Methods for Building Ponds and Rearing Techniques for Juvenile Yellow Pond Turtles

The Yellow Pond Turtle (Mauremys mutica) is the most primitive and ancient species among aquatic turtles, and is commonly known among the people as the “ancient stone turtle.” Let's take a look at the pond construction and rearing of juvenile Yellow Pond Turtles.

I. Construction of Juvenile Turtle Ponds

Juvenile turtle ponds are mainly used for raising juvenile and young turtles. The juvenile turtle pond is enclosed by a brick wall 50 cm high, and the inner walls and pond bottom are finished with cement render, with a smooth surface to prevent juvenile and young turtles from escaping. The area of the juvenile turtle pond depends on the scale of rearing; generally about 10 sq m is better, as it is convenient for management and also beneficial to the growth and development of juvenile and young turtles. The juvenile turtle pond consists of two parts, a water pool and a land area, with the water pool accounting for 3/4 and the land area accounting for 1/4 of the whole pond, to suit the living habits of the Yellow Pond Turtle. The water pool and land area of the juvenile turtle pond are connected by a 30° slope, making it convenient for juvenile and young turtles to come ashore for activity and foraging. The water pool part of the juvenile turtle pond must have an inlet and an outlet, and the inlet and outlet must be equipped with escape-prevention facilities. Some plants such as water hyacinth can be placed in the juvenile turtle pond to provide a concealed underwater activity place for juvenile and young turtles and also to purify the water body. The area above the juvenile turtle pond is shaded with a shade net, and the pond surface is covered with an iron net to prevent invasion by enemies.

II. Rearing of Juvenile Turtles

When Yellow Pond Turtle hatchlings first emerge from the shell, their body weight is mostly 6-12 grams. At this time, the umbilical plate of most hatchlings has not yet fully closed, and some hatchlings still have an obvious yolk sac, so they must not come into contact with water immediately. They should rest quietly in moist, dim sand (soil) for 3-5 days, and only after disinfection can food attraction begin. At the start of feeding, egg yolk or minced pork liver should be used as bait, fed once each in the morning, at noon and in the evening; in the initial stage, the daily feeding amount is about 3% of the hatchling's body weight, and later, as the hatchlings grow faster, the daily feeding amount can be increased to 7%-10% of the hatchling's body weight. After each feeding, a slight remainder of bait is the appropriate feeding amount. Water must be changed before and after each feeding to stimulate the hatchlings' appetite and ensure their health. After 10 days of trial rearing, the types of bait should be diversified, and lean meat, fish meat, small fish and shrimp, etc. are all acceptable; the bait must be fresh and chopped. At this point, the hatchlings can be transferred into juvenile turtle ponds for rearing.

The speed of growth and development of juvenile turtles is closely related to their individual size at hatching and to rearing techniques. Juvenile turtles that are large at hatching, if rearing techniques are appropriate, generally grow and develop faster than juvenile turtles that are small at hatching. Those whose daily bait type and amount meet the feeding requirements of the juvenile turtles also grow and develop faster. For juvenile turtles fed with frozen fresh fish as bait, after 3 months the average individual weight increased from 9.75 grams to 23.14 grams, with a net individual weight gain of 13.39 grams, an average daily weight gain of 0.15 grams, and the largest individual reaching 40 grams.

Before overwintering, juvenile turtles need intensified cultivation to make their constitution strong, store sufficient nutrients, meet the energy consumption during overwintering, and improve their overwintering survival rate.

III. Greenhouse Rearing of Juvenile Turtles

Juvenile turtles reared under normal temperature conditions basically stop feeding from November each year to March of the following year and grow slowly, and generally do not enter a rapid growth period until the 3rd or even the 4th year; if artificial temperature control methods are used to rear juvenile turtles and keep them growing under the same temperature conditions, the growth cycle of juvenile turtles can be shortened. For artificial temperature control, methods such as hot spring water warming, electric heater heating, and factory waste hot water heating can be used. When rearing juvenile turtles in a greenhouse, because of factors such as the enclosed space, high density of juvenile turtles, large food intake, and high room temperature, the juvenile turtles are extremely prone to disease, so careful nursing is required.

The focus of nursing is to feed the feed at fixed times, fixed locations, with fixed quality and fixed quantity, and to maintain good water quality; change the water once a day and disinfect once a week. Juvenile turtles do not like to eat plant bait and also seldom bask in the sun, so an appropriate amount of vitamins, calcium tablets, etc. must be added to the feed.