Turtles are warm-blooded animals (cold-blooded animals) that cannot regulate their body temperature autonomously, and their activities are completely controlled by the external environment. When the ambient temperature is lower than 10-15 ° C, the turtle will gradually enter a hibernation state. This is a means of survival evolved by the turtle to adapt to the harsh winter climate. When hibernating, most of the tissues and organs of the body are almost closed, the metabolic level is extremely low, and it enters a state of low energy consumption. In nature, hibernation is a great survival test for turtles. Many weak or sick turtles, most likely, do not survive the long winter and die directly in hibernation. Only turtles that are healthy and strong enough can survive, and this is nature's cruel survival of the fittest.
The living environment of domestic turtles is not as cruel as that of wild turtles, but it is also common to die in hibernation. As a pet, everyone basically regards it as a member of the family, and naturally does not want to die in hibernation. Therefore, how to avoid the death of turtles in hibernation has become a very concerned problem for all pet owners every winter. At the same time, the hibernating turtle is in a "suspended animation" state, with its head, tail and limbs crunched in the shell of the turtle, almost motionless, as if dead. Many unidentified pet owners can't distinguish between the situation, and from time to time people ask questions such as "how to distinguish between hibernation and death of a turtle". Because it is impossible to distinguish between hibernation and death, the wrong "fake death" of turtle hibernation is regarded as real death, and it is directly thrown or buried, and there are not a few.
For the judgment of the difference between turtle hibernation and death, there are many and chaotic statements on the Internet at present. Some of these methods of judgment are ironic. For example, it is proposed to use methods such as pulling turtle legs, pinching turtle meat, bamboo sticks or needles to see if the turtle will move; put the turtle into the water to see if there is a breathing action; or soak the turtle in warm water to see if it can wake up. In fact, these extreme methods are not necessary to determine whether a turtle is hibernating or dead. Today we will talk about the causes of turtle hibernation death, and how to distinguish between turtle hibernation and death, for interested friends in turtle raising reference. The turtle mentioned in the text refers to the water turtle or semi-water turtle that needs to hibernate, and does not contain tropical turtles and tortoises.
In general, factors such as the turtle's own physical fitness, whether the hibernation environment is suitable, and whether the pet owners have proper hibernation maintenance will have an impact on the safety of the turtle's hibernation. The turtle's poor physique, unsuitable hibernation environment, and improper maintenance during hibernation are all likely to cause the turtle to hibernate and die.
1. The turtle itself has poor physique and is prone to death due to hibernation
From the perspective of energy income and expenditure, the turtle in the hibernation period does not eat or drink, which is a pure consumption process of nutrients and energy, and there is no replenishment during the period, that is, the typical only in and out (just like people are unemployed, only expenditure, no income, how long they can live depends on past savings). This characteristic determines that hibernation is selective for turtles, and only turtles that are strong and have enough nutrients and energy accumulation can cope with continuous hibernation consumption and survive the hibernation period. And those turtles with weak constitutions, stored nutrients and energy, the risk of hibernation is relatively large; once the accumulated nutrients and energy are not enough to meet the consumption during hibernation, the possibility of death in hibernation is very large.
Weak or sick turtles hibernate and die easily
Therefore, to reduce the mortality rate of the turtle during hibernation, the first condition is to ensure that the turtle is healthy and disease-free before hibernation, and has accumulated enough nutrients and energy. This is directly related to the level of breeding of pet owners in summer and autumn, and hibernation is actually only an assessment of the results of early breeding. Only those turtles that have undergone reasonable feeding and full exercise can be healthy and strong, and successfully pass the hibernation test; while those turtles that are unreasonable feeding, lack of exercise, weak physique and even sickness have a high chance of being eliminated. In order to reduce the loss of the hibernation period of the turtle, it is necessary to make more efforts in the usual breeding to ensure that the turtle with good physique and health and disease is raised.
2. The hibernation environment is unstable and unsuitable
Whether the turtle can hibernate safely depends on its own constitution, and also depends on whether the hibernation environment is suitable. Maintaining a good hibernation environment is a necessary condition for the turtle not to die in hibernation, mainly including temperature and humidity.
