Herps keep all kinds of hours. An animal can be diurnal (active by day), nocturnal (active by night), or crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk). Many switch with the seasons. Still, there are some rules of thumb. Amphibians dry out easily, so in warm months you will rarely see them in the heat of the day. Dusk, night, and rainy or cloudy days are their time. Rainy evenings are the best of all for frogs and salamanders. Turtles and tortoises are day animals. Pond turtles eat, swim, and bask in daylight and mostly rest at night. Tortoises feed in the cool of the morning, then find shade or a burrow before the sun gets high.
This lesson is part of Certified Junior Herpetologist. Enrollment is self-paced, with no deadline to finish (about 30 hours).
