How Turtles Hibernate Through the Winter
by Mary Hopson
This is Nicky. She is a kind of water turtle called a river cooter. She has been my pet for 32 years. In the picture, she is sitting in the sun to warm herself. |
Temperature is important to turtles. Turtles are ectothermic animals. That means they get their body heat from their surroundings--the air, water or ground. They need to be warm to move around and eat. If they get too cold, everything in the body will slow down. Then they can't eat and digest food. The heart slows down and the lungs do too.
Some turtles live where it is warm all the time. They stay active all winter long. But turtles who live where it gets cold and snowy have a way to keep themselves alive. They can hibernate. (Some people use the word "brumate" for what reptiles do. Mammals hibernate. But most people use the word hibernate anyway.)
Different kinds of turtles hibernate in different ways. Most water turtles go deep into the pond and snuggle down into some mud and leaves at the bottom. Then they let themselves get cold. Their bodies slow down so they don't need to eat anymore. Their hearts slow down too so that they beat only once every few minutes. They stop breathing through their lungs. Because their bodies are running at such a slow speed, they don't need much oxygen, but they do need some. They can get the small amount of oxygen they need from the water. It sinks in through some specialized skin cells that are just inside the tail opening. That's right! They "breathe" through their tails! Water turtles can stay like this for two or three months.