Judging by temperature, the vast majority of turtles begin to hibernate below 15 °C. Among them, 10-15 ° C belongs to shallow hibernation, in the state of waking up when sleeping, the effect of hibernation is not good; long-term in this state, will cause nutrients and energy consumption too fast, and then bring death. 5-10 ° C belongs to deep hibernation, which is the most suitable temperature, low energy consumption, and good hibernation effect. If the temperature is below 5 °C, the turtle may be frozen; for a long time below 0 °C, the turtle may freeze to death. Therefore, in order to avoid the death of the turtle in hibernation, the temperature should be kept stable to maintain in the range of 5-10 ° C; too high will die due to excessive consumption of nutrients and energy, and too low will die of frostbite. However, it should be noted that the temperature mentioned here refers to the temperature of the turtle's hibernation environment, not the temperature or room temperature. For example, hibernation in shallow water refers to the temperature of the water, and hibernation in the river sand refers to the temperature of the sand.
From the perspective of humidity, it is advisable to hibernate in a humid and non-dry environment. This is mainly because although the body organs are close to closure when the turtle hibernates, the metabolism has not completely stopped, and a certain amount of water is needed to maintain vital signs. Once there is a lack of water, the turtle will gradually dry out due to water loss until it dies. In addition to shallow water and muddy water hibernation, the use of other solid media to hibernate, such as mud, sand, coconut soil, moss, wet towels, etc., there is a possibility of water shortage. During hibernation, due to neglect to check and replenish water, many turtles die every year. During the Spring Festival last year, the three small turtles raised by Mr. Tortoise were directly killed due to lack of water, and the lesson was very profound. During hibernation, it is recommended to check the medium once a week and replenish water in time when water is found to be dehydrated to maintain humidity stability and prevent long-term lack of water from drying up.
3. The pet owner is improperly maintained and handled, and the hibernation is frequently disturbed
The death of the turtle in hibernation is often not a simple hibernation problem, but is directly related to the improper breeding of the pet owner before hibernation, which brings the turtle to illness and frequent interruptions during hibernation.
(1) Improper feeding before hibernation, resulting in turtle hibernation with disease
When the turtle hibernates, the immune system is close to shutting down and there is little immunity to the disease. If you hibernate with illness, the condition usually gradually worsens and it is easy to die in hibernation. The main reasons for the hibernation of the turtle with disease are blind "sticking autumn fat" and heating the intestines before hibernation.
Attaching autumn fat a month or two before the turtle hibernates is a long-standing practice. Through a large number of frequent feedings, it is hoped that the turtles will be quickly fattened and fed fat in order to hibernate safely. The idea of sticking to the autumn is good, but it is not a scientific approach. Turtles are thermotropic animals, and their digestive capacity and temperature are directly related. The overall characteristics are high temperature, fast metabolism, and good digestion ability of turtles; on the contrary, low temperature and weak digestion ability. In the autumn before hibernation, the temperature gradually drops, and the turtle's digestive ability is also weakened. At this time, pasting autumn fat will produce an unavoidable contradiction. On the one hand, the temperature is lower and the turtle's digestive ability is weakened; on the other hand, it is fed a lot and frequently. These two are superimposed, the turtle is light to indigestion, heavy to produce chronic enteritis and other diseases, followed by hibernation, easy to die of disease.
During the hibernation period, blindly sticking autumn fat is easy to post diseases, and hibernating turtles with diseases are easy to die
Intestinal cleansing is also a long-standing practice. The so-called clear intestines is to soak the turtle in warm water a few days before hibernation, stimulate its bowel movements, and make it hibernate in the empty intestine to prevent intestinal lesions during hibernation. Like the sticking of autumn fat, this method of warming and clearing the intestines also has unscientific problems. Deliberately soaking in warm water can easily bring about the problem of excessive temperature difference, and it is also easy to cause the digestive system of the turtle to be disturbed, which may bring about the turtle's illness.
(2) Frequently disturb the turtle during hibernation
When the turtle hibernates, the organs are close to closed, which belongs to the low-energy consumption mode, rather than the full opening of the organs during hibernation, which is a high-energy consumption mode. Many pet owners worry that the turtle is sick in hibernation and have a habit of checking it regularly. However, too frequent examinations, or unreasonable methods, will cause the turtle to wake up in hibernation, often when sleeping, which will cause a large consumption of nutrients. There is a limit to the amount of nutrients and energy accumulated before hibernation, and there is no problem in dealing with low-energy hibernation, but it is impossible to cope with the high energy consumption in the waking state, and it is likely to die due to nutrient depletion. Therefore, during hibernation, we should try to disturb the turtle as little as possible and let it sleep quietly, so as not to cause death.
