The scientific name of the golden turtle is Cuora trifasciata, alias red-sided turtle, red-bellied turtle, broken plate turtle, [1] goldenhead turtle [2], etc., belonging to the turtle turtle (Testudines), the turtle family (Emydidae), the freshwater turtle subfamily (Batagurinae), and the genus Cuora. It is mainly distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, Hong Kong and other provinces and regions of China and Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Laos, and is a second-class protected animal in China.
The golden turtle is a precious animal resource, full of treasures, and has great significance and economic value in medicinal, ornamental, craft production, edible and modern scientific research. The demand for the golden turtle is increasing, but in nature, due to its low breeding population and indiscriminate hunting by people, its population is declining, and it is difficult to find it in the wild.
Habitat habits
The three-line closed-shell turtle breathes with lungs and lives amphibianally in water and land. It lives in valleys, streams, forks and lakes in mountainous and hilly areas, and sometimes climbs into wet mountain streams, grasses and rice paddies. Sunny weather likes to bask in the sun on land, while when the weather is hot, most of it is hidden in the dark, with social and cave habits. The three-line closed-shell turtle is a variable temperature animal, its activity is directly affected by the external temperature, the suitable growth temperature is 24 ~ 32 °C, the lethal high temperature is 45 °C, and the lethal low temperature is 4 °C. When the ambient temperature reaches 23 ~ 28 ° C, the activity is frequent; at the water temperature of 29 ~ 31 ° C, it is most active, the appetite is the most vigorous, and the growth is the fastest. When the temperature is higher than 36 °C or below 16 °C, its activity and feeding intake are significantly reduced. During the hot season, it is mostly concentrated in the evening and the cooler morning, and after eating, it dives into the water or hides in the nest for a short summer sleep. When the temperature is low, its activities are mostly carried out at noon. When the temperature drops to about 10 to 15 °C, the three-line closed-shell turtle enters hibernation, and the three-line closed-shell turtle hibernates from December to February of the following year in South China, and begins to leave the nest to find food in early March. The three-line closed-shell turtle has a gentle temperament, does not bite people, and rarely attacks each other, and only has the ability to dodge and not counterattack when killed by the enemy.
Feeding and growth
The three-lined closed-shell turtle is omnivorous, foraging for various aquatic animals such as fish and shrimp in the wild, and also eating a small amount of wild vegetables and wild fruits, preferring to eat earthworms, bee pupae and animal offal. When artificial breeding, it is mainly carnivorous, and it can also be fed with a full price with a protein content of about 40%.
Sexual maturity age and sex identification
The age of sexual maturity of turtles varies by sex. The sexual maturity age of female turtles in wild three-line closed-shelled turtles is 6-7 years old and weighs 1.25-1.50 kg, while the sexual maturity age of male turtles is 4-5 years old and weighs 0.70-1.00 kg. In captivity, the age of sexual maturity for females is 7 years and for males 4 to 5 years. The inner margin of the cloaca of females of sexually mature three-lined closed-shell turtles only reaches the posterior margin of the dorsal shell, and the tail is shorter and thicker; the inner margin of the cloaca of male individuals extends beyond the posterior margin of the dorsal shell, and the tail is slender.
Estrus and spawning
The estrus and mating time of the three-line closed-shell turtle are in the spring and autumn of each year, the temperature is in the range of 20 to 28 °C, the water temperature is in the range of 16 to 25 °C, and the three-line closed-shell turtle has mating behavior. In the Guangzhou area, female and male turtles generally estrus and mate in the autumn of each year. Mating is mostly done after dusk and in water. The mating time lasts about 20min. In captivity, the three-line closed-shell turtle can naturally lay eggs in the range of 25 to 35 °C, and the spawning is generally carried out from May to September of each year, and the peak period is from mid-June to the end of July. Female turtles mostly come ashore in the evening to find a suitable spawning place, and often use their hind limbs to dig a nest to lay eggs near the root of the tree near the water's edge, where the soil is soft, and the nest depth is 70 to 100 mm, the diameter is 50 to 60 mm, and it is neck-shaped. After laying the eggs, the female turtle flattens the eggs with sand with her hind limbs and abdomen, and then leaves on her own, without egg protection habits, similar to the spawning habits of the yellow-throated water turtle (Mauremys mutica Cantor). Three-line closed-shell turtles lay eggs 1 to 2 times a year, 1 to 9 each time, an average of 3.6.
Hatching of fertilized eggs
Temperature, humidity and incubation medium all had a great influence on the embryonic development of the three-line closed-shell turtle. The incubation period and hatching rate of fertilized eggs vary at different temperatures or incubation media. The fertilization rate of three-line closed-shell turtle eggs is generally only 50.9%, and if fine sand is used as the incubation medium, the hatching rate can be increased to about 83.3%. The incubation period generally takes 88 days at room temperature.
The effect of temperature on gender
In addition to affecting the incubation time of turtle fertilized eggs, temperature also affects the different sex ratios of most turtle larvae. 25 to 32.6 °C is usually the critical temperature of the female and male transitions. The fertilized eggs of the three-line closed-shell turtle hatch at 26 °C, and the hatched tortoises are male turtles, while the hatched turtles are female turtles at 30 °C. Like most turtles, such as the yellow-throated water turtle, the three-line closed-shell turtle belongs to the TSD sex determination mechanism, that is, male offspring are hatched at low temperatures and female offspring are hatched at high temperatures. Therefore, in captivity farming, the sex ratio of their offspring can be controlled by adjusting the temperature.