not in the hide, he was on the back side and sort of settled into the substrate. He has always been a hide sleeper, choosing one main hide and sticking to it. Is it normal for him to not sleep in the hide when it is warmer? Him being outside now I know nothing about him behavior wise as he seems to be changing his behavior. He is W/C, I bought him from a pet shop not knowing what I was doing. I feel like releasing him but I dont want him to die searching for his old home. Anyway, the sleeping under the stars, normal, or not?

thanks
cordell

He is probably just adjusting to his new enclosure. Just keep watching him and try to monitor his feeding. If he doesn't eat soon, take him back inside or feed him something different. It'll be hard to see if he eats though, because I imagine he now has access to additional bugs and plants. My EBT's just started eating heavy yesterday and they've been awake for a few weeks. Sometimes it just takes time to adjust to a new setting, or to wake up from hibernation, etc.
I would also make sure that you have a secure top with chicken-wire or metal screening on the enclosure. You don't want him to remain exposed and have a raccoon or another animal get to him. i've seen many examples where a dog or raccoon gnaws off the leg(s) of a turtle or tortoise...

You know the other night was real cold so I brought him in over night. I fed him as I would have before the move out side and he went to town on strawberries, tomatoes, worms, you name it he was all over it! It must still be just a little to cold out side for them to eat like they should. What are ideal temps for them to be eating outdoors? It is dropping to 65 at night and heats up to 75 in the day.

Thanks
Cordell

That is most likely the problem. The hibernation temps for the species are around 50-60 degrees, so you are right at the border. 75 should be good, but since that is the high, it may not be maintaining the necessary temp. Personally, I would put him back in the enclosure and not worry about it. Just keep feeding him like normal and if he continues to be picky take him inside every few days to feed him. Eventually the daily temps will rise and he should be back to normal.
Also, remember that males get "wanderlust" during spring because they are looking for someone to mate with. For example, my EBT male eats when I put him in a smaller feed box with only food, but if I leave him out in his enclosure with food he won't touch it. He just walks in circles looking for a way out and if he is exposed to my females, he goes into super-aggressive breeding mode. So if your guy is old enough, he may just be looking for a girlfriend...
There could be other reasons that I'm not aware of, but as long as he looks healthy and eats when you take him inside, I wouldn't worry. Just do some research on the species and see if there is any info out there that I didn't cover. I've never had a three-toe and they are different from EBT's.

LOL @ wanderlust, he has a case of that for sure! At night the lows are more than likely triggering a hibernate feeling. He was tossed in the new enclosure and the fist 2 nights it was 40 degrees. For the most part temps have been 50s, upper 50s but still to cold. He has only been out there for a little over 1 week. Add that to the new environment and he dont want to eat. He is defiantly old enough to breed, I put him at 20-25, plastron is worn pretty bad and his shell has seen better days, lol. Its weird as he seems to prefer being inside. I did not hibernate him last winter, he was new to me and this is my first turt since I was a kid. After discovering he is WC I decided to build him the outdoor enclosure. I am adopting another 3 toed next weekend from a local rescue, another male. I am hoping the new addition will help him get back into the outdoor living as the new turt is coming from a outdoor enclosure.

Thanks for the Help,
Cordell