Dec 03, 2020 — Unlike frogs, turtles don't hibernate through the winter. In fact, sometimes you can see snappers and other species moving around under the ice. While their metabolism runs at very low ebb in the cold, they remain alert to changes in light and temperature that signal the coming spring.

Can alligator snapping turtles survive winter?

Painted turtles and snapping turtles spend their winters in lakes or ponds, living beneath the ice the forms. They survive because of a variety of adaptations. Turtle metabolism slows down in cold water. ... In freezing cold water, a turtle's body temperatures drops to match it, and with it drops its metabolism.

How long does a snapping turtle hibernate?

In the northern part of their range snapping turtles do not breathe for more than six months because ice covers their hibernating site.