How much does a pig-nosed turtle cost, and what should you pay attention to when keeping and feeding it?
The pig-nosed turtle, also known as the two-clawed softshell turtle, the false softshell turtle, and the fly river turtle, is a highly aquatic freshwater turtle that spends all year in the water except when laying eggs. So, how much does a pig-nosed turtle cost on the market? What food should you feed it? What should you pay attention to when keeping it?
I. How much does a pig-nosed turtle cost on the market?
It is understood that the market price of a pig-nosed turtle is about 250 to 550 yuan each. The pig-nosed turtle is a turtle and softshell animal whose carapace does not have a hard shell. Its market price is moderate, and it is highly aquatic, usually not basking on land, but it has relatively high water quality requirements and is extremely prone to skin rot and shell rot, so the difficulty of keeping it is relatively high.
II. What food should you feed the pig-nosed turtle?
The pig-nosed turtle has a large appetite and a very varied diet, but it leans toward carnivory. Small fish, small shrimp, aquatic insects, aquatic plants, and fruits and leaves that fall from trees into the water are all eaten, so it can almost be said to eat anything. In terms of hunting, it is a complete opportunist, eating whatever it encounters, and unless nutrition is insufficient it rarely actively hunts.
III. What should you pay attention to when keeping a pig-nosed turtle?
1. Environment: Sufficient sunlight can promote the growth of aquatic plants and indirectly improve water quality, but pig-nosed turtles often also like to bite aquatic plants. Pig-nosed turtles very much like to dig at the crushed sand and stones at the bottom of the tank, and smooth-surfaced gravel is very suitable as a substrate. However, too thick a substrate may make cleaning difficult and easily lead to the turtle accidentally swallowing it, so some keepers prefer tanks with no substrate, and unless it is for breeding purposes, land does not need to be laid out in the tank.
2. Water quality: The quality of the water is crucial when keeping pig-nosed turtles. Filtration equipment must be provided and a UV lamp installed to inhibit the growth of bacteria and mold in the water and reduce the occurrence of skin infections. The riverbed in the pig-nosed turtle's native habitat is rich in limestone, causing the river water to be weakly alkaline (pH 8.0 to 8.3), which is enough to prove that weakly alkaline hard water at pH 8.0 to 8.3 is the best water quality for keeping pig-nosed turtles. The water temperature must be kept between 26 and 30°C.
3. Food: Juvenile pig-nosed turtles lean toward carnivory, so you can feed more fish, shrimp, beef, earthworms, bloodworms and other animal-based bait to meet their growth needs, but before feeding they must be cut into appropriately small pieces so the turtle can swallow them. Juveniles generally do not like plant food, but adults rather like it, so keepers can feed millet, bananas, pears and other relatively sweet vegetables and fruits, and can also try feeding various aquatic plants such as tape grass, hornwort, and chara to help balance nutrition.
IV. How do you select a pig-nosed turtle?
1. Choose a lively, active pig-nosed turtle; when held in the hand, its legs should have strength.
2. The eyes should be open; do not take one with closed eyes.
3. The skin should be clean and free of skin rot; do not take one whose skin looks like a rotten peach.
4. If the water quality used by the seller to keep the pig-nosed turtle is very poor, the turtle may very likely already be infected with bacteria, and it is also not suitable to buy.
5. It is best if the pig-nosed turtle can eat on the spot.
6. After choosing a good turtle, ask the seller what food it is usually given, so as to avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble when keeping it.