If you have a land turtle in your home, you should be aware that it needs to hibernate during the winter. Of course, in the conditions of Russian apartments, when the central heating is turned on, it is not very easy to arrange suitable conditions for the turtle for wintering. But if you strictly adhere to certain instructions and follow the conditions of detention, your reptile will live much longer and will be healthy and cheerful.
It is necessary
turtle, terrarium with heating element, shelter house
Instructions
Step 1
Firstly, the stories that a turtle can do without wintering in an apartment is a myth. Turtles need to hibernate once a year, otherwise they lose strength very quickly, become lethargic and die very early. Common Central Asian turtles winter from November to March, which means that during these months your pet should be at rest and sleep somewhere in a cool, dark place. The fact that the turtle does not fall asleep on its own is quite natural. After all, she is a cold-blooded creature and all her vital functions entirely depend on the temperature of the external environment. As long as the apartment is warm, it will stay awake.
Step 2
To prepare your turtle for hibernation, arrange for a special environment with a lower temperature. If you are keeping the animal in a terrarium, the temperature should be lowered slightly when autumn comes to make it easier for the turtle to adapt. Do not do it abruptly under any circumstances. Today it was warm, as usual, and tomorrow it was 8 degrees and the lights were off - this is unacceptable. Everything should be as similar as possible to a natural drop in temperature in nature. Only in this case your turtle will have a smooth transition from wakefulness to sleep and there will be no additional stress.
Step 3
Usually, turtles are very good and themselves feel the onset of autumn by changing the length of daylight hours. Around the end of July - beginning of August, the turtle becomes more lethargic and begins to refuse food. If you lower the temperature in the terrarium, the turtle will gradually stop eating altogether, trying to prepare its body for future wintering. During sleep, the reptile does not eat, but you should not worry about this. During this period, due to the low temperature, all processes in the animal's body occur very slowly, so the need for food is completely absent. About a week before the beginning of November, the temperature in the terrarium should be 15-18 degrees. The light can be turned on every other day or not turned on at all.
