Why are turtles called Wangba? When do turtles hibernate?

You must have heard of "a thousand-year-old turtle lives for ten thousand years", which is actually an exaggeration. Long life is regarded as a symbol of longevity. Turtles are indeed long-lived, so they continue to reproduce baby turtles. What do baby turtles mainly eat? Let's discuss it together below!

Contents of this article

1. Why is the turtle called Wangba?

2. When do turtles hibernate?

3. What do little turtles eat?

Why is the turtle called Wangba?

Because the middle of the tortoise's plastron looks like the Chinese character "王", and the two ends look like the Chinese character "八", the tortoise is also called "王八". "王八" generally refers to the turtle, and is another name for the tortoise. Although "王八" can refer to both turtles and tortoises, the tortoise has a rounder head, and its plastron and carapace have textures and are very hard, while the tortoise has a pointed head, and its carapace has no patterns and is relatively soft.

"Wang Ba" is a popular insult, often used when swearing, referring to a turtle. People are used to adding "dan" after the two words "Wu Gui Wang Ba" to satirize others as being the son of a turtle. This colloquialism was originally a homophone of "Wang Ba Duan", which was later corrupted into "Wang Ba Dan".

"A thousand-year-old turtle lives ten thousand years" is a rather exaggerated saying, implying that in traditional Chinese culture, turtles are still used as a symbol of longevity, used to illustrate long time and longevity. In addition, in ancient my country, the saying "longevity covers the heaven and earth" can also be used to describe the longevity of turtles, which means that the lifespan of turtles is longer than the heaven and earth.

Usually, in folk birthday gifts, people often write congratulatory words such as "pine and crane prolong life, turtle and crane live a long life". Nowadays, in southern Fujian, people who have reached 100 years old are generally called "turtle age", and birthday banquets to celebrate the 100th birthday of the elderly are called "turtle birthday banquets". In some areas, people embroider turtle patterns on clothes and hats to wish for longevity.

When do turtles hibernate?

Generally speaking, turtles in most areas hibernate around October, when the temperature gradually drops and the turtles eat less. However, the specific time depends on the temperature. Generally, when the temperature drops below 13°C, the turtles begin to hibernate. The hibernation period lasts about 3-4 months, and the hibernation period of wild turtles may be longer.

Tortoises are cold-blooded animals. When winter comes, they will hibernate. The time of hibernation is also determined by the temperature of their living environment. Generally, starting around October, when the temperature drops below 13°C, most turtles will enter hibernation mode. For turtles living in subtropical areas, they will not be able to survive in temperatures below 5°C.

Tortoises usually hibernate for 3-4 months. When hibernating, they like to find shelter or lie in sand and rocks. When the temperature rises to around 15℃ in the spring of the following year, they will end hibernation and come out to look for food.

Turtles generally do not eat during hibernation, so you can feed them more food in the summer to allow them to store more energy to supply the energy needed for hibernation. You can also put more small stones and sand in the place where they hibernate to give them a more comfortable hibernation environment.

What do turtles eat?

Turtles generally like to eat shrimp, turtle food, lean meat and other foods. Turtles are omnivores. To ensure balanced nutrition, they can be fed with a variety of feeds, such as artificial feed, animal feed such as earthworms and shrimp, and plant feed such as corn and wheat. A variety of feeds are balanced in nutrition and healthier.

Turtles are omnivorous animals and eat a wide range of food. They can eat turtle food as staple food, and they can also be fed some coarse grains such as steamed bread. Meat can be fed with small fish and shrimp, etc. The meat can be chopped up before feeding to facilitate the turtle's consumption and digestion. Vegetables can be fed a small amount of green vegetables and carrots to supplement vitamins and achieve a balanced nutrition.

When feeding a turtle, pay attention to the freshness of the food, especially meat. Eating rotten food may cause gastrointestinal problems for the turtle. You can choose to put the chopped food in front of its mouth and wait for it to eat slowly, or put it in the water and let it eat by itself.

If a turtle does not eat normally, it may be affected by the surrounding environment. You can change the water and disinfect the turtle tank regularly. Generally, turtles will enter hibernation starting in October, and it is normal for them not to eat at this time.