How Can Turtles Get Through Winter Safely? Sharing Practical Overwintering Methods

The turtle belongs to the family Geoemydidae and the genus Mauremys, and is also known by other names such as golden turtle and grass turtle. It is one of the existing ancient reptiles. Turtles have very long lifespans; with proper care, they can live 20-40 years, and the longest recorded lifespan in captivity is 50 years. So how do turtles get through winter during care?

1. How Turtles Get Through Winter

Turtles begin to enter hibernation below 15°C, and start feeding again when the water temperature rises above 16°C. Turtles are fairly cold-resistant; generally, as long as the water temperature does not fall below 4°C, they can overwinter safely. When a domestic turtle hibernates, prepare a disinfected container of suitable size for it, place sand, small stones, or soft mud and sand inside, and keep the soil inside moist during hibernation; the turtle will hibernate in it on its own.

During the turtle's hibernation, do not disturb it easily, as this can readily wake the turtle, causing it to expend energy, which leads to a decline in the turtle's condition and is detrimental to its growth and reproduction the following year. Repeated cycles of hibernation and waking during a single hibernation period can also cause the turtle's death. Temperatures below 0°C will frostbite the turtle, or even freeze it to death.

2. Key Points for Turtle Keeping

1. For artificially bred turtles, young turtles, adult turtles, and breeding turtles should be kept in separate ponds, to avoid the phenomenon of large turtles swallowing small turtles, and also to make it easier to determine the feed amount and manage feeding.

2. Turtles are gentle in temperament and timid, so the area around the breeding pond should be kept quiet, to avoid affecting the turtle's normal activity.

3. Before the hibernation period, check the turtle's growth condition; for weak individuals, increase the feed and give more of the feed that turtles like to eat.

4. Some turtles do not know how to eat when young, so artificial supplemental feeding is needed.

The above is some relevant knowledge about turtles getting through winter. When keeping turtles, be sure to first understand the relevant keeping knowledge, to avoid the turtle's premature death.