How Do Turtles Get Through Winter? A Complete Guide to Overwintering Methods

Most turtles are carnivorous, feeding on worms, snails, shrimp and small fish, and also eating the stems and leaves of plants. Turtles are found almost everywhere in China, but the yield is higher in the provinces along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. So how do turtles get through winter?

1. How do turtles overwinter?

Turtles get through winter by hibernating. They begin to enter hibernation below 15°C, and start feeding again when the water temperature rises above 16°C. Under normal conditions, as long as the water temperature does not fall below 4°C, they can get through winter safely.

2. Prevention and treatment of turtle diseases

1. Enteritis

Enteritis is mostly caused by bacterial infection of the intestines due to polluted water or spoiled feed. The symptoms are that the sick turtle frequently looks around from side to side, and its droppings are sticky, streaked with blood and extremely foul-smelling. It has a poor appetite and becomes emaciated.

Treatment: change the water and feed fresh bait several times a day; give intramuscular injections of chlortetracycline or chloramphenicol, 0.5 ml per sick turtle each time, and for large turtles weighing more than 0.5 kg the injection dose can be increased to 1 ml, for 3 consecutive days. Also add a small amount of chloramphenicol or furazolidone to the bait and feed it to them.

2. Soft-shell disease

Soft-shell disease is mostly caused by malnutrition and lack of sunlight. The symptoms are reduced appetite, general weakness, listlessness, slow movements and slow growth.

Treatment: feed a palatable, nutritious complete feed with calcium tablets added; increase the number of sunlight hours, exposing them to sunlight 2 to 3 times a day.

3. Eye disease

It is caused by bacterial infection when the eyes are injured or the poor water quality irritates the eyes, making the sick turtle rub them with its forelimbs. This disease is mostly seen in red-eared sliders, turtles, yellow-throated water turtles, yellow-margined box turtles, spotted pond turtles and others, and the incidence rate is higher in young turtles. The onset seasons are spring and autumn, and the spring after overwintering is the peak epidemic period.

4. Natural enemies

The main natural enemies of turtles are rats, snakes and certain birds. Rats are the most harmful, as they can bite and even kill turtles, and ants often crawl over and eat cracked turtle eggs, so in breeding management, attention should be paid to preventing the intrusion of these natural enemies.

The feed for raising turtles is fairly wide-ranging. Strictly speaking, turtles have quite a lot of feed, and their dietary range is broader than that of soft-shelled turtles, mainly including: animal feed, plant feed and mixed feed.