Which Turtles Are More Profitable to Raise? A Roundup of Common Turtle Species with High Economic Value

Turtles are reptiles with high economic value, and every part of a turtle is useful, so many people choose to raise turtles. So which turtles are more profitable to raise? Here is a roundup of common turtle species with relatively high economic value.

1. Big-headed turtle

Also known as the eagle-beak turtle, it is mainly distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Jiangsu, Yunnan, Guizhou and other places. The main features of the big-headed turtle are: a large head and a long tail, a flat shell, and a very small plastron; the head, tail and limbs cannot be retracted into the shell. In the wild, it often lives in mountain streams and marshy pools, and can cling to rock walls and climb trees. It is a famous food turtle in southern China and is also kept for viewing.

2. Chinese pond turtle

Also known as the mud turtle or golden turtle. Apart from the northeast, the northwest and Tibet, it is distributed in all other provinces. The Chinese pond turtle has a slightly flat shell, a smooth front part of the top of the head, and slightly flat limbs, with fully webbed fingers and toes; except for the fifth toe of the hind limbs, the ends of the fingers and toes all have claws. Males are slightly smaller, generally no more than 300 grams, with a black shell, a longer tail, and a foul odor; females are larger, with the largest reaching 1000 grams, with a brownish-yellow shell, a shorter tail, and no foul odor. The meat is edible, and the plastron can be used as medicine.

3. Yellow-margined box turtle

Also known as the clamp-board turtle, broken-board turtle, snake-eating turtle and humpback turtle. It is mainly distributed in Henan, Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Taiwan, China and other places. The main difference from the Chinese pond turtle is that in the box turtle the carapace and plastron are connected by ligaments, and the pectoral and abdominal plates of the plastron are also connected by ligaments, so when the head, tail and limbs are retracted into the shell, the front and rear halves of the plastron can move toward the back and close within the carapace. It can be used for food and medicine.

4. Three-striped box turtle

The main difference from the yellow-margined box turtle is that the carapace of the three-striped box turtle is brownish-yellow, with three black longitudinal ridges on the back. This turtle is mainly distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and several other southern provinces.

Besides these turtles, other turtle species also have very high economic value. If you want to raise turtles, you should choose suitable turtle species to keep according to your own circumstances.