A Detailed Guide to the Habitat, Breeding Methods and Artificial Rearing of the Soft-shelled Turtle

The soft-shelled turtle is the common name for the Chinese softshell turtle, also called tuan yu or shui yu. It is an egg-laying amphibious reptile. It is not only a delicious dish on the table and a quality ingredient for first-class banquets, but can also be used as a traditional Chinese medicine material. So where does this creature with so many uses live? How does it reproduce? How is it reared artificially?

1. Where does the soft-shelled turtle live?

The soft-shelled turtle mainly lives in lakes, ponds, reservoirs, estuaries and slow-flowing rivers.

The soft-shelled turtle is a poikilothermic animal. It is amphibious, living both in water and on land, and breathes with its lungs, so there must be a sufficient area of land and sandy beach around or in the center of the turtle pond for it to carry out activities on land. The living habits of the soft-shelled turtle can be summarised as the “three likes and three fears”: it likes quiet and fears disturbance, likes sunlight and fears wind, and likes cleanliness and fears dirt. The soft-shelled turtle is highly sensitive to sounds in its surroundings. As soon as there is the slightest noise around it, it can quickly dive into the mud at the bottom of the water, so the environment of a turtle farm or turtle pond must be kept quiet. If the soft-shelled turtle is frequently startled, this is very unfavorable to its growth and reproduction.

2. How does the soft-shelled turtle reproduce?

Under natural temperature conditions, the turtle can only reach sexual maturity when it grows to 4 to 5 years of age; when the water temperature reaches above 20°C, it begins to come into heat and mate. One mating leads to multiple egg-layings. In the north, it lays eggs 2 to 3 times a year, and in the south, 4 to 5 times. The egg-laying period is from May to August, with the peak from June to July. Egg-laying generally takes place in the second half of the night (0:00 to 6:00), which is related to the turtle's preference for a quiet environment. The turtle lays its eggs by digging a hole, and after laying, it covers them with sand and soil, so a sandy soil egg-laying site must be set up around the pond.

3. How is it reared artificially?

1. Placement and cleaning of the feeding platform

The feeding platform is best placed on the edge of the pond around the breeding pond, at an angle of 30 to 45 degrees to the water surface, which helps the soft-shelled turtle find food and avoid disturbance. Before each feeding, the feeding platform and its surroundings should be cleaned with a mild disinfectant and a sterilised brush, disinfecting once every 3 days.

2. Preparation and placement of bait

The amount of fresh material added is generally 10% to 40%. When using fresh material, it must be disinfected and washed, and prepared and used immediately to avoid spoilage. When feeding, it should be placed in the form of feed, with the bait 2 to 3 cm above the water surface. The soft-shelled turtle is timid, so disturbance to it should be minimised when feeding. The amount of feed should be based on the standard of being eaten within 1 to 1.5 hours, and leftover bait should be collected promptly for other uses. In the hot season, it is advisable to finish feeding before sunrise and to begin feeding at sunset.

3. Water quality regulation

The breeding water body should be regularly changed and drained. Each water change should not exceed 1/3 of the total. If conditions permit, micro-flow aquaculture will produce better results. During the breeding process, regularly use chlorine dioxide preparation at 0.5 to 1 ppm, bleaching powder at 2 to 3 ppm, strong chlorine essence at 1 to 2 ppm, and quicklime at 15 to 40 ppm to splash and disinfect the whole pond. 2 to 3 days after applying the medicine, splash about 5 ppm of photosynthetic bacteria preparation over the whole pond, which can regulate the water quality; once or twice a month is sufficient.

4. Planting greenery on the water surface and building a basking platform

In the pond, about 1 m away from the feeding platform, enclose a frame 1.5 m long and wide and plant water hyacinth. Water hyacinth has a well-developed root system and can absorb harmful substances in the water, thus playing a role in regulating the water, and it also helps the soft-shelled turtle hide, bask its back and cool off. Breeding ponds with less sloped land around the pond should have a basking platform built in the pond.

5. Patrol the pond regularly and promptly remove dead or sick soft-shelled turtles

Patrolling the pond is for the timely understanding of the soft-shelled turtle's feeding, growth activity, diseases, and the pond's water quality, facilities and other conditions. Dead soft-shelled turtles in the pond should be promptly fished out and deeply buried or incinerated, and sick soft-shelled turtles should also be isolated and treated promptly.