Brief introduction
The yellow-edged closed-shell turtle (hereinafter referred to as the yellow-edged turtle) belongs to the turtle family, the box turtle genus, and is a species of box turtle. They are semi-aquatic turtles and cannot live in deep waters. Adults are approximately 17-20 cm.
They have a smooth head, a flat snout, and a noticeable hook on the upper beak. The top of the head is olive- with a yellow u-shaped arc behind the eyes, the eyes are large, the eardrum is clear, the dorsal carapace is red or brownish red, the bulge is higher, the central ridge is obvious, it is pale yellow, and the concentric rings on each shield are clearer.
The ventral carapace is dark brown, the dorsal carapace is connected to the ventral carapace, the chest shield and the ventral shield are connected by ligaments, and the anterior and posterior edges of the ventral carapace are semicircular and absent. The limbs are greyish brown, slightly flattened, and have scales. The fingers and toes are half-webbed and the tail is short.
distribution
In China, it is mainly distributed in Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Henan, Hong Kong, Jiangsu, Taiwan, Zhejiang, Macao and Hubei; in foreign countries, it is mainly distributed in Jiuzhou Island and other places in Japan.
In nature, the yellow-edged box turtle inhabits the forest edges, weeds and shrubs in the hilly mountains, under the roots of trees, in the quieter places such as stone crevices. They operate in a dark, shady place, often not far from valleys with flowing water, and the rules of day and night activity vary with the seasons.
Huang Yuanxi lives in groups and often sees multiple turtles in the same cave.
temperature
The yellow edge is most suitable at an ambient temperature of 25 °C.
Freeze to death for two days below 0 °C; deep hibernation at 0-10 °C; shallow hibernation at 10-15 °C; stop eating at 15-18 °C; eat less at 18-25 °C; eat normally at 25-32 °C and grow rapidly; eat less at 32-35 °C; stop eating above 35 °C and enter a state of summer sleep.
The above temperatures are average except for 0 °C for the minimum temperature and 35 °C for the maximum temperature, the average temperature = (minimum temperature + maximum temperature) / 2. The temperature here refers to the ambient temperature rather than the temperature, and the so-called ambient temperature refers to the actual temperature in the environment in which the turtle is located. Humidity is suitable at 60%-80%.
Feeding
The yellow margin is omnivorous, with a digestion cycle of about 5 days, and wild turtles eat plant stems and leaves, insects and worms, such as celestial bulls, golden leaf insects, centipedes, geckos and so on.
Under artificial breeding conditions, eating melon fruits, vegetables, rice, earthworms, bread worms, poultry offal, lean pork, fish and turtle food are all good choices. The more extensive the food you feed, the more comprehensive the nutrients you will receive.
Common food analysis of the yellow margin
cricket:
Cricket heads seem to be more difficult to digest, the same is true for adult yellow margins, so after feeding crickets below 10cm, they should be fed a longer interval for the next feeding, which may be 2-3 days in the summer, which is also related to the size of crickets, and the crickets can be mixed with calcium powder or a variety of vitamins to strengthen nutrition.
Beef/Chicken:
Fat is a big enemy of humans and turtles, and most of the family is raised in utensils, with small active areas and lack of exercise. The fiber content in beef is relatively high, and it is recommended to use beef instead of pork because of the fat content. In addition, the digestion of feeding chicken is very good, and the beef is relatively poor.
earthworm:
Food that is easier to digest is also a food that is acceptable to most yellow edges, and it is easier to find out where fishing gear can be purchased in various cities.
banana:
Slippery fruit, Yellow Edge loves sweet food. Most turtles are very sensitive to red/green colors, it is recommended to give bananas a cycle of 1-2 weeks, feed them once, and if you have recently been constipated, you can try them with some bananas. It should be noted that banana peels must be cleaned to avoid accidents caused by turtles and tortoises accidentally eating them.
Strawberry:
The fruit that Huang Yuan likes very much has high nutritional value, especially the high content of vitamin C, and also contains an anti-cancer substance called ravaged acid. But the seasonality is very strong, and it is a relatively expensive food. Proper feeding can adjust the diet structure of the turtle and supplement the role of trace elements.
tomato:
Without much introduction, tomatoes are vegetables with high nutritional value, vitamin C, carotene, protein. Academic studies have shown that eating and eating immature tomatoes on an empty stomach is not conducive to health, so tomatoes can be used as a supplementary food to add some after eating meat.
Fish/Shrimp:
For young turtles, fish and shrimp contain good calcium, and calcium supplementation can make the bones of turtles harder, and the benefits are not much to say.
reproduction
Males and females can be distinguished when the yellow margin weighs 150 g, and the male turtle's excretion hole is farther from the bottom of the abdominal carapace, while the female turtle is closer. In general, for turtles of the same age, the female turtle is always larger than the male turtle.
