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What our animals are doing to this month

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Written by Eve Goddard, Transforming Lives Trainee

Deep Sleep December

During the winter months, reptiles and amphibians – who are ectothermic – (regulate their body heat from the surrounding environment) need to minimise their movement and conserve energy to survive the winter.

After spending summer and autumn fattening up for winter, they will move into locations that protect them from the elements. This may be under a leaf pile, inside a tree hollow, under rocks or at the very bottom of a pond for example.

Once there they will overwinter or brumate. How it brumation different from hibernation? Overwintering or brumating involves periods of rest interspersed with feeding and small amount of movement, if the weather heats up this may prompt more prolonged activity.

Climate change and brumation.

The changes we see to our weather patterns, for example warmer winters have an immediate impact on reptiles and amphibians:

  • Leaving brumation earlier, at a time when the species they predate upon are less abundant.
  • Premature breeding or spawning may fall before the coldest weather has passed and effect reproductive success.
  • Rising temperatures produce longer growing seasons for the plants that need to be managed to maintain pond habitats.

With this in mind, there are many things you can do to help our reptiles and amphibians in the winter months, Click here for a great guide. If you are lucky enough to see one of our species on your winter walks, please don’t forget the Dragon Finder App where you can record your sightings and assist us further with our conservation work.  

12 Days Wild

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Written by Emma Byrne, Transforming Lives Trainee

12 Days Wild is The Wildlife Trusts Christmas challenge designed to get everyone back out into nature for the winter holidays (December 25th-January 5th). The festive period is a great time to make a difference to winter wildlife, including those hibernating such as reptiles and amphibians.

Helping reptiles and amphibians survive the winter requires creating safe, sheltered habitats and safeguarding their natural environments. Here are some effective ways to support them:

 

 

Create Hibernation Spots: Construct log piles, rockeries, or compost heaps in your garden. These structures offer warm, protected spaces for amphibians like frogs and toads, as well as reptiles such as slow worms and grass snakes.

Maintain a Winter Pond: If you have a pond, keep a small area ice-free by floating a tennis ball or using warm water to create a hole in the ice. Ponds are essential for frogs and newts in winter, allowing them to hibernate at the bottom in a cool, stable environment.

Leave Leaf Piles and Unmown Areas: Piles of leaves, leaf litter, and undisturbed ground can provide shelter for reptiles and amphibians. They also create a habitat for insects, which can serve as a food source when reptiles become active on warmer days.

Avoid Disturbing Potential Winter Shelters: If you encounter leaf piles, log stacks, or compost heaps, refrain from moving them during winter, as they may be home to hibernating wildlife.

Garden Gently: When gardening, be aware of hidden wildlife. Be careful when moving piles of natural debris to avoid disturbing any hibernating wildlife.

Join a Conservation Effort: Supporting local conservation organisations that focus on habitat preservation for amphibians and reptiles can significantly help protect these species. Many wildlife charities including Froglife, host winter events or need assistance with maintaining habitats during the colder months.

By taking one or two of these small actions over the festive period, you can help ensure these vital species survive the winter. 

 

What our animals are doing this month

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Written by Charles Bonnett, Transforming Lives Trainee

As the autumn chill sets in and the warm summer days recede, our native amphibians and reptiles begin the next chapter of their yearly journey: seeking shelter in which to overwinter.

Our reptiles and amphibians are ‘ectothermic’, which refers to their inability to produce their own body heat, instead depending on external sources to regulate their body temperature. This differs from ‘endothermic’ animals – such as mammals – who are able to internally regulate their own body temperature despite changing external conditions.

This ectothermic, cold-blooded characteristic means that, as the autumn sets in, seeking shelter to protect themselves from the cold climate is of primary importance. It is during this period that amphibians and reptiles enter a state of reduced physiological activity, known as ‘brumation.’ This state of dormancy is similar to hibernation, in that both involve extended periods of reduced activity to control energy consumption; however, whilst hibernating animals enter a deep sleep for the duration of the dormancy, brumation includes periods of intermittent activity through warmer periods.

Amphibians mostly overwinter on land, though a minority may choose to do so in water. They can achieve this amazing feat due to the permeability of their skin, through which they can absorb water and oxygen; this permeability, however, means that amphibians require a moist environment. Amphibians may overwinter in abandoned mammal burrows, compost heaps, loose soil, under rocks, or the bottom of ponds. Reptiles prefer dryer environments in which to overwinter; this may include unused mammal burrows, dead tree stumps, or leaf litter.

