Pacific treefrog Photo by Kelly McAllister

Where do herps go in the winter?

Ever wonder in the winter time whatever happened to that toad, frog, or snake you saw in your yard last summer?

Reptiles and amphibians hibernate at this time of year in the truest sense of the term. Hibernation is a condition of dormancy and torpor found in cold-blooded vertebrates and invertebrates. Body temperatures of these animals drop in
relation to environmental temperatures to conserve energy and use reserves stored in tissue during times when food is less available.

Some warm-blooded animals employ a semblance of hibernation at this time of year, but it’s the cold-blooded creatures that truly hibernate because their body temperatures are not internally regulated.

Many terrestrial reptiles, such as lizards, snakes, and turtles, become dormant and hibernate by burrowing in crevices under rocks, logs, and in the ground below the frost line. Others immerse themselves in the mud at the bottom of a pond to escape the cold. Their metabolism markedly slowed, these wintering reptiles can sustain their need for oxygen by taking it in through the skin, which acts as like gills.

Freezing water ultimately destroys body cells and tissues. But frogs, salamanders, and turtles are able to survive, despite the reduction in body temperatures to just at or below freezing. As winter approaches, the water content of their tissues becomes reduced and the blood more concentrated.

To help your reptiles and amphibians make it through the winter, be sure to include piles of brush, logs, and rocks in your backyard sanctuary, and maintain natural mud sides and bottom in your backyard pond.