What kind of soil is good for keeping Chinese box turtles?

The Chinese box turtle is a type of turtle, belonging to the genus Cuora, with a brownish-red back, a brownish-black belly, and yellow margins around its sides and the edges of its carapace and plastron; it can be legally kept in captivity, so what soil should be used for keeping Chinese box turtles?

1. Resting area

This area is the space where the Chinese box turtle rests and hides. The Chinese box turtle has the habit of digging into the soil to hide when resting, so the soil in this space should be loose and moist; the ideal moisture level is when the soil holds together when squeezed by hand but breaks apart when the hand is released. The soil can be a 1:1 mixture of sandy loam or sand. The size of this space should be just enough for all the turtles to hide in without piling on top of one another.

2. Activity area

This area is where they eat, excrete, mate and tussle. In this space, some low shrubs need to be planted to provide shade for the Chinese box turtle and to help break down its excrement. Shrubs are chosen because they are not easily damaged by the Chinese box turtle, but the fork of the shrub must be higher than the length of the Chinese box turtle's plastron; otherwise, the Chinese box turtle may step on the fork and climb out of the enclosure. The shrubs are best planted in flower pots, and when watering the shrubs, only the pots need to be watered. This space needs to be kept relatively dry to prevent the growth of pathogens, so the soil should be loess or red soil, preferably dry, hard and clodded. Some mounds or ramps can be formed on the soil surface in this area to increase the Chinese box turtle's activity intensity and make it healthier, but be careful not to cause water accumulation.

Finally, the editor would like to remind everyone that the Chinese box turtle is a national second-class protected animal. Without a special breeding permit approved and issued by the state, any individual, organization, group or enterprise that privately keeps, trades, sells or breeds them is committing a serious illegal act.