Hibernating turtle feeding and management
The feeding and management of turtles during hibernation is very important. If the husbandry and management are not careful during this period, it is very easy to kill the turtle and cause serious economic losses. To this end, the author interviewed Mr. Jiang Zhanglin, a member of the China Agricultural Institute and director of the Haining Amphibious and Reptile Animal Research Institute in Zhejiang Province. He is now referring to Mr. Jiang’s experience in feeding hibernating turtles as follows: The breeder must use his understanding of the turtle and his ability to judge whether his turtle has the conditions for hibernation. It should be noted that any form of hibernation is a very "rigorous" test for the health of turtles. Because during the hibernation, the turtle will completely shut down the function of all of its body organs to ensure that the consumption of physical energy is minimized. If the feeding turtles are not eating normally and they seem to have some malnutrition, the specific symptoms are: the turtle's constitution is thin, the limbs are weak, the skin muscles are not elastic, and feel lighter in the hands, so that the turtle may hibernate It is a fatal decision for them. For turtles living in colder regions, the ideal temperature for hibernation should be between 7°C and 10°C. If the turtle is kept at too low a temperature for a long time, it will cause the death of the turtle. If the temperature is too high, they may be fundamental. It will not go into hibernation. When the temperature is lower than 15°C, the turtle will enter hibernation. If it is not ready to hibernate, the temperature should be maintained at 22°C to 30°C. If the temperature is lower than 15 °C, and do not want to let the turtle hibernate, then you should gradually increase the temperature, avoid rapid temperature rise, and can not be fed during the transition period is not high and low, only in 20 °C ~ 30 °C environment Let turtle eat. The best time for turtles to stay in hibernation is 3 months to 4 months. In the wild, turtles generally stay longer in hibernation, but under artificial rearing conditions, shortening the hibernation time will not be appropriate for them. Health has an adverse effect. If the breeder wants to check the turtle's hibernation health, he can do it at most once a month unless the breeder can disturb a turtle that is hibernating in a very special emergency. This view can only be occasional, and it must not be done often, otherwise it will disturb the turtle's hibernation, so that it can not completely go into hibernation, and thus it is difficult to achieve the purpose of letting the turtle into hibernation. Excessive interruptions are likely to increase the mortality of hibernating turtles. In addition, once the breeder has selected a breeding container for turtle hibernation, the breeder must not simply place them directly at the temperature of the outside world until the turtle ends its hibernation. Any type of hibernating turtle, whether it is a water turtle, a semi-aquatic turtle, or a tortoise, has a very high mortality rate when it is kept at a temperature below 3°C for a long time. Before letting the turtle hibernate, it is also necessary to ensure that the body of the turtle is completely "empty" so as to avoid rectal infarction due to a drop in temperature. A simple and obvious way is to let the turtles bathe in warm water for half an hour each day before the turtle is about to enter hibernation. This is the key to “clean†the tortoise system. Finally, before letting turtles hibernate, turtles should be allowed to distinguish whether this species of turtle has a habit of hibernation. It is extremely foolish for some breeders to try indiscriminately to hibernate turtles that do not have the habit of hibernation. The result will only cause the death of the turtle. The problem that should be noticed after hibernation: When the hibernation period is about to end, the breeder can go to “awaken†the turtle that is hibernating. The breeder should be careful not to simply move the hibernating turtle to a warm place and this will cause the turtle to die or other diseases. Therefore, the environmental temperature of the turtle after hibernation should be gradually increased, so that the turtle has a gradual adaptation process. This process should last for a week or so and should not be eager to achieve success! In addition, if the turtle that has just awakened from hibernation has no interest in food and refuses to feed, the breeder need not be surprised. The turtle that has just revived from hibernation will feel confused like many people who just woke up and will need some time to adjust. It takes about 1 day to 2 days or longer. Many turtles who have just woken up from hibernation seem skinny or seem to have malnutrition. Normally, this is normal. At this time, the keeper needs to have some patience. The first few feeds should be small and refined, and mix appropriate amounts of nutrients and antibiotics in the feed. Gradually increase the amount of feeding, and after a period of time, feed the feed according to the maximum amount of turtles to restore the turtle as soon as possible. Winter is the time when most of the turtles and tortoises that live in the wilderness hibernate. Generally below 20°C, turtle activity begins to decrease, food intake decreases, and food is eaten or not eaten. When the turtle enters hibernation, it is usually accompanied by a shortening of the day and the lack of food brought about by the invasion of cold currents, as well as factors such as the adverse weather caused by cold weather conditions on the normal behavior of reptiles. During the process of hibernation, the turtle's metabolism slows down, digestion stops, circulation drops, and immune and other self-protection systems slow down or stop. As a result of these changes, the disease will come to an end. Some seemingly inconsequential ailments will cause a lot of trouble to the turtles, so it is recommended that turtle-rearing people should not let the diseased turtle or the weak turtle hibernate. For newly hatched turtles, it is best not to let them hibernate for the first two years. There are those who come from the tropics and do not have the habit of hibernation, so do not let them hibernate. For juveniles that are unable to hibernate, they can adopt warming and feeding measures when the temperature is lowered in the winter. If they are tortoises, they can be equipped with ordinary incandescent bulbs or special reptile bulbs (including ultraviolet rays), reptile-specific electric blankets, Heat the stone, or put an electric heater in the room but be careful not to let the air get too dry. If it is a water turtle, you can put a constant temperature stick (usually the fish market) in the water to make it safe for the winter. PE Coated Spunlace,PE Coated Spunlace Nonwoven,Spunlace Nonwoven Fabric,Absorbent Water Spunlace XINLE HUABAO MEDICAL PRODUCTS CO.,LTD. , https://www.golbaltravel.com