Marsh turtles prefer stagnant water bodies, where they have a large supply of food, as well as all the conditions for hibernation. The winter cold could kill the turtle, which is unable to maintain its body temperature, but natural self-preservation mechanisms allow the turtles to spend all cold months underwater.
Marsh turtle in its natural habitat
The habitat of marsh turtles is unusually wide. Any pond or river with stagnant water is a wonderful home for these amphibians. The life of marsh turtles is simple and measured, since any pond with stagnant water is full of fry, insects, tadpoles, worms, as well as algae that the turtle feeds on throughout the summer season. Summer is a very important period for the turtle, since at this time the amphibian needs to lay several clutches of eggs and accumulate a significant amount of fat reserves, which will be enough to support the animal's vital functions while it is in hibernation.
First wintering of the marsh turtle
Surprisingly, little turtles fall into their first hibernation immediately after birth, without ever getting out of their nest. The thing is that the habitat of marsh turtles is often not happy with the long summer, so warm days are only enough for small turtles buried deep in the sand to form in their shells. Reptile eggs are completely dependent on the sun, so warm days are only enough for the turtles to hatch, since the incubation period ranges from 54 to 90 days, depending on the ambient temperature.
The turtles hatch in the middle of autumn, when it already starts to get colder and there is not enough food for them, so they do not leave their underground nest, falling into hibernation where they emerged from the shell. The turtles do not have accumulated fat, but they have large sacs of yolk on their abdomens, which helps them survive the winter cold while hibernating. Newborn turtles literally freeze in their nests, but with the arrival of spring, they wait again and go out into the sunlight for the first time.
Wintering device for an adult turtle
A decrease in ambient temperature in September-October is the main signal for the turtles that it is time to prepare for hibernation. By this time, the turtles are already fully prepared for such a change and have stocked up on the necessary amount of fat. For wintering, most marsh turtles sink to the bottom of the reservoir and bury themselves deep in the silt. The temperature of the silt where the turtles hide does not drop below 3-5 ° C, so adult turtles do not freeze completely.
In dense silt, the turtle hibernates, stops breathing, slows down the heartbeat and metabolism. In this state, the turtle spends the whole winter, waking up only when the water temperature rises to + 5-7 ° C. In rare cases, marsh turtles hide for wintering in burrows dug on steep banks near a pond, but such cases are extremely rare and are observed mainly in water bodies where the layer of silt is insufficient for wintering turtles.
