A Detailed Guide to the Living Habits and Breeding Techniques of the Yellow-throated Pond Turtle

The yellow-throated pond turtle is also known as the yellow-throated water turtle, yellow-jawed water turtle, little golden-headed turtle, stone money turtle, fragrant turtle, and so on, and it has great ornamental value. So what are the living habits of the yellow-throated pond turtle? How do you raise it? What are the breeding techniques?

1. Living habits of the yellow-throated pond turtle

In its natural environment, the yellow-throated pond turtle is semi-aquatic. During the day it often hides in the water and is less active, while at dusk and at night it is frequently active, and sometimes it also comes ashore to move about and forage. Egg-laying must take place on land, and once it has been cultivated into an ornamental green-haired turtle, it then lives year-round in an aquarium (or tank).

From October to March of the following year is the hibernation period of the yellow-throated pond turtle, and for as long as half a year it lies quietly in the water without eating or moving. In April, when the temperature steadily rises above 18°C, it begins to forage, and April to October is its vigorous period of growth and reproduction. Wild yellow-throated pond turtles reach sexual maturity at around five years of age, with males weighing more than 300 g and females more than 400 g. Mating begins in May to June, and July to August is the peak egg-laying period. A female turtle lays 2 to 4 clutches per year, with 2 to 8 eggs per clutch, and at most 30 eggs per year.

Generally, from night to dawn of the next day, the eggs are laid in relatively soft sandy loam on the bank, and the soil dug out from the hole is used to cover them, leaving only inconspicuous air holes for ventilation. The incubation period is about 60 days, and the hatching rate is 75%-80%. The yellow-throated pond turtle is an omnivorous animal that mainly feeds on animal-based feed, with a meat-to-plant ratio of about 7:3.

Wild turtles feed on snails, mussels, snails, small fish, small shrimp and other aquatic insects, and also eat grains, fruits and vegetables, and tender grass, so their feeding range is very broad.

2. Breeding techniques for the yellow-throated pond turtle

1. Pond conditions

The breeding pond is a conventional outdoor cement pond, with a single pond area of 100 sq m, a pond depth of 100 cm, and a water depth of 70 cm. The top of the pond wall is provided with an escape-prevention ledge, and the pond edge is provided with a live bait platform, a net enclosure for artificial pelleted extruded feed, a grass enclosure, a basking platform, an inlet pipe, and a drainage outlet and other breeding facilities. The water source and water quality meet the requirements of the national aquaculture water standards.

2. Pond clearing and disinfection

Before stocking, thoroughly remove all debris in the pond unrelated to breeding, then disinfect with an iodine preparation according to the product instructions; one day after disinfection, set up the breeding facilities, fill with water to the standard level, transplant aquatic plants, and then the turtle stock can be released.

3. Turtle stock release

The size of the turtle stock is best between 200 and 300 g each, and the stocking density is 6 turtles per sq m. Before release, disinfect the turtle stock in a 1% salt solution for 5 minutes. When releasing, place the turtle stock on the live bait platform and let them crawl into the water on their own. Immediately after release, use fresh freshwater small fish to induce feeding.

4. Feed feeding

The feed is best artificial pelleted extruded feed and live freshwater small fish. Generally, extruded feed is fed in the morning and live freshwater small fish in the afternoon. If the fish are frozen, they must be completely thawed before feeding, and it is best to disinfect them with a 1% salt solution before feeding. Artificial pelleted extruded feed should be fed in the net enclosure, and live freshwater small fish should be fed on the bait platform, not thrown into the water. The feeding amount starts at 3% of the turtle's body weight. After a feeding habit is formed, it can be flexibly increased or decreased according to the weather conditions at the time and the feeding situation of the previous meal. Feed twice a day, once at 7 a.m. and once at 5 p.m., and generally remove any leftover feed one hour after feeding.

5. Disease prevention and control

Under normal circumstances, the yellow-throated pond turtle has relatively few diseases, but because it is raised at high density, prevention work is especially important. Disease prevention can be carried out using the “three disinfections and one feeding” method: the “three disinfections” are, first, proper pond clearing and disinfection, second, proper disinfection of the turtle body before release, and third, pond water disinfection, which can be done with a commercially available aquaculture water disinfectant according to the product instructions; the “one feeding” is feeding a decoction of Chinese herbal medicine mixed with feed once a month. The herbal formula is 20% skullcap, 20% licorice, 20% purslane, 10% dried tangerine peel, 15% astragalus, and 15% white atractylodes, added at 6% of the total feed amount and fed for 10 days, with good results.