In summary, the turtle is weak or sick, the hibernation environment is not suitable, the improper feeding before hibernation causes sick hibernation, and it is frequently disturbed during hibernation, which is easy to cause the turtle to hibernate and die. Only by avoiding the above situations can the probability of death in the hibernation of the turtle be reduced. Nevertheless, during hibernation, the occasional death of a turtle is inevitable. So how do you tell if the turtle is hibernating or dying?
The turtle does not eat, drink, or move when hibernating, and enters a state of "suspended animation". Some pet owners can't tell the situation, and regard the hibernating turtle as death, and directly throw it away or bury it. The identification methods provided by many articles on the Internet are not so reliable, and some are even wrong, such as the following methods:
(1) Pulling legs, pinching meat, needle pricking and other methods to see if the turtle will move, will move to indicate that it is alive, and do not move to indicate that it is dead. These methods can indeed distinguish between the dead and alive of the turtle, such as pulling the turtle's leg will have a retracting action, but because the irritation is too strong, it will cause the hibernating turtle to wake up, which may cause death.
(2) Probe the turtle's nose with your hand to feel whether there is airflow, and if it is not, it is dead; or put the turtle into the water to observe whether it will stretch its head to breathe, and if it does not stretch its head to die. In fact, this method is wrong, confusing the difference between normal sleep and hibernation of the turtle. When the turtle sleeps normally, it breathes through the lungs, and it does feel the breathing flow by probing the nostrils; when placed in the water, it does reach out and breathe at regular intervals. But this is not the case when the turtle hibernates, the lungs breathe off, breathing on the skin and anus, and the breathing flow cannot be felt by hand; it is impossible to breathe with one's head when placed in the water.
(3) Soak the turtle in warm water to see if it will wake up. Turtles are warm animals, after soaking in warm water, the body temperature rises, it will indeed wake up, and those who do not wake up may die. However, soaking in warm water is easy to catch a cold and get sick because of the temperature difference, and waking up too early may also bring death.
In fact, judging whether a turtle hibernates or dies is a very simple matter, and it does not need to be so complicated. During hibernation, the turtle's tail and limbs are tightened into the shell of the turtle, and although it is in a state of "suspended animation", it is not really dead. Except for the closed eyes and almost motionless, the other situation is no different from the usual shrunken-headed turtle. The body is moist, the skin is compact and elastic, and the eyes are closed but not dry, with living characteristics.
Turtles that die in hibernation are markedly different. In the absence of water, the newly dead turtle, the muscles of the head and tail and limbs are loose and weak, and they are hunched over the shell; the time of death is long, and with the decay of the internal organs, the limbs are stiff and swollen, and there is a putrid smell. In the case of hibernation and lack of water, although the head and tail and limbs are still shrunk in the shell of the turtle, due to dehydration, the shell is dry and dull, the muscles are atrophied, dry and stiff, the eye sockets are deeply sunken, and a standard dry corpse-like turtle is formed.
In summary, although the tortoise hibernation is in a "suspended animation" state, it still has the characteristics of a living body, but the head and tail and limbs are shrunk in sleep. The turtle that died in hibernation is really dead, and without lack of water, the head and tail and limbs are protruding out of the shell; in the case of lack of water, the muscles are atrophied, dry, and the eyes are deeply sunken.
Hibernation is a means of survival for the turtle to cope with the harsh winter climate, during which the tissues and organs of the turtle's body are almost closed, the metabolism level is low, and the nutrient and energy consumption is low. Therefore, healthy and disease-free turtles, as long as the hibernation environment is suitable, are not easy to die in hibernation.
The death loss of the turtle in hibernation is caused by many reasons. The turtle's weak and unhealthy constitution, the unsuitable temperature and humidity of hibernation, the improper feeding before hibernation leading to sick hibernation, and the frequent interruption during hibernation may cause the turtle to die in hibernation. Discerning whether a turtle hibernates or dies is not complicated. Hibernation is just a "suspended animation" state, with living characteristics, compact and elastic muscles, full eyes, and the turtle just sleeps motionless in the shell of the turtle in a low-energy state. The dead turtle, when there is no lack of water, the head and tail and limbs protrude from the shell, and when the water is scarce, the turtle's muscles are dry due to water loss, and the eye sockets are sunken.
【Special Note】:Mr. Turtle, insist on sharing valuable experience and experience in the practical breeding of crows, turtles and native fish, welcome to pay attention. This article was originally published in the headlines, welcome to share in the form of forwarding, but please do not move, thank you for understanding.