There are many ways you can help our amphibians and reptiles as the chill arrives:

  • Build a hibernaculum to provide shelter for overwintering.
  • Prepare your garden to support any reptiles and amphibians which may visit.
  • Record any sightings on our free Dragon Finder App; any data is useful to help further understand the complex relationship between temperature and behaviour.

What our animals are doing this month

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As we enter the second month of 2024, the nation’s reptiles and amphibians will likely still be fast asleep, conserving their energy in these cold temperatures. Many will have taken refuge in compost heaps, piles of garden debris, or may have burrowed underground.

A way we support our brumating species here at Froglife is with the creation of hibernacula on our sites. Hibernacula for reptiles and amphibians create areas less susceptible to freezing temperatures, allowing for reptiles and amphibians to sleep in these areas with a lessened risk of death by exposure than if they were to brumate in an open area.

It is easy to create a hibernaculum and is a great way to find a new use for any tree and scrub offcuts that have been cut back through the year. All you need to do is dig a hole (don’t worry it doesn’t have to be too big!), fill the hole with logs, twigs, and maybe even some stones and bricks, ensuring you leave space for reptiles and amphibians to manoeuvre between them. Once the hole is slightly over filled, you should then cover the pile with the dirt which had previously been dug up. If you wish, you can then scatter the area with native wildflower and/or grass seeds to encourage insects to the area.

Hibernacula can be created at any time of year, but will mostly be used by reptiles and amphibians during the colder winter months.

As we head to the end of February and into spring, be sure to keep an eye out for our reptile and amphibian friends awaking from brumation ready to gear up for breeding season and remember to record any you see on our free Dragon Finder app. 

Find more ways you can support wildlife at home in our Idea Zone. 

What Our Animals Are Doing This Month

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Written by Madeleine Barnes, Transforming Lives Trainee.

Drowsy December

As we bundle up at home to survive the chilly weather, so do reptiles and amphibians. As they are ectotherms (cold-blooded), heat is very important to their regular functions and so they ‘hibernate’ through the cold in cozy places such as hibernacula, log piles, hedgerows, the deepest areas of ponds, or under rocks and leaves. We won’t be seeing much of our species until next year.

Hibernation is a blanket term to describe the lowered activity of many species in the winter, but in the UK only 3 animals undergo true hibernation: bats, hedgehogs and dormice.

The species Froglife conserve overwinter or brumate, meaning they may become active for brief periods if the weather warms up. To help them out, avoid disturbing piles of natural matter (e.g. log, rocks, leaves) and if you are able to do so safely, clear the surface of frozen ponds from fallen leaves or snow to allow sunlight to reach the depths – this will allow submerged plants to photosynthesise and produce oxygen for any amphibians waiting out the winter down there!

You can find further tips on how to look after amphibians and reptiles during winter here.

If you spot any of our species out and about during winter, please remember to record them on our free Dragon Finder App. Data from the Dragon Finder App is crucial going forward to monitor the relationship between temperature changes and the behaviours of reptiles and amphibians in the UK.

How can you help wildlife this winter?

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Written by Ellia Cobb, Transforming Lives Trainee.

As the weather is getting colder and the temperature starts to drop, reptiles and amphibians are getting ready for brumation. Brumation is similar to hibernation in that it is a state of deep sleep undergone throughout the colder months as they cannot survive winter conditions. Amphibians and reptiles will however come out to forage during warmer periods. 

There are different things you can do at this time of year to help brumating animals such as building your own hibernaculum or creating a log pile. Creating a hibernaculum is simple and if you have leftover garden waste from the summer, this is a great use for it!

You start by digging a hole, it doesn’t have to be too wide or deep, just enough to retain heat to keep reptiles and amphibians warm. Once you have done this, you can start filling the hole with logs, rocks and bricks. Once you have filled some of the hole, you can start piling the larger logs and sticks a little higher than ground level to then cover with softer things such as leaf litter and bramble (these help to trap the warmth). Finally, you can use the mud you dug up to then cover up the hibernaculum, remembering to leave some gaps so that the animals can get in and out. 

If you don’t like the idea of digging, log piles can be just as effective by stacking logs, branches, rocks and leaf litter. This also makes a great habitat for brumating reptiles and amphibians.

 

It is super important not to disturb compost heaps, log piles or even piles of leaves during the colder months.

More Ideas:

You can find even more resources and ideas for making your green space more wildlife-friendly here.

 

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