American Snapping Turtle mating in a once used waste water sewer pond. I repeat  “unused waste water pond”.  In this pond, “see size below” I counted at least 12 turtles. Turtles are ectothermic animals. That means they get their body heat from their surroundings–the air, water or ground. They need to be warm to move around and eat. If they get too cold, everything in the body will slow down. Then they can’t eat and digest food. The heart slows down and the lungs do too.