How Do Chinese Pond Turtles Overwinter? A Detailed Guide to Overwintering Methods
The Chinese pond turtle is an aquatic turtle species widely distributed in the central and southern provinces of China such as Anhui and Fujian, and abroad it is mainly found in countries such as Vietnam and India. The Chinese pond turtle has a very rustic and vigorous appearance and is loved by many turtle keepers, so how does the Chinese pond turtle overwinter in the cold winter?
1. How the Chinese pond turtle overwinters
The Chinese pond turtle is an aquatic turtle species and chooses to hibernate through the winter. From November to March of the following year, when the temperature is below 10°C, the Chinese pond turtle will lie still in the mud at the bottom of the pond or lie in loose soil covered with straw, not eating or moving, and hibernate; at this time its metabolism is very slow and weak. For a personally kept Chinese pond turtle, you only need to create suitable conditions for overwintering, such as placing a layer of potting soil at the bottom of the container in which the turtle is kept, spreading water plants on top, and placing the Chinese pond turtle inside the straw in a spot that does not freeze, but keeping the straw moist and maintaining the temperature inside the container. In addition, if it is a juvenile turtle, it is not recommended to let the juvenile hibernate, because in that case the turtle can easily die; a newly born turtle cannot withstand the test of the severe winter cold, and the mortality rate is very high, so the turtle should be kept indoors and feeding should continue.
During the hibernation period of the Chinese pond turtle, do not easily disturb its hibernation; if the turtle is disturbed at this time, it is very easy for the turtle to repeatedly wake up while in the hibernating state, leading to the turtle's death, because repeatedly entering dormancy during hibernation is a very physically exhausting matter. Even if it does not die, it will cause the turtle's constitution to decline, which will have a great impact on the turtle's growth and overwintering in the coming year.
2. Key points for caring for the Chinese pond turtle
When caring for the Chinese pond turtle, you only need to pay attention to water quality and feeding; as long as these two points are done well, ordinary Chinese pond turtles can live smoothly for a very long time. The Chinese pond turtle is a clean-loving creature and has relatively high requirements for water quality. The quality of the water will directly affect the growth of the Chinese pond turtle, so good water quality conditions must be maintained, and other places where the Chinese pond turtle is active must also be kept clean and disinfected.
The Chinese pond turtle is an omnivorous turtle species, mainly eating animal-based feed and also eating plant-based feed. In artificial breeding, animal-based feed mainly includes small fish and shrimp, snail meat, the meat or trimmings of various poultry and livestock animals, etc.; plant-based feed mainly includes bananas, tomatoes, apples, carrots, etc. Artificial feed blending can also be carried out, that is, after the collected vegetable, meat and fruit leftovers are dried in the sun and ground into powder, adding some vitamin powder and mixing evenly can also be used to feed the Chinese pond turtle.
The above are some small tips about overwintering and care of the Chinese pond turtle. Friends who keep turtles can refer to them, but the specific turtle-keeping method still needs to be based on the local climate and environment.