page_title: Hibernaculum (zoology)
section_title: Amphibians
hierarchical_section_title: Hibernaculum (zoology) / Amphibians
caption_attribution_description: English: Frogs wintering under a habitat mat at Gunnersbury Triangle
context_page_description: A hibernaculum plural form: hibernacula is a place in which a creature seeks refuge, such as a bear using a cave to overwinter. The word can be used to describe a variety of shelters used by many kinds of animals, including insects, toads, lizards, snakes, bats, rodents, and primates of various species.
context_section_description: Amphibians that hibernate include several species of frogs and salamanders from the northern continental climates of North America and Eurasia and also from extreme Southern Hemisphere climates. These amphibians slow their metabolism during winter to avoid unsuitable conditions, such as freezing. Most freeze avoidance strategies include overwintering in aquatic situations or burrowing in the soil to depths below the frostline. A hibernaculum for amphibians should provide the following:
  Optimum temperatures
  Maintenance of oxygen and humidity levels
  Low-intensity, short-photoperiod lighting
  Minimum disturbance
  Species from cool continental climates hibernate at temperatures from 0 to 4 °C. Some species will not survive hibernation at temperatures that exceed 4 °C.
  Generally, for amphibians that hibernate under ice, it is necessary for the animal to be submerged in water that is 10 to 15 cm deep and to maintain the temperature between 2 and 3 °C and not above 4 °C. Water should be well aerated, with maintained low-intensity light levels and minimal disturbance of the amphibians.
caption: Frogs wintering at their hibernaculum at Gunnersbury Triangle in London
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