Do Turtles Hibernate? How to Tell If It Is Dead

We know that a turtle is that little creature carrying a shell on its back, which pulls its head and limbs into the shell when startled. Because it looks simple, honest and cute, and is easy and convenient to keep, many people like to keep it as a pet. So, do turtles hibernate?

1. Do turtles hibernate?

1. Turtles do hibernate. The hibernation period is generally from November to March of the following year. When the temperature is below 10°C, and by the beginning of April of the second year, when the temperature rises above 15°C, it wakes from hibernation.

2. The places where turtles hibernate are mostly lying quietly in the mud at the bottom of a pond, or lying in loose soil covered with straw. During hibernation they neither eat nor move, and only after waking from hibernation do they begin to resume activity and eat large amounts of food.

3. Turtles can actually survive hibernation without eating. Through research, scientists have found that after they enter dormancy their metabolic capacity becomes very slow; if the temperature gets lower and lower, the metabolic function becomes slower; and they can maintain survival by absorbing oxygen from the pond.

2. How do turtles hibernate?

1. Two months before hibernation: fattening up and defecation.

In the two months before hibernation, the turtle should be fattened up. Starting in September, let the turtle eat its fill at every meal, 2 times a day, for one month, to store enough fat for overwintering; by October, the turtle stops eating, so soak the turtle in slightly warm water, using warm water to stimulate the turtle to expel the feces from its body.

2. One day before hibernation: prepare the hibernation site.

(1) You can prepare a container, spread thick wet sand inside it, and cover it with crumpled newspaper balls. The turtle will burrow into the sand pile to sleep on its own. Just replenish the water once every half month. Alternatively, put thin mud in the container, and the turtle will burrow into the mud to sleep on its own.

(2) You can place the turtle in a tank or box, put some wet cloth, wet sponge or wet sand over the turtle, then put a lid on the tank or box, leaving a certain vent hole in the lid. Just replenish the water once every half month.

(3) You can place the turtle in damp moss or moss plus coconut soil. This method can keep humidity stable over the long term, and its excrement will be absorbed by the moss, so it will not pollute the turtle.

(4) If you are keeping relatively many turtles, you can scoop the turtles out of the pond and put them in a quiet, empty room, stack the turtles in 2 to 3 layers, cover them with 30 cm of straw that has been soaked for half a day, then pour water through once, and afterward just sprinkle water once about every 1 week.

(5) If they are hatchling turtles that emerged from the shell that year or sick turtles, hibernation is not recommended, because their disease resistance and constitution are poor, and the fat and nutrients they have stored are too little to last until the beginning of spring the following year. It is recommended to keep them with added heat.

3. After waking from hibernation: defecation, feeding, disinfection.

Do not disturb the turtle during hibernation. After it wakes, put the turtle in clean water to swim for one or two days, let them completely defecate, then feed them high-energy food, and finally soak them in potassium permanganate solution for disinfection and sterilization.

3. How to tell whether a turtle is hibernating or dead?

When hibernating, a turtle neither eats nor moves, and looks just as if it were dead. Of course, if observation and management are improper, it can die during hibernation. So how do you tell whether it is dead?

1. Look: look at its eyes. If the eyes are sunken in, it is dead. Look at its neck and limbs. If they are soft and stretched outside, it is dead.

2. Pull: pull its limbs. If they pull back, it is hibernating; if they do not pull back, it is dead.

Turtles do hibernate. The hibernation period is generally from November to March of the following year. Preparatory work should be done well during hibernation so that the turtle can successfully overwinter. If you do not know whether it is dead, there are two methods that can help you judge.