Analysis of the Golden Coin Turtle's Lifespan: How Many Years Can It Generally Live?
The Golden Coin Turtle is commonly known as the three-ridged box turtle, red-bellied turtle, golden-headed turtle, "chuan"-shaped-back turtle, red-edged turtle, and so on. Its wild resources are extremely scarce, it sells extremely well on international and domestic markets, and it has very high breeding value. People often say “turtles live ten thousand years.” Below, let us take a look at just how long the Golden Coin Turtle's lifespan really is!
How Long Is the Lifespan of the Golden Coin Turtle?
The lifespan of the Golden Coin Turtle is generally 30-80 years, and it has a dormant period. If a lucky Golden Coin Turtle encounters a good humid environment, plus its dormant period, it is said to be able to live to 100 years. On the carapace of a wild Golden Coin Turtle, each scute bears clear, densely packed concentric rings, called growth annuli, and each ring represents one year. In artificially raised turtles, however, the concentric rings are rather indistinct and sparse, and the distance between each ring is relatively large.
How Big Can the Golden Coin Turtle Grow?
Under normal circumstances, a female Golden Coin Turtle reaches an individual weight of 1250-1500 grams, and a male reaches 700-1000 grams. Wild Golden Coin Turtles grow very slowly, and artificially raised ones have a growth period of only 2-3 years.
Breeding Habits of the Golden Coin Turtle
The Golden Coin Turtle grows slowly, and generally only after 6 years of age do its gonads mature and mating begin. Mature Golden Coin Turtles frequently move about and feed from May to October. In September and October, in the early morning or at dusk, when the temperature is around 20-25°C, mating begins. In June of the following year, when the water temperature rises to around 25°C, the female turtle begins to lay eggs, and egg laying continues until the end of July or the beginning of August before finishing. Over the whole period, it lays eggs 3-4 times in total, with 3-4 eggs each time.
Before the Golden Coin Turtle lays eggs, the female chooses soft soil on a shallow shoal or sand pile, or digs soil into a burrow beneath tree or grass roots, then lays her eggs in the burrow, covers the burrow with sand and soil, and only leaves after pressing it flat and firm with her body. Under natural conditions, the incubation of Golden Coin Turtle eggs is easily affected by external natural conditions such as climate, light, and natural enemies, so the incubation time is relatively long and the hatching rate is relatively low.