Brumation is a bit like hibernation, but warm-blooded animals hibernate while reptiles and amphibians brumate. Somewhat different. Our box turtles that we’re so familiar with dig burrows in soft soil in late autumn as the weather cools.
They often return to the same location year after year, often to a site that is covered with leaf litter. Good for holding moisture in the soil, preventing the turtle from dehydrating. The covering of leaf litter also helps prevent the soil from freezing. BUT if the turtle does freeze it can survive for a just couple days. I hope there’s a thick layer of leaf litter.
Unlike an animal that hibernates, a box turtle doesn’t sleep but is instead in a state of dormancy during its brumation. Some of its bodily functions shut down until spring as the soil surrounding it finally warms. Right now with snow still on the ground, I think it’ll still be a while till we see the box turtles again.
Egg mass of Red-spotted Newt, resembling a wad of cotton
I have an adult Red-spotted Newt, Notophthalmus viridescens, in my small pond. Doing research, and learning about this newt has been a fun journey.
A type of salamander, they start out their life in a pond, marsh, stream or small lake, as an egg mass that resembles a big wad of cotton, attached to a piece of underwater vegetation.
Egg mass of Red-spotted Newt
The Red-spotted Newt,lays her eggs, one at a time, and the eggs, often numbering a few hundred, will hatch in a month or two, depending on the water temperature. When the eggs hatch they become larvae with feathery gills and a coloring much like the adult Red-spotted Newt.
Juvenile stage of the Red-spotted Newt, land based, Red Eft
The larvae live in their watery environment for 2 to 5 months eating aquatic insects and small snails.
At the end of summer, larvae will leave the water, shedding their gills, developing sac-like lungs, and begin another stage in their lives, as Red Efts, remarkably beautiful orange beings with brighter orange spots, surrounded with black circles.
I enjoy finding Red Efts, while I’m out in the woods. They are slow moving critters, appearing to be willing models for my photography.
They spend as many as 4 years as terrestrial creatures. During this stage the Red Efts will hibernate during the winter under a log or rock. During the summer in dry weather they may seek shelter under those same logs or rocks to keep their skin moist, coming out during rainy weather.
An adult Red-spotted Newt in his underwater world
For the next couple years, the Red Eft will become darker, and develop a longer, blade-like tail. He will find a body of water to enter, where he will live for the rest of his life as an aquatic adult. In this stage he will eat insects, frog and fish eggs, crustaceans, and worms.
Notice the long tail of the adult Red-spotted Newt in my pond
Red-spotted Newts can live to be 12 to 15 years old. Quite a long life for a critter so small, generally growing as an adult to 5 inches long.
It took me a few years, first to find that I had a newt in my pond. And then to have the information click in my brain, to realize that this newt, and the Red Eft, and all the cottony masses of eggs were all the same species.
