Three-kilo Chinese tortoise: description and features of the content

The three-kilo Chinese tortoise (Latin Mauremys reevesi) is a reptile species that is widely distributed in the home and is highly adaptable to the conditions created for it.

Habitat

In the natural environment, it lives in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and the Philippine Islands. The animal can be found on rice plantations, in shallow ponds, ditches and saltwater marshes.

In China it is known as "green-haired" because of the thick fouling of the shell with long green algae. For the most part, this property refers to the old representatives of the tortoise family, which are very revered by people for this feature, are considered sacred and are symbols of longevity.

Three-kilo Chinese tortoise is characterized by agility and activity. Often it can be seen at the performances of Chinese circus performers, where she pulls out happy tickets for the audience. And this is not surprising: the animal is very friendly both to people and to their fellow tribesmen.

Chinese trehkila turtle: description

The aquatic animal is characterized by small dimensions: the average length of the carapace (the dorsal section of the shell) averages 18 cm. The head and neck, starting from the eyes, are decorated with an original pattern of yellow marks and strips resembling hieroglyphics. In the males over time, such skin manifestations acquire a dark color.

The shell is oval, with three longitudinal crests; in males it is colored dark brown or black. Abdominal shield black. Stitches on the armor between the scutes in males and females are light yellow. In females, a slightly different color range of the shell: from light gray to dark brown, at the edges of the ventral scutes there is a light-colored border. The skin is gray, the head is large, but not massive. The limbs are monochrome, the hind legs are equipped with small membranes.

What does the Chinese tortoise eat?

Chinese tricuspid tortoises are omnivorous and indecipherable with respect to food. They are almost completely carnivorous, although they can condescend to bananas as an exception. In a home environment, they readily eat feeds of vegetable and animal origin, of which it is better to give preference to large bloodworms, lean fish, shrimps, mollusks, and crickets without hind legs. The vegetarian diet of the inhabitants of the aquatic world should include pieces of vegetables and fruits (squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, carrots, pears, apples), as well as lettuce, nettle, dandelion. The animal loves aquatic plants: pistil, duckweed. It is not contraindicated for turtles shop feed, which is recommended to combine with calcium supplements (for example, with egg shell). Feeding the animal should be done 2-3 times a week, not more often.

Features of reproduction

Sexual maturity three-kilo Chinese tortoise reaches 5-8 years of age. The period of mating is in May - June. The courtship of the male is expressed in the form of light biting of the female, which during congestion he holds his jaw. Pregnancy lasts from 45 to 60 days. In natural conditions, females reproduce on the shore, laying in the sand from 4 to 8 eggs. Over the calendar year, the three-kilo Chinese turtles have three times to give life to a new generation.

Home Conditions

Three-kilo Chinese tortoise is very popular in home maintenance. The animal is omnivorous, peaceful, unpretentious. For the maintenance of one unit, a horizontal 50-liter (and more) aquaterarium will be suitable. The depth of water poured into it should not exceed a 15-centimeter mark. It is important to properly consider the cleaning system, the livelihoods of turtles cause rapid water pollution and the need for cleaning it every 2-3 days.

Be sure to equip the beach for the rest of the turtle. This can be a lifting, made of plastic or glass, attached to the walls of the terrarium. To fix it, you can not use poisonous adhesives that can poison a turtle.

On land, peat can be used as a surface covering and sphagnum moss laid on it . It is recommended to cover the bottom of the aquaterarium with large soil. Size in this case is important, because smaller pebbles curious turtle will try to taste. When using street snags or stones, the latter must be filled with boiling water or warmed thoroughly in the oven before placing in the aquarium. This action is aimed at destroying parasites that can infect a turtle.

An important factor in capturing life is lighting over an artificial shore. It can be organized with an incandescent lamp, which should be placed at a safe distance from the animal (to avoid injury and burns).

Chinese tricuspid tortoises feel calm at a temperature of + 12-30 ° C. There is information about the normal transfer of wintering at -20 ^o C in garden ponds.

In captivity, the Chinese three-kilo turtle (a kind unpretentious and very common) is able to live about 20-25 years.