Ornamental turtle keeping tutorial, with a detailed explanation of raising methods and management points

Many people have experience keeping turtles, but more than half of them either die partway through or end up being given away or released, which is bad for both the environment and the turtles. So I hope that when you buy a turtle to take home and raise, you will think it over carefully. Since you have decided to raise it, you should be prepared to "care for it in old age and see it through to the end," so as not to harm the turtle and fatten the seller's pockets. Today we will introduce a tutorial on keeping ornamental turtles.

How should you choose an ornamental turtle before keeping one?

1. Carefully observe the turtle you want to buy! Does it show a natural escape response (as long as there is room in the basin for it to escape)? When a person approaches the basin, does it try to dive away? Turtles that have difficulty swimming or diving, or that have blocked nostrils or swollen eyes that cannot open, are near the end of their lives, so you absolutely should not buy them.

2. The shells of healthy turtles are mostly uninjured, which means the shell shape is even and normal, with no missing sections. If the shell feels "soft" when touched, then it has shell softness. Although this defect can be remedied to a limited extent, the turtle will carry an uneven shell for life.

3. Ask the turtle seller to feed a little food, and watch which one or which few go over to eat first. This can also help judge their health. Be cautious about turtles that refuse to eat the food, because they are either sick or have not yet adapted to the new food.

4. If you are still set on the turtle you have your eye on, you should also consider that these cute little things will not stay little forever, and in the future they will need a larger space. Under better conditions, they will grow quickly, so you must prepare a large enough space for keeping them.

What are the variety classifications of ornamental turtles?

1. According to differences in their living environment, ornamental turtles can be divided into 5 types: terrestrial turtles, aquatic turtles, semi-aquatic turtles, sea turtles, and bottom-dwelling turtles. The external morphology and structure of different turtle species correspond to their living environments. For example, the toes and the spaces between the toes of aquatic turtles are all richly webbed (like duck feet), adapting them to life in deep water; while the limbs of terrestrial turtles are thick and cylindrical, adapting them to crawling in marshes and on land; sea turtle species living in the ocean all have paddle-shaped limbs and all have a pair of salt glands to help secrete excess salt from the body.

2. According to their food habits, ornamental turtles can be divided into 3 types: animal-eating turtles, plant-eating turtles, and omnivorous turtles. The food habits of aquatic turtles are generally omnivorous, such as the Chinese pond turtle and the yellow-margined box turtle; most semi-aquatic turtles are animal-eating, such as the big-headed turtle, the three-striped box turtle, and the golden-headed box turtle; while the yellow-margined box turtle and the yellow-fronted box turtle are omnivorous. Most terrestrial turtles are plant-eating, such as the Myanmar brown tortoise and the four-toed tortoise. Some turtles have a strong ability to endure hunger and thirst, and can go several years without food without easily dying.

What are the requirements of ornamental turtles for the keeping environment?

1. Requirements of ornamental turtles for feed

Most ornamental turtles are omnivorous, but they are partial to animal-based bait. Under artificial keeping conditions, poultry and pig offal, fly maggots, and breadworms are the main foods. Appropriately mix in melons, fruits, vegetables, and mixed feed to enhance their internal nutrients. In spring and autumn, add vitamin E powder and antibiotics to increase the turtles' egg-bearing capacity and strengthen their constitution. In daily feeding, you should achieve fixed times, fixed locations, and fixed quality. The feeding time is generally 10 to 14 o'clock in spring and autumn, and 7 to 9 o'clock or 18 to 19 o'clock in summer. When the temperature is too high or too low, they may eat little or not at all. The baiting location should be fixed, as this makes it easier to observe the turtles' eating and activity conditions. After the feed is given, healthy turtles can crawl to the feeding platform to look for food. Turtles that respond slowly or do not eat should be observed carefully, and serious cases should be kept separately. The feed must be fresh and free of off-odors. Scraps should first be washed clean, then excess tendons, skin, and similar materials removed, to avoid indigestion.

The feed for ornamental turtles can use animal-based bait such as fish, pork, animal offal, blood worms, snails, and bloodworms (chironomid larvae), red thread worms (aquatic earthworms), yellow mealworms (breadworms), and fly maggots, as well as plant-based bait such as vegetable leaves, rice, melons, and fruits.

2. Requirements of ornamental turtles for water quality

Although ornamental turtles are relatively easy to keep and are among the least picky aquarium animals, they have one drawback: they excrete too quickly and too much, and combined with high temperatures, the leftover feed easily spoils, so the water always stinks. Just two days after changing the water, it turns into a pool of murky soup again, and you can barely even see the red-eared slider. This is because of the reproduction of single-celled algae. When nutrients in the water are abundant and the temperature is suitable, green algae reproduce extremely quickly.

The simplest method is a complete water change. Four hours after feeding, drain, siphon out, or pour out the old dirty water. Then scrub the four walls and bottom of the container with a medium-hardness brush and clean water. When cleaning, first put the red-eared slider into a plastic basin or on the land beside the pond, pour in clean water at a suitable temperature, and then put the turtle back into the water.

Some types of marsh turtles or water turtles are not very able to adapt to a complete change to clear water, but ornamental turtles will soon get used to this practice and the disturbance it brings. Complete water changes still have one drawback: they can prompt painted turtles to quickly empty the feces from their intestines, dirtying the just-changed water again, so it is best to check the keeping box (pond) shortly after changing the water and remove the feces.

3. Light requirements

Many turtles need to bask in the sun, just as ornamental turtles released in some ponds are often seen stretching out their heads, limbs, and legs under the blazing sun, closing their eyes in a leisurely manner. Basking in the sun can kill some bacteria on the turtle shell, can also prevent the shell from becoming soft and brittle, and can also provide warmth. These functions mainly require ultraviolet light, and the ultraviolet light in sunlight is very important for turtles. Therefore, when you let the turtle enjoy this warm sunlight, do not let it bask only in the water, and try not to have it separated by glass, because ultraviolet light is easily blocked. If you are afraid that it may bask too long and, forgotten and not brought back in, dry out and die, you can set up a semi-aquatic area so that they can be fully exposed to the sunlight while also having an environment where they can soak in the water. It is best to let them bask for one to two hours each day, and regularly scrub the turtle's back with a soft toothbrush to remove parasites.