Do gerbils hibernate?

Question

Do gerbils hibernate?

cause i hear hamsters hibernate, do gerbils hibernate?

Answer 1

I have copied an article for you below.  In short, the answer is no.  If they are really cold, they will curl up and sleep to conserve heat and energy, but will not enter a real hibernation.  It's called Torpor.  Don't let your gerbil get that cold and it will probably not be good for it!

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Hibernation

VI.   Other Types of Torpor

The term hibernation is often used to describe any state of winter dormancy, and it is sometimes applied to bears, shrews, deer mice, and other animals that are inactive in winter. But the dormancy experienced by these animals differs from hibernation. Internal body activity decreases sharply in hibernating animals while body temperature and metabolism drop only slightly in other animals experiencing winter inactivity.

In one type of animal dormancy, known as daily torpor, an animal may become inactive at any time of the year for periods lasting less than a day. During daily torpor, an animal’s body temperature, metabolic rate, and other physiological functions do not decrease as much as in hibernation. Daily torpor is widespread among many species of shrews, skunks, badgers, deer mice, gerbils, lemurs, and tenrecs, a group of primitive, insect-eating mammals that inhabit the island of Madagascar. Among birds, daily torpor is found in nighthawks, nightjars, pigeons, hummingbirds, swifts, martins, swallows, manakins, and sunbirds. Unlike hibernation, which often involves significant preparation to help the animal avoid an energy shortfall, daily torpor is often triggered at any time that food is scarce or internal fuel reserves become depleted.

A type of dormancy known as estivation occurs in certain animals for extended periods during the summer, when temperatures are high and water is scarce. Various species of desert-dwelling ground squirrels, insects, and snails experience this type of dormancy. Although little is known about estivation, scientists have established that estivating animals decrease their metabolism and breathing rate and are able to conserve body water.

Many birds exhibit nocturnal hypothermia, in which body temperature drops by about 3 to 5 Celsius degrees (5 to 9 Fahrenheit degrees) during the night and the metabolic rate falls to about half the rate of resting birds during the day. Nocturnal hypothermia has been observed in chickadees, finches, sparrows, silvereyes, honeyeaters, and many other small birds.

Some mammals, such as brown bears, spend several months during the winter sleeping in dens without eating, a condition that resembles hibernation. But in these animals, body temperature and metabolism drop only slightly. On warmer days, they may awaken, move about in a coordinated manner, and feed. Some bears even give birth during the winter.

Scientists find it difficult to establish clear-cut boundaries between hibernation and these other types of dormancy. Many animals, including poorwills, some bats, and a few rodents, can enter either hibernation or what appears to be daily torpor. As metabolism slows, the body temperature of hibernating animals falls sharply. While active, most mammals have an average body temperature around 37° C (99° F). In hibernation, the body temperature generally falls below 10° C (50° F) and, in many species, may drop as low as 5° C (41° F). The body temperature of a hibernating Arctic ground squirrel may be as low as –3° C (27° F), depending on the season of the year and other environmental conditions. Some desert ground squirrels that estivate during the hottest part of the year remain inactive throughout the winter, so it is difficult to mark when estivation ends and hibernation begins in these animals.

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Contributed By:

Fritz Geiser, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Head of Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, Australia.

"Hibernation," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2008

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