Why do turtles hibernate?

1. Reasons for turtle hibernation:

Turtles are cold-blooded animals. The temperature is too low in winter, which makes it difficult for turtles to move and find food. Therefore, they need to reduce their metabolism to conserve energy. In addition, the weather is cold. , food sources are reduced, hibernation is a kind of self-protection, which can reduce physical energy consumption.

When the temperature drops rapidly from November to December every year, the turtle will enter hibernation. After stopping eating, it will empty its intestines and stomach. When the white gel material is discharged, it means that the intestines have been cleared and can hibernate at any time. When the temperature drops below 13 degrees, you can put it in water or moist sand to hibernate. Turtles will wake up and end hibernation when the temperature reaches 15 degrees Celsius.

2. Precautions for raising turtles during hibernation:

1. Breeders must rely on their understanding of turtles and their own judgment to determine whether their turtles are qualified for hibernation. You know, any form of hibernation is a very "severe" test for the health of the turtle.

2. For turtles living in colder areas, the ideal hibernation temperature should be between 7℃-10℃. If the temperature is too low for a long time, the turtle will die. If the temperature is too high, they may not enter hibernation at all.

3. The turtle will enter hibernation when the temperature is lower than 15℃. If you are not going to hibernate it, you should keep the temperature at 22℃-30℃. If the temperature is lower than 15℃ and you don’t want the turtle to hibernate, you should gradually increase the temperature. Do not allow the temperature to rise too fast. Feeding should not be done when the temperature is neither too high nor too low. It can only be fed in an environment of 20℃-30℃. Turtle eating.

4. If a breeder wants to check the health of a hibernating turtle, it should be done at least once a month. Unless in very special emergencies, the breeder can disturb a hibernating turtle. This kind of inspection can only be done occasionally and must not be done frequently, otherwise it will disturb the hibernation of the turtle and prevent it from completely entering the hibernation state, making it difficult to achieve the purpose of letting the turtle enter hibernation. Too many disturbances are likely to increase the mortality rate of hibernating turtles.

5. Once the breeder has selected a container for hibernating turtles, the breeder must not simply place them directly in the outside temperature and expect this to continue until the turtle ends hibernation. This is true for any type of turtle hibernating, whether it is an aquatic turtle, a semi-aquatic turtle or a tortoise, if it is exposed to temperatures below 3C for a long time, it will produce a very high mortality rate.

6. Before letting the turtle hibernate, you should also ensure that the turtle's body is completely "empty" to avoid rectal infarction caused by the drop in temperature. A simple and easy method is: one week before the turtle is about to enter hibernation, let the turtle take a half-hour warm bath every day. This is the key to "cleaning" the gastrointestinal system of the turtle.

Extended information

During hibernation, the turtle's metabolism slows down, digestion stops, circulation decreases, and the immune and other self-protection systems slow down or stop. Therefore, diseases will take advantage of the situation, and some seemingly inconspicuous illnesses can cause a lot of trouble to turtles. Therefore, it is recommended that turtle owners not allow sick or weak turtles to hibernate.

For newly hatched turtles, it is best not to hibernate during the first two years. There are also those turtles from the tropics that do not have the habit of hibernating, so do not let them hibernate.

For turtles that cannot hibernate, you can adopt heating measures to raise them when the temperature drops in winter. If it is a tortoise, you can use an ordinary desk lamp with an ordinary incandescent bulb or a reptile-specific bulb (including ultraviolet light). Use electric blankets, heating stones for reptiles, or put an electric heater in the room, but be careful not to make the air too dry; if it is a water turtle, you can put a thermostatic rod in the water (generally available in fish markets).

Reference materials: Baidu Encyclopedia - Turtle (animal name)

Baidu Encyclopedia - Hibernation

Baidu Encyclopedia - Hibernation is the key to raising turtles