When do red eared slider turtles hibernate

When the temperature is slightly cold, turtles will brumate to conserve their energy and sustain themselves through the low temperatures. If the temperature becomes too cold, then the turtles will start to hibernate, coming out of their state of brumation. In the wild, it is very hard to find reliable sources of food, especially during the colder months. During the winter, very little vegetation is able to grow and this puts the animals of being at risk of starvation.

Turtles such as the red eared sliders become less active during the cold weather, and that is why they brumate in order to survive during the cold weather. During this state, red eared sliders will do very little physical movements and will try to conserve their energy. If you find your pet turtles not doing anything, then this means that they are brumating. Brumation and hibernation are two very similar things. They only have one major difference and that is hibernation is a state in which red eared sliders are sleeping and brumation is a state in which red eared sliders are awake.

When the turtles start to brumate, their heart rate slows down along with the rate of breathing. They eat very little food, and at other times they eat nothing. During this state, they do very little physical movements. Sometimes, you will even find turtles that are brumating to be just stuck in the same place for hours and hours. Brumation is the state which the turtles reach when their surrounding temperature is low, but not too cold that they would need to hibernate.

Nothing much can be said about this state other than turtles not doing anything. It is a state just before hibernation, and it also helps them to cope up with cold weather. When it starts to get cold, turtles will become less active and slow down their rate of metabolism. This results in a drop in heart rate and they will slow down their movements as well as other functions inside their bodies. Usually, the heart rate of a healthy turtle is 45 beats per minute.

A brumating turtle will have a heart rate of around 10 beats per minute, which means their bodily functions are slowed down drastically during this state. This slowdown in heart rate helps red eared sliders to survive with less oxygen. Even in situations where they have no access to oxygen, they can survive for 5 to 6 months. Turtles can even live without any food or water for up to 8 months while they brumate. Turtles are reptiles, which are unlike other animals that brumate because they are mostly mammals.

Belonging to a reptilian species mean that red eared sliders are cold-blooded animals. Cold-blooded animals are unable to generate their body heat and they depend on the temperature of their surrounding environment to get heat. Thus, red eared sliders are able to detect subtle temperature changes in the environment.

Other animals that brumate are usually warm-blooded animals which means that they spend energy to keep their bodies warm. As red eared sliders are cold-blooded reptiles, they have to be very careful regarding the location in which they choose to brumate.

If the location is too cold, it might affect their body temperatures. You may want to ask them if they provide brumation services, as many exotic veterinarians offer this on demand. Fraser, K. Complete suppression of protein synthesis during anoxia with no post-anoxia protein synthesis debt in the red-eared slider turtle Trachemys scripta elegans.

Journal of Experimental Biology. Jackson, D. Life in a Shell. Harvard University Press. Muryn, R. Health and Hibernation of Freshwater Turtles. Navarrette, DVM, A. Brumation in Turtles and Tortoises.

Morris, P. Hibernation Guidelines for Turtles and Tortoises. Symptoms Loss of appetite around October Reduced activity Note that while many turtles will attempt to brumate on their own schedule, some turtles do not.

Brumation At this point, your turtle will likely become quite lethargic. Home Contact Us Reptile Links. Sign in. Forgot your password? Get help. Password recovery. Red Ear Slider Turtles. General Information Tank Setup Temperature. Share on Facebook. Turtle Rescue Efforts.

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