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How to Raise a Chinese Box Turtle? A Detailed Guide to Keeping Methods

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For raising Chinese box turtles, it is best to buy turtles between April and August each year. During this period there are more turtles, prices are lower, and they are easier to tame and keep. From January to March, turtles are hibernating or about to hibernate, so it is difficult to observe their activity, feeding, droppings, and other conditions. It is hard to judge the survival rate of the turtles. Adult Chinese box turtles are mainly obtained by purchasing wild-caught turtles. Wild-caught turtles are thin and weak, timid, with many wrinkles on the skin of the limbs, and when handled the turtle feels light. Selecting turtles can begin with two aspects: the turtle's appearance and its droppings. A healthy turtle has bright eyes, with no white spots on the cornea, no blood at the mouth or nose, and no mucus secretion. The skin, carapace, and plastron have no damage or ulceration. When crawling, the limbs can lift the body up. After being startled, it can immediately flee. The droppings of a healthy turtle are lump-shaped and wrapped in a white membrane. Droppings that are pale blue, blood-red, light green, etc. are all abnormal.

For raising Chinese box turtles, it is best to buy turtles between April and August each year. During this period there are more turtles, prices are lower, and they are easier to tame and keep. From January to March, turtles are hibernating or about to hibernate, so it is difficult to observe their activity, feeding, droppings, and other conditions. It is hard to judge the survival rate of the turtles. Adult Chinese box turtles are mainly obtained by purchasing wild-caught turtles. Wild-caught turtles are thin and weak, timid, with many wrinkles on the skin of the limbs, and when handled the turtle feels light. Selecting turtles can begin with two aspects: the turtle's appearance and its droppings. A healthy turtle has bright eyes, with no white spots on the cornea, no blood at the mouth or nose, and no mucus secretion. The skin, carapace, and plastron have no damage or ulceration. When crawling, the limbs can lift the body up. After being startled, it can immediately flee. The droppings of a healthy turtle are lump-shaped and wrapped in a white membrane. Droppings that are pale blue, blood-red, light green, etc. are all abnormal.

The Chinese box turtle has an omnivorous diet and strong adaptability. The bait mainly consists of yellow mealworms, @#@254@#@, lean pork, poultry offal, silkworm pupae, snails, etc. The feeding spot should be fixed, and it is important not to change it frequently. When feeding each day, do not disturb the turtle; place the food directly in front of the turtle, then observe the turtle's behavior from hiding. From April to September, feed once a day, and the feeding amount should be about 18% of the turtle's body weight. Among this, the feeding amount in August and September should be increased accordingly, so that the nutrients stored in the turtle's body can meet its needs during hibernation. Regularly add various multivitamins, mixing the medicine into minced meat for feeding. For turtles weighing about 20-30 grams, bone calcium should be increased to prevent osteomalacia in the turtles.

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