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Posted by NOLA on April 10, 2003 at 08:37:17:
In Reply to: Re: It's the hibernation thing - how do they do it? posted by nathana on April 10, 2003 at 07:13:39:
:They do breath... sort of.
:There are some species that can freeze completely solid and totally shut down, but these are in the northern extremes.
:For the rest, their metabolism slows to NEAR nothing. They will take water into their throats and rectums and absorb oxygen from the water in this way. This is one reason you don't want a small pond to freeze over and prevent air exchange with the surface. A larger pond would probably hold all the oxygen it needed for the turtle. In a fridge, you are not sealing them in, because you open the door and check on them. I used a dorm fridge for hibernating boxies when I couldn't put them outdoors one year. I hooked up an air pump to feed in fresh humid air. They don't need much when hibernating.
Wow a dorm fridge haha thats cool! Ok well ponds here just dont freeze so I dont think I would have a problem with that. As far as size I was thinking something along the lines of 8'x5'x2'deep and that is like around 600 gal. SO if I dont heat the water and the turtles do hybernate....I would just not see them all winter?? What about feeding them through the winter and what about if the temp warms up some. Here sometimes in the winter one day will be in the mid 60's and sunny and then it can go drop into the 30's or 40's for a few days and then it can go back up into the 60's. Once they start hybernation...cna they come out of it and then back into it...or will they just not start if the temp is not real low for a long time??
