Chinese Box Turtle (Yellow-margined Box Turtle) Breeding Methods and Key Points of Daily Feeding Management

The yellow-margined box turtle (Cistoclemmys flavomarginata), also known as the broken-plate turtle, snake-eating turtle, clamp-plate turtle, and yellow-plate turtle. Its taxonomic position is the family Geoemydidae, genus Cuora, species Cistoclemmys flavomarginata. Within China it is distributed in Anhui, Henan, Macao, China, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, China, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guangxi, and elsewhere. Outside China it is distributed in Japan.

[Morphological characteristics] The head is smooth, the front of the snout is flat, and the upper beak has a distinct hook-like curve. The top of the head is olive-colored, with a yellow "U"-shaped arc stripe behind the eyes. The carapace is dark reddish-brown and rather highly domed, with a prominent central keel that is pale yellow, and the concentric rings on each scute are fairly clear; the underside of the marginal scutes is pale yellow, hence the name "yellow-margined box turtle." The plastron is dark brown; the carapace and plastron, and the pectoral scutes and abdominal scutes, are all connected by ligaments; the front and rear edges of the plastron are semicircular, with no notch. The limbs are flat and broad, covered with scales, with semi-webbed digits, and the tail is short.

[Male-female identification] The male turtle's carapace is longer, the center of the plastron is slightly concave, and the cloacal opening is farther from the rear edge of the plastron. The female turtle's carapace is wider, the center of the plastron is flat, and the cloacal opening is closer to the rear edge of the plastron.

[Living habits] The yellow-margined box turtle mainly lives in moist areas near water such as rivers and lakes, and often rests under fallen logs, rotting wood, rock crevices, deep holes, and leaf litter, hiding by day and coming out at night. Each year it begins estrus and mating in April, and the egg-laying period is from late May to September; it lays 3 to 4 clutches per year, with 2 to 10 eggs per clutch, and lays more eggs under artificial breeding. When the temperature drops to 10°C, it enters hibernation.

[Breeding equipment] The yellow-margined box turtle is mainly a terrestrial dweller; if a pool suitable for both water and land is used for keeping it, the water depth should not exceed one times the turtle's body. If it is kept in a courtyard with walls, it must be isolated from poultry and livestock, and a shelter that blocks rain and light should be provided for resting and egg-laying. Near the shelter, set up a square concrete pool for drinking water and playing in the water. In addition, a feed trough or feed pool needs to be provided.

[Feeding management] This turtle has a wide distribution, an omnivorous diet, and strong adaptability. For daily feeding, shrimp and fish are the main foods, and it can also be fed @#@254@#@, locusts, snail and mussel meat, etc. In nature, this turtle mainly feeds on animal bait, but under artificial feeding conditions it can be fed a mixture of animal and plant feed, and artificial compound feed can also be given.

In spring, summer, and autumn, feed once a day, generally in the early morning or evening; in early spring and late autumn, feed once every 2 to 3 days, and the feeding time should preferably be at noon. The yellow-margined box turtle is most comfortable at an ambient temperature of 28°C; at 15°C it occasionally eats a little; below 10°C it hibernates; at 35°C it may enter a state of summer dormancy, or become restless and stop eating.

Each year in early November, as the temperature drops, the turtle gradually enters hibernation; at this time it should be moved indoors into sand or mud to overwinter. During the overwintering period, the temperature difference must not be too large, otherwise hibernation will be affected.

In late March of the following year, when the temperature rises back to about 18 to 19°C, the turtle begins to move about and eat. The first feeding should be small in amount and of high quality, and especially after feeding, the ambient temperature must not be lower than 15°C, otherwise it will cause symptoms such as indigestion. As the temperature gradually rises and stabilizes, the amount of bait put in can be increased accordingly, and disease-preventing medicines as well as calcium, vitamin E, etc. should be added to the feed regularly, to promote bone development in young turtles and increase the egg production of breeding turtles.