How much does a Chinese box turtle cost? Detailed guide to keeping them

The Chinese box turtle (Cuora flavomarginata) has a small and exquisite body, moves nimbly, carries itself calmly, has a raised ridge on its back, clear markings and beautiful patterns, and holds extremely high ornamental value, as is widely known. Beyond this, what makes it even more appealing is that it is very easy to approach people and interact and communicate with them, loved by everyone.Roughly how much does a Chinese box turtle cost? How do you keep one?

1. Roughly how much does a Chinese box turtle cost?

Chinese box turtles are easy to keep and easy to raise, have low site requirements and are easy to look after; they need little investment, have low feeding costs and high ornamental value. Because the population is not domestically bred and is declining day by day, and artificial breeding output is not high, obtaining a top-grade specimen gives it considerable collectible value.

The price of Chinese box turtles has been driven very high in recent years; on the market a Chinese box turtle costs around 5000 yuan each, while a true Anhui Chinese box turtle breeding adult costs around 50,000 to 80,000 yuan each, and the price of hatchlings is around 2000 to 3000 yuan.

2. How do you keep a Chinese box turtle?

The Chinese box turtle is a poikilothermic animal; its feeding and activity range are directly affected by temperature and change as the air temperature rises and falls. Artificial keeping should follow its living habits in terms of feeding and management. When the air temperature drops below 15C, the Chinese box turtle hides in the sand at the bottom of the pond, neither eating nor moving, in a state of hibernation. When the air temperature rises above 24C, it begins to feed, and appetite is greatest especially from May to October.

It feeds mainly on frogs, small miscellaneous fish and shrimp, snail meat, shellfish meat and earthworms. The daily feeding amount is 5% to 7% of its body weight. Feed should be placed around the pond or on feeding platforms on the shallow banks; in spring and autumn around midday, and in the hot season between 5 and 7 pm.

After feeding, leftover food and bait should be cleaned up promptly to prevent spoilage and deterioration, so that the turtle does not become ill after eating. When the air temperature drops below 15C and it hides in the sand at the bottom of the pond, neither eating nor moving, in a state of hibernation, feeding can be stopped.

To keep Chinese box turtles well, whether for temporary medicinal use or processing into medicinal materials, breeding adults, adult turtles and young turtles should be kept and managed in separate ponds, and during the keeping process the pond water should be changed frequently to keep the water quality fresh.

To prevent escape, the water inlet and outlet should be sealed with wire mesh. At the same time, harm to young turtles from natural enemies must be prevented.

3. Daily management of hatchlings

1. Patrol the pond at fixed times

Patrol the pond once in the morning and once in the afternoon each day, observing the hatchlings' activity and feeding, checking temperature changes and the water quality in the pond, and carefully inspecting each rearing pond for hatchlings that have flipped over (that is, the hatchling's carapace turned underneath, with the plastron and limbs facing up), which leaves the hatchling unable to move. Hatchlings that have just emerged from the egg or are weaker have relatively short, small limbs and a thinner tail, and poor movement ability and ability to keep their body balanced; during scrambling for food or clustering together, once they lose balance and flip over, their limbs and tail hang in the air unable to touch the ground, and they cannot turn back to a normal position relying only on the support of the head and neck, especially when a hatchling flips over while moving in the water; if this is not discovered in time and it is not helped back to a normal state, it will suffocate and die because its head is submerged in the water and it cannot breathe.

2. Cover with shade netting to prevent direct sunlight from entering the pond

The Chinese box turtle is a terrestrial turtle species with the habit of preferring dim light, disliking strong light, and hiding by day and coming out at night. During artificial keeping, in order to encourage hatchlings to feed and be active during the day, strong direct sunlight must be avoided in the pond, and the light in the pond should be kept soft, with light intensity below 400LX. For this reason, shade netting must be placed above the rearing pond, or climbing plants should be planted on one side of the rearing pond and allowed to climb onto a trellis above the pond; this not only blocks strong sunlight but also improves the ecological conditions of the rearing pond, giving better keeping results.

3. Strengthen heat-preserving keeping in spring and autumn

The growth of the Chinese box turtle is continuous and uncertain. The main environmental factors affecting its growth are temperature, photoperiod, food availability and moisture conditions, among which temperature has the most important influence. Temperature mainly affects the digestion rate and digestion time of food, thereby affecting the turtle's growth; when the ambient temperature falls below a certain value, the turtle's digestive tract peristalsis slows, appetite decreases, secretion of digestive enzymes and gastric enzymes decreases, enzyme activity declines, food digestion time lengthens, and the turtle's growth slows. When the ambient temperature continues to fall, hatchlings stop growing and the growth rate becomes negative.

The incubation period of Chinese box turtle eggs is long; under artificial incubation they generally all hatch by mid-September. After hatchlings emerge, summer has already passed; at this time the temperature difference between day and night gradually increases, daytime light is stronger, more solar radiation energy is absorbed, the ambient temperature is high, and at night heat dissipates quickly and the temperature drops rapidly, which is very unfavorable for growth.

Hatchlings overwintering are small in size and poor in condition; after the long hibernation period they not only stop growing but also lose some body weight, and the overwintering mortality rate is high. Therefore, after mid-September, double layers of plastic film should be promptly placed over the rearing pond for heat-preserving keeping, extending the hatchlings' feeding and growth time.