What is the difference between wild soft-shelled turtles and farmed ones? Raising them this way brings high profits

The soft-shelled turtle, also known as the Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis), is a reptile with relatively high nutritional value. Because every part of its body is useful, it is widely served as a delicious dish on the dining table, and it can also be used as a traditional Chinese medicinal material, so many people farm it artificially. So what is the difference between wild soft-shelled turtles and farmed ones? How can they be raised for high profits?

1. Differences between wild and farmed soft-shelled turtles:

1. Body shape

Because wild soft-shelled turtles have long toiled in a natural state to find food, their bodies are strong and agile, slightly flat, with firm muscle. Farmed soft-shelled turtles, on the other hand, appear bloated and bulky, with soft muscle.

2. Plastron

The abdominal cartilage of wild soft-shelled turtles has relatively strong elasticity, and when pressed with a finger it rebounds strongly. The abdominal cartilage of farmed soft-shelled turtles has weak elasticity; when pressed with a finger, it feels soft and collapsed, with no rebound.

3. Calipash

The calipash of wild soft-shelled turtles is relatively thick, not easy to droop, rich in gelatin, and very flat. The calipash of farmed soft-shelled turtles is soft, lacks a meaty feel, is very thin, and droops easily.

4. Color

Wild soft-shelled turtles come in grayish-black, earthy yellow, brown with black spots, and other colors. Farmed soft-shelled turtles mostly appear greenish through black, greenish through yellow, greenish with an algae-green tint, and so on.

5. Oil color

Generally, the better the soft-shelled turtle, the yellower the oil it renders out. The oil of wild soft-shelled turtles is waxy yellow, while the oil of farmed soft-shelled turtles is white.

6. Claws

Wild soft-shelled turtles paddle frequently, so their claws are relatively sharp and yellowish, with severe wear. Farmed soft-shelled turtles do not paddle often, so their claws are short and small and whitish.

7. Carapace

The carapace of wild soft-shelled turtles is smooth and even, with thin, uniform skin and a waxy sheen, and the outline of the shell can faintly show through. The carapace skin of farmed soft-shelled turtles is slightly thick, with rough wart-like granules and no glossy texture, like toad skin, making the shell outline hard to see.

8. Wildness

Wild soft-shelled turtles are aggressive and full of wildness, and very agile; if the space is too small, they easily fight over territory. Farmed soft-shelled turtles have no wildness, are not fierce, are not agile enough, and do not like to move.

2. Farming techniques

1. Living habits:

(1) Loves sun: Soft-shelled turtles like to inhabit waters such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs and ponds with clean water quality. On calm, windless days they often lie on the sunny bank basking in the sun.

(2) Timid: Soft-shelled turtles are very timid and are very sensitive to sounds and moving objects in the surrounding environment. At the slightest disturbance they dive to the bottom to hide.

(3) Aggressive: Soft-shelled turtles are aquatic omnivores that prefer animal-based bait. They are fierce and aggressive by nature, and bullying between individuals in a group is very common; when food is scarce, they will eat their own kind.

(4) Hibernation: During the growing period, soft-shelled turtles mainly breathe with their lungs. When the water temperature falls below 15°C, they dive into the mud at the bottom of the pond and begin hibernation, breathing through auxiliary respiratory organs such as the gill-like tissue in the throat.

2. Required conditions:

(1) Pond construction: The pond area is generally about 5 mu, the pond slope ratio is 1:2, the pond bottom is flat, the mud thickness is about 25 cm, and the water depth is 1.8-2.5 m.

(2) Water source requirements: The pond water source must be sufficient, the water quality must be good and pollution-free, meeting the water standards for fish farming, with a pH value of 7-8.5 and dissolved oxygen of 5 mg/L or more.

(3) Building basking platforms: Soft-shelled turtles need plenty of sunbathing, so when building basking platforms, one platform can be built per 200 sq m of pond area. Generally, wooden boards or cement boards can be used. When building, the platform surface should be 15-25 cm above the water surface, and the sloped side should extend to 20-30 cm below the water surface.

