How do domestic turtles survive the winter? How domestic turtles survive the winter

Turtles are ectotherms.

Life is greatly affected by the ambient temperature. From November to March, when the temperature is below 10, the turtle lies in the silt at the bottom of the pond or lies in the loose soil covered with straw, does not eat or move, and hibernates, at which time its metabolism is very slow and weak.

It is not until early April, when the temperature rises above 15, that the turtles begin to resume their activities and feed in large quantities so there is no need to feed or change the water during the hibernation period, and the main job during this period is to keep warm.

About 10 days before hibernation, the turtle should not be fed, let it remove feces from its body, and when it fully enters hibernation, just cover it with a moist towel and put it in a place where there is no noise.

1. At the end of autumn, the turtle needs to be fed more, mainly fish and shrimp, supplemented by vegetables, the food must be fresh, but it should be slowly stopped feeding about two weeks before its hibernation, and the turtle should be soaked in warm water to defecate in the last few days to empty the intestines; Also, turtles that wake up during hibernation cannot be fed.

2. Domestic turtles are generally raised in a water tank, and an appropriate amount of water can be added to the water tank, and the amount of water can submerge the turtle's back.

3. You can put some clean sand in the water tank, and the amount of sand can submerge the turtle's back. It is worth noting that in heated houses in the north, the winter temperature is basically above 20 degrees Celsius, while the suitable temperature for tortoises to hibernate is 1 to 10 degrees Celsius, so it is possible to place tortoises at a room temperature of about 5 degrees Celsius.

The real way to hibernate is to spread wet thick sand in the container, cover it with newspaper, and the turtle will sleep in the sand on its own, and replenish water once a week to keep the sand and newspaper moist. {Hibernation is a test for domesticated turtles.} First of all, you have to make sure that your baby is healthy and free of diseases.

Turtles with poor physique must not hibernate. It is recommended not to hibernate young turtles and hatchlings, it is difficult to survive the winter! You can prepare some sand for the turtle to hibernate, but if it doesn't climb in, don't bury it forcibly.

Turtles that do not hibernate in the sand can be placed in shallow water and covered with a layer of wet cotton yarn to keep them moist and also have a certain degree of heat preservation. Turtles and tortoises that hibernate in the sand should ensure that the sand is clean and pollution-free. During the tortoise's hibernation, keep the sand moist.

A tortoise may wake up during hibernation, so make sure it doesn't crawl to places you can't find when it wakes up. In addition, turtles that wake up during hibernation must not be fed.

7 4 In general, Brazilian tortoises begin to hibernate below 15 and begin feeding when the water temperature rises above 16. The Brazilian tortoise is also cold tolerant, and can generally safely overwinter as long as the water temperature is not lower than 4. Families generally keep it indoors at no lower temperatures, but if they are kept on a balcony or garden pool, you should be careful.

Especially when the temperature is low at night, be sure to take precautions against the cold. It is best to move them indoors, put them in a clean plastic basin, do not put water in the basin, cover the turtle body with some wet grass or wet towels, and usually pay attention to spraying some water to maintain humidity to survive the winter safely.

7 4 In late November, the tortoise generally does not eat, first let him take a warm bath, then dry his body, prepare a small cotton mat, just wrap the tortoise in it, and take it out every half month.

Turtle wintering: natural wintering, cellar wintering, indoor wintering.

1. Natural wintering

Turtles begin to hibernate below the water temperature of 15 and do not eat or move. Turtles overwinter relatively easily. In winter, the pond should be inspected in the morning. Turtle-fish polyculture ponds are similarly managed.

2. Cellar wintering

Choose a leeward sunny place, 30 cm below the ground to dig a hole, the size depends on the number of turtles, turtles can overlap each other, but should not be stacked too thick. One ventilation tube is extended from the hole, and the outer mouth is leeward and facing south. Seal the hole with wooden or cement boards, pile them on top and cover them with straw.

Check once every 20 days, if the temperature in the cave exceeds 13, you can reduce the warmth on the hole; If the temperature in the cave is lower than 2, thicken the warmth. This method of wintering is simple and safe, and the cave has its own humidity, so there is no need to be drenched. In the same way, you can also use caves and bomb shelters to survive the winter.

3. Indoor wintering

According to the tenacious vitality and resilience of the turtle, it can be allowed to overwinter indoors naturally. When the winter comes, when the water temperature drops below 13, the turtle is fished out from the pond, put it into a quiet empty room, the turtle is stacked 2 3 layers, the upper cover is pre-soaked for half a day of warm straw 30 cm, and then poured permeable water 1 time, the doors and windows are sealed and shaded, and then poured water once every 1 week or so, so that the straw can be dried.