Huang Yuan was fertilized that year and Cui Nian laid eggs. Each year from April to October is the mating period, May to September is the spawning period, each time about 2-4 eggs can be laid, can be laid in batches. The size of the eggs is proportional to the turtle's individual weight.
Yellow margin spawning occurs in the early morning and evening, and the spawning site is chosen in a quiet, humid and sunny sandy area. Of course, there are also some turtles that can't find a suitable place to lay their eggs on grass piles, basins of water and sand, and sometimes eat eggs on the yellow edge.
Home rearing environment
1. Semi-aquatic turtles have relatively high requirements for the breeding environment, and there are not many turtle friends who can have a free-range environment. Generally speaking, the land-based habits of the yellow-edged turtle are more obvious, so the proportion of the land field as much as possible in the production environment is slightly larger. Usually, the yellow-edged turtle is more active on land, and there are many times when it lurks in the hidden place or in the mat, and it is relatively rare when it is in the water. Therefore, when arranging the environment, the broad land field accounts for 3/4, and the water field accounts for 1/4 is more reasonable.
Yellow-edged turtles like dark, hidden places, so don't forget to set up hidden places. Try to use a slightly larger dodge hole, which is more than twice the size of the turtle, so that the turtle can move inside and be placed near the water field.
2. Because the yellow-edged turtle likes to live in a humid environment, humidity management is the key to breeding. In the land field, it is necessary to use dry surface and wet bedding at the bottom, it is recommended to use about 10 cm of red jade soil and deer swamp soil as bedding, put a few centimeters of dried leaves and water moss on it, and sprinkle a small amount of water on it regularly. It can be said that the humidity of the mat is very important, do not make it into water is water, land is land, the land field must be wet land, must not forget to sprinkle water on the mat!
3. The setting of the water field is mainly the size of the water basin and the location of the water basin. First of all, the size of the basin is much larger than that of the turtle, and the water level depth is one-half of the height of the dorsal carapace, so you should develop a good habit of changing the water every day.
4, temperature and light source control. Just like raising tortoises, if there is not enough sunlight, then the UVB lights are essential, and the lights should be turned off at night so as not to hurt the eyes of the yellow edge.
5. Yellow edges that have just arrived home, especially yellow edge seedlings, should first be raised in water with one-half of the height of their backs. The first two days did not feed food, because the yellow edge transported all the way to an unfamiliar environment, often hid in the mat or sheltered in the soil of the cave, did not come out, and died of dehydration if not found in time.
6, if you do not eat, do not love to move, do not worry too much. First rest in the water field for a period of time to adjust and observe, and then change to the soil environment after eating normally. When Huang Yuan first arrived home, the temperature and humidity were slightly higher, and fresh food was the mainstay.
In short, we should create a suitable feeding space for turtles and tortoises according to local conditions, and make more reasonable use of limited resources to allow turtles and tortoises to grow healthily in a comfortable environment.
hibernation
1. A turtle with a weak posture and a disease.
It is best to raise the turtle before hibernation. If the temperature has dropped, you can use the method of heating. Until the turtle is fully healthy, then slowly lower the temperature until hibernation.
2. The turtle seedlings of the year that came out of the shell late.
For such seedlings, the feeding time is not long, for safety reasons, it is best to use the method of heating to spend the first winter, and in the second year, as the turtle's physique grows, you can choose the way to spend the winter naturally.
Note: Due to the inconvenient movement of the heating environment, for friends who cannot let the turtle bask in the sun every day, add some calcium to the food, such as earthworms, crickets, apples, cuttlefish bones.
Second, the hibernation of healthy turtles
1. If the ambient temperature is lower than 18, you should start to prepare for intestinal cleansing. Take a bath once a day, usually put it in the shade, reduce activity, and maintain the turtle's physical strength.
2, if the temperature difference is large at this time, it is still feeding. Then as the metabolism of the turtle slows down, the food is too late to digest, which will lead to indigestion and cause gastrointestinal diseases of the turtle. If it is not treated in time, it will hibernate, and the stay left in the body will cause the intestine to be blocked, and in severe cases, even part of the intestine will be necrotic. It will eventually lead to the death of the turtle.
3, hibernation medium can be moss, straw, sand, mud, friends who like to be clean can also use some of the old clothes at home wet towels to make the turtle hibernate (preferably cotton), remember to clean it before using.
4, the process of hibernation should pay attention to ensure the humidity of the environment, preferably around 70%. Then put the turtle in a corner of the room that is not easy to disturb, so as not to affect the quality of hibernation. During hibernation, it is also necessary to often check the situation of the turtle, as well as the temperature and humidity of the environment, and find that there are lesions to be treated in time.
5, the next year in the spring, hibernation and awakening in the early stages, do not too much to alarm. Because after a long winter, the digestion capacity of the stomach did not return to normal. The appetite is not too strong, feeding food is not likely to eat, if forced to disturb them, it will exhaust the energy, exhaustion and death.
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This article is transferred from the official platform of the Turtle House forum