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Hatchling painted turtles spend their first winter in their natal nests. They hatch out of the egg in the fall
like most turtles do but, for reasons unknown, stay in the nest throughout the winter. While they are overwintering
they have to deal with the freezing and thawing of the soil, and not having eaten, they survive on their residual
yolk during this time. If they freeze they die, so being under about 1-2 inches of soil they need to be able to stay
thawed. I am working on determining how they are able to keep from freezing based on the soil temperatues
and their behavior in the nest prior to the winter.