It has been recorded that it is safe when the indoor temperature is below 0, with a survival rate of more than 98% and no impact on reproduction in the following year. The biggest advantage of this method is that it can be cared for at any time and can accommodate a large number of turtle species for wintering.

Home-raised turtles should prepare high-nutrient, high-fat foods such as fish, shrimp, and chicken breast before winter, so that the turtles can stock up on enough fat. In addition, you can also put some fine sand in the turtle tank, the turtle will burrow into the fine sand for the winter, and at the same time, you should sprinkle a little water on the fine sand to avoid the dry environment and the turtle shell will dry out.

Before the turtle winters, prepare some high-nutrient, high-fat foods for them, such as fish and shrimp, chicken breast, etc., so that the turtles can store enough fat and the turtles can survive the winter smoothly.

It is not recommended to raise the turtle in water during the winter, you can put some fine sand into the turtle tank, the turtle will burrow into the fine sand for the winter, usually you can add some water appropriately, maintain a moist environment, and avoid the turtle shell from drying out.

During the hibernation process of the turtle, its metabolism will become very slow, and the immunity and self-protection system will also become weaker, this is to pay attention to the turtle, otherwise the turtle is easy to get sick.

Turtles have a relatively long lifespan and are relatively simple to keep. Next, let's take a look at how domesticated turtles survive the winter.

01 Straw.

Spread a layer of straw underneath the tortoise's container, which raises the temperature of the container so that the tortoise can safely survive the winter.

02 Indoors.

The turtle can be kept indoors, but the temperature should not be too high, otherwise the turtle's metabolism will be accelerated, so that the fat in its body will be consumed too quickly.

03 Places with high temperatures.

In winter, it is best to keep the turtle in a relatively high temperature environment, especially the young turtles, the small turtles are more afraid of the cold, if the temperature is low, the baby turtles may die.

04 Hibernation.

Turtles don't need to eat while they're hibernating, so don't bother them if you see them still.

Baby domestic turtles can be used to warm up with a heating rod for winter, use a pet heating pad to warm up for winter, and hibernate naturally.

1. Heat the heating rod for winter

Use a square glass cylinder, finishing box can be used, put a heating rod in the cylinder, generally about ten yuan to more than 20 yuan, 50 watts, put a layer of water inside, the water should be flooded over the heating rod, the heating rod is placed at the bottom of the cylinder, horizontally, not vertically. Then put a stone or sunken wood in the water, sunken wood is the best, so that the seedlings can drink water, can have a platform to rest, and put a brick without stones and sunken wood.

The water should be changed frequently, the water quality should be kept clean, and the water should be used after sleepiness, because most of the urban tap water contains chlorine. The baby turtles are fed more meat, and it is best to put earthworms and bread worms, this method is simple and easy, and the turtle seedlings grow rapidly. However, because the heating rod is submerged in water, if the quality of the heating rod is not up to standard, the temperature control failure is easy to boil the turtle.

If the drop in the water level is not detected in time, the situation of heating rods** will also occur from time to time, but these are small probability events.

2. Use pet heating pads to warm up for winter

Turtle seedlings can be raised in smaller sorting boxes, and pet heating pads are heated at the bottom of the box. It's like the electric blanket we use. This method is safer than heating rods, because it is heated from the outside, and the water body is not easy to be too large, so it is not suitable for filtration.

The constant temperature is good but the heating is too slow, because there is no filtration, the water must be changed frequently, and the temperature difference is not well grasped when changing the water, and the little turtle will be easy to catch a cold, and the operation is more troublesome.

3. Natural hibernation

Put the turtle directly in the bin, put vermiculite (possibly sand instead) in it, and cover it with leaves. Vermiculite (sand) should be damp, grab it with your hands, and loose your hands will loose. You can also hibernate indoors, stacking 30cm thick sand in a corner of the house or on the side of the pool, when the temperature drops to a certain level, the turtle will sneak into the sand pile to hibernate on its own, and during hibernation, the surface of the sand pile can be covered with a layer of straw or leaves to avoid the sand pile being too cold.

Indoor hibernation should not only keep the surrounding environment quiet, but also pay attention to prevent rodent infestation and prevent turtles from escaping from prison. Because during hibernation, if the temperature rises, when the temperature is high, the turtle can be seen waking up. When the temperature drops again, it burrows back into the sand and hibernates.