Are Giant Tortoises Easy to Keep? Learn How Long Giant Tortoises Live
The giant tortoise is one of the larger species among tortoises, and it is currently distributed in many countries around the world. The giant tortoise has a very long lifespan, but does everyone know exactly how long it is? Many people like to keep giant tortoises, but they do not know whether this kind of tortoise is easy to keep or what breeding techniques are needed. Let's take a look together below!
Are Giant Tortoises Easy to Keep?
Whether a giant tortoise is easy to keep mainly depends on the individual's rearing methods. If it is raised properly and the techniques are proficient, of course it will feel very easy to keep. If the rearing methods are wrong, many problems will appear during breeding, and naturally it will also feel hard to keep.
How Many Years Can a Giant Tortoise Live?
The lifespan of a giant tortoise is about 30-50 years. The one in Australia that lived over a hundred years belongs to an exceptional side-necked species; 30-50 years is typical, and there was once a record of 70 years.
How to Keep Giant Tortoises
1. Rearing environment: Giant tortoises spend most of their time living in water and like to be in clear water, so the quality of the water is very important. In addition, the activity of giant tortoises changes with the ambient temperature. The optimum temperature is 20°C-32°C. Below 11°C they hibernate, and below 6°C they enter deep hibernation. Therefore, under normal circumstances, as long as the water temperature is not lower than 4°C, they can overwinter safely.
2. Raising hatchlings: Young giant tortoises can be raised without difficulty in a flat-bottomed container. Plastic basins, plastic troughs, glass tanks or boxes, and aquariums are all suitable. The water should not be too deep; a depth that allows them to swim is best. In addition, the water temperature that hatchlings can adapt to is about 23-28°C. It is especially important that giant tortoises have the opportunity to receive direct sunlight. The rearing box can be placed on a balcony or windowsill, or ultraviolet light can be used. The most important thing is to change the water in time.
3. Raising adult tortoises: Adult tortoises need a much larger rearing box so that they have enough space to move around. A rearing box that is too small will make giant tortoises become obese and sluggish very quickly. If they fall into the water upside down, they will drown because they cannot turn over. During the rearing process, note that you should check every day whether the rearing box leaks. Also, there must be nothing around the rearing box that could trap the tortoise's body, to prevent the tortoise from being unable to escape and being sunburned to death in the open.
Common Diseases of Giant Tortoises and Their Prevention and Treatment
1. Skin rot: First remove the rotten epidermis and dead skin from the affected area, and apply chlortetracycline eye ointment once a day. If the tortoise still eats on its own, oxytetracycline powder can be added to the bait; if the tortoise has stopped eating, it can be force-fed oxytetracycline at a dosage of 1 gram per kilogram of tortoise, and then the sick tortoise should be kept in isolation. Never keep it in water, so as not to worsen the condition. After the tortoise recovers, it can be put back into the pond.
2. Scabies: First keep the sick tortoise in isolation, squeeze out all the contents of the scabies sores, wipe the affected area with iodine tincture, apply oxytetracycline powder, and then insert a cotton ball coated with oxytetracycline or chlortetracycline eye ointment into the affected area. Then place the sick tortoise in shallow water. Tortoises that have stopped eating should be force-fed, and antibiotic drugs should be mixed into the feed.
3. Nutritional osteomalacia: Add an appropriate amount of shrimp shell powder, shell powder, calcium tablets, vitamin D and multivitamins to the feed. The bait should preferably be a combination of animal and plant ingredients. Also let the tortoise receive more sunlight.
4. Morgan's Proteus: After onset, isolate and treat immediately. Intramuscular injection of drugs such as chloramphenicol and streptomycin is required; oral or soaking treatment has no effect. However, at present, individuals cannot carry out injection treatment, so tortoises with this symptom are very difficult to keep alive.
In fact, as long as you master the techniques, giant tortoises are still very easy to keep. During rearing, temperature management needs to be strengthened, and feeding and water changes also need to be done at the right times. Only by doing these well can you ensure the growth of the giant tortoise and make its lifespan longer.