A question asked by someone just like you.
I
have a pet turtle that hibernates in the winter.
I went to school and asked the kids
at school if turtles hibernate. They said
they don’t. Is that true or false?
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Zoologists have come to use the word hibernation in a special way. Technically, it applies to just a few animals, mostly mammals, that control their body temperature. During hibernation they lower their temperatures and turn down their body machinery. Cold-blooded animals, those that do not control their body temperatures, can’t just slow down their machinery that way. But many do go dormant, stay quiet, and maybe not eat anything for long periods. Many reptiles do that. So, if there is an argument, it is only about what the word hibernation really means. |
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You
know very well what your turtle does. I suppose it just
gets into a dark place and stays there. The question
is whether that is really hibernation.