(4) Anti-escape facilities: To prevent the soft-shelled turtles from crawling outside, it is best to build an anti-escape wall around the pond. Generally, the wall is 40 cm high, the top of the wall has a 10 cm inward overhang, and the inner wall just needs to be smooth.

3. Key farming points:

(1) Bait

① Bait preparation: Soft-shelled turtles are omnivores, so when preparing feed, animal protein should be the main component and plant protein supplementary. Commonly preparable fresh bait includes animal viscera, small trash fish and offcuts; green feed includes vegetable stems and leaves, melons and fruits, and tender fresh aquatic plants; bean dregs, cornmeal, wheat bran and the like can also be mixed and processed before feeding.

② Bait feeding: When feeding soft-shelled turtles, be sure to check the temperature. Generally, they begin to eat when the water temperature rises to about 18°C, and at this time a small amount of bait can be fed to train them so that the soft-shelled turtles start eating earlier. The daily feeding amount of fresh animal bait is 10-20% of the total weight of the soft-shelled turtles, while the daily feeding amount of compound feed is 5% of the total weight.

③ Feeding method: When feeding soft-shelled turtles, generally choose fixed feeding grounds on the two ventilated, sunny sides of the pond, to make it convenient to observe the growth, activity and feeding of the soft-shelled turtles and fish and to adjust the feeding amount.

(2) Water level management: At the initial stage of stocking, keep the water level at 80-100 cm, and gradually raise the water level as the water temperature rises and the individuals grow. In spring and autumn, add new water once every half month; in summer, add new water once a week; in summer and early autumn, during high-temperature seasons, raise the water level.

(3) Water quality management: In soft-shelled turtle rearing ponds, regularly splash 15-20 g of quicklime or 2 g of bleaching powder per cubic meter to ensure that the dissolved oxygen in the water is above 4 mg/L, the pH value is between 7-8.5, and ammonia nitrogen does not exceed 5 mg/L. If necessary, install an aerator.

(4) Daily management: When raising soft-shelled turtles, insist on patrolling the pond twice a day, morning and evening, to observe the activity, feeding and growth of the soft-shelled turtles and fish, and adjust the feeding amount in time. Promptly remove residual debris and leftover bait from the pond to ensure the water quality stays fresh.

(5) Disease control:

① Enteritis: Sick soft-shelled turtles have foul-smelling excrement, poor digestion and slow movement. For control, 1% garlic juice or onion can be added to the feed, with 7 days as one course of treatment.

② Saprolegniasis: With the naked eye, water mold can be seen on the limbs, neck, tail and other parts of the soft-shelled turtles, and growth is slow. After onset, Yukangning or a mixture of 0.04% baking soda and 0.04% table salt can be splashed over the whole pond, with very good results.

③ Neck swelling disease: The neck of the soft-shelled turtle is obviously swollen, with bleeding from the mouth and nose, and the plastron area appears anemic. At onset, “Fulv” can be used to disinfect the pond water, and then “Bie Jiankang” can be used for treatment.

④ Red neck disease: Regularly disinfect with quicklime water, keep the pond water hygienic, and add 0.5‰ “Bie Jiankang” to the feed. For soft-shelled turtles at the early stage of the disease, 200,000 international units of penicillin and streptomycin per kg can be injected into the abdominal cavity, and 1-2 times is enough.

⑤ Hemorrhagic disease: Blood spots appear on the plastron of the soft-shelled turtle, with bleeding in the intestines and respiratory organs, and lesions also appear in the kidneys and liver. The control method is to promptly isolate the sick soft-shelled turtles and treat them with “Bie Jiankang”, sulfonamides or antibiotics.

⑥ Skin rot disease: In addition to disinfecting all the pond water with “Fulv” and “Bie Jiankang”, promptly isolate the sick soft-shelled turtles and soak them daily in a 100 microliter sulfonamide drug solution for 2-5 minutes, twice a day, with 7 days as one course of treatment; generally they can recover.