Construction Methods and Technical Key Points for Golden Coin Turtle Breeding Ponds
It is understood that golden coin turtles have long been in a state of supply falling short of demand. With the continuous development and expansion of golden coin turtle farming in recent years, however, because its breeding is relatively complex, fairly difficult, and comparatively much riskier, many investors do not dare to farm on a large scale.
Construction of the Golden Coin Turtle Breeding Pond
The construction of the breeding pond is basically the same as that of the adult turtle pond. The breeding pond must be built outdoors; there are still no truly successful examples of building ponds indoors to breed golden coin turtles. Ordinarily the breeding pond can also be used as an adult turtle pond, and only when the breeding season arrives are the adult turtles moved away, which can raise the pond's efficiency of use. During the egg-laying period, the sandy soil around the pond must be kept moist but not waterlogged; if there is a drought, water it appropriately to keep the sandy soil moist. The breeding pond should be kept as quiet as possible. The stocking density of parent turtles is much smaller than that of adult turtles.
Construction Methods for Hatchling Turtle Ponds
Generally, cement ponds are used for rearing; this method is suitable for ordinary specialized households and small-scale farms. According to the living habits of the golden coin turtle, the rearing pond should be built in a sunny, wind-sheltered place. The size of the pond can be determined according to need, and a wall should be built about 2 m from the pond to prevent the golden coin turtles from escaping; a small island can also be built in the center of the pond for the golden coin turtles to move about on; the small island and the areas of open ground around the pond that extend toward the pond should all have a certain slope, to help the golden coin turtles climb onto the small island or the open ground around the pond to rest, feed and lay eggs; an outlet should be set at the bottom of the pond for changing the water; the bottom of the pond and the open ground around the pond should all be covered with about 30 cm of sandy soil, and some plants should be planted for shade, to help lower the temperature and prevent heatstroke in summer.
Because golden coin turtles are expensive, some farmers, out of consideration for safety and ease of management, build ponds indoors to rear hatchling turtles, and this can also achieve fairly good results. Indoor hatchling turtle ponds are also built of cement, generally rectangular, with a certain slope along 2/3 of the length. The bottom and the four walls are covered with beige or lake-blue glazed tiles, which makes them easy to clean and keep sanitary. According to experience, an indoor cement pond of 1.5 m x 0.6 m x 0.6 m can hold about 30 small golden coin turtles.
Construction of the Adult Turtle Pond
Build the pond according to the characteristics of the golden coin turtle, which likes warmth and water, has a gentle temperament, is timid, digs holes and escapes easily. Choose a place with soft mud and sand, sheltered from the wind and facing the sun, with abundant water, not easily polluted, quiet and shaded. Build the pond with cement; the size of the rearing pond can be determined by the size of the site and the number of turtles raised. Around the pond, 1-2 m away, a 50 cm high wall must be built of stone or brick, with a foundation 70-80 cm deep; the wall must be smooth, and wire mesh should be installed at the pond's inlet and outlet to prevent the turtles from escaping. Build a 6-7 sq m small island in the center of the pond for the turtles to move about on.
The open ground between the wall and the rearing pond, and the places where the small island extends toward the pond, must have a certain slope (1:2 or more), to make it easy for the turtles to come ashore and go up onto the island. The rearing pond's water storage depth is generally about 1.5 m; the bottom of the pond should be covered with 20-40 cm of sandy soil, and the open ground between the wall and the pond should also be covered with about 60 cm of slightly moist sandy soil. In addition, some flowers, grass and small shrubs can be planted appropriately on the open ground around the pond and on the small island, to provide shade and resting places for the turtles. Some electric lights can also be installed to make it convenient for workers to observe the turtles' activities at night. Some farmers also raise adult turtles indoors. Indoor adult turtle ponds are roughly the same in construction as indoor hatchling turtle ponds, but the area must be correspondingly much larger.
How to Raise Golden Coin Turtles
1. Nutrition
Nutritional conditions are one of the factors with the greatest influence on golden coin turtles. In artificial rearing, animal-based feed such as small fish, shrimp, minced shellfish meat, snail meat, earthworms, and cooked chopped animal offal can be used as the main feed, with plant-based feed such as rice and vegetables as a supplement. Although the golden coin turtle has a fairly broad diet, various vitamins, trace elements and calcium should be added appropriately to the feed to ensure that the feed's nutritional composition is comprehensive and to avoid poor growth and development or anorexia in the golden coin turtle. Also, during feeding, one must adhere to fixed quality, fixed quantity, fixed time and fixed location; contaminated bait should rather be discarded than fed, otherwise there will be a great loss for a small gain. In addition, feeding times should also vary with the season; for example, in summer feed at 10-11 a.m. every day, and in autumn feed at 3-4 p.m.
2. Rearing Environment
In the pond where golden coin turtles are raised, some shelters can be placed irregularly to simulate the natural environment of the wild, allowing the golden coin turtles to grow in a quiet and comfortable state. Golden coin turtles like to live in water, so the quality of the water directly affects the turtles' health. Generally, unpolluted well water, river water or lake water can all be used; if tap water is used, the water's pH value should first be tested, and it is best to use water that has been exposed to the sun to remove chlorine. During the rearing process, the number of water changes and the amount of water changed each time should be determined according to the water quality, water color and seasonal changes.
3. Disease Prevention and Control
During the rearing of golden coin turtles, because of deterioration of the pond water, excessively high stocking density, mixed rearing of large and small turtles, improper feeding, cold damage and heat damage and other reasons, the turtles are often caused to become ill or die. Golden coin turtles are prone to red neck disease, saprolegniasis, turtle skin rot disease and mucor disease, among others, so in order to prevent golden coin turtles from developing diseases during the rearing process, preventive work must be done well. For example: every 2 weeks, use a 10 mg/L bleaching powder solution or 2% salt water to soak-wash the whole pond and shower the turtle bodies for 5 minutes to 10 minutes, to prevent and control common bacterial diseases; once a week place the golden coin turtles in an outdoor dry sand pond (take care to prevent escape) to sun their backs; sunning the back at 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. when the sunlight is abundant is better; in summer and autumn, sun the back for 20 minutes to 30 minutes each time, and in winter and spring, sun the back for 30 minutes to 60 minutes each time. By sunning their backs, golden coin turtles not only achieve a sterilizing effect, but also create the conditions for the vitamin D source on the surface of the turtle's body to be converted into vitamin D, enhancing the turtle's disease resistance.
4. Selection of Turtles
Selecting healthy turtles is the key to ensuring the successful rearing of golden coin turtles. Selection can be made in terms of age, physique and the ratio of females to males. Generally speaking, when selecting turtles, one cannot rely only on the turtle's individual weight, but should mainly consider the turtle's age, with the turtle's individual weight serving only as an auxiliary condition. In addition, a healthy turtle has a well-proportioned appearance, a plump and strong body, bright eyes, and when its four limbs are pulled, they feel very strong, with no broken tail. Furthermore, according to the experience of most keepers, a ratio of female to male turtles of 2:1 is best. If there are too many male turtles, fights between male turtles are easily caused during the mating season, and in serious cases both sides are bitten and injured. If there are fewer male turtles, the fertilization rate will be affected.
From the above analysis we can see that golden coin turtle farming is a relatively complex farming project. For hatchling turtles, adult turtles and breeding turtles, the growing environments they need at different stages are all different, so they must be raised separately and cannot be mixed together as in other types of farming.