What kinds of turtles are there in China?

Turtles have a variety of eating habits, small size, slow growth and long life. They are very popular turtles suitable for novices.

Latin scientific name: tortoise

English name: China Sanjitang turtle

Chinese name: tortoise

Alias: Scarab, Grass Tortoise, Longevity Tortoise. Adult male turtles are also called black turtles because they turn black all over. The pattern on the back of the young turtle is very beautiful, also called the money turtle.

Classification location: reptiles, turtles, freshwater turtles.

Distribution: This turtle is native to China and distributed in all provinces except Northeast China, Northwest China, Tibet and Hainan, especially in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Taiwan Province Province, Korea and Japan are also distributed abroad.

Body shape: Generally, turtles seen in the market are only 3 or 4 cm small, 8- 10 cm medium, and 15-20 cm adult. The pattern of the young turtle is very beautiful, also called the money turtle. If you have no breeding experience, it is recommended not to buy small turtles under 5 cm, and don't buy fancy so-called turtle feed sold to you by those vendors.

The tortoise's head is of medium size, olive or dark brown; There are yellow stripes and yellow spots on both sides of the head and throat, which extend backwards to the neck. The snout is obliquely cut inward and downward, and the horny sheath at the beak edge is weak; The combined angle of the left and right dentate bones of mandible is less than 90. The turtle has three obvious sides on its back; The carapace of the small turtle is brown, and the whole body of the male turtle will turn black when he becomes an adult, so it is also called the ink turtle; And the color of the mother turtle will not change. The turtle's navel is brown, and each piece has a large dark brown patch.

Feeding points: wild turtles live in rivers, lakes or ponds and are small semi-aquatic turtles. They often leave the water and go to rocks or logs to dry their backs. Ultraviolet rays in the sun help it absorb calcium in food, otherwise it is easy to get soft shell disease or lose nails. Therefore, when we raise turtles, we also need to "bask in the sun" often, that is, we often have to bask in the sun. It should be noted that even ordinary glass can isolate most of the UVB ultraviolet rays in the sun, so turtles should be directly exposed to the sun. Be careful not to take turtles out to bask in the sun at noon in summer. You may get heatstroke. Cover yourself when you are in the sun. When it doesn't want to bask in the sun, it will climb down and hide. At the same time, turtles have the habit of crawling back. If you have more than one turtle, you will see that it likes to climb on the backs of other turtles. Young turtles spend most of their time in water, but the water quality is not very good, so they should be raised in shallow water. Even adult turtles can't stay in deep water for a long time and need a piece of land to drill out of the water to rest.

Feeding habits: turtles are omnivores, while small turtles prefer meat. In the wild, they eat insects, frogs, fish and aquatic plants. Under artificial breeding, small fish, shrimp, loach and lean pork are usually fed. There are also some small snails, worms, earthworms, crickets and so on. Often give some lettuce, cucumber, tomato and so on to supplement their own nutrition. My little turtle is only 4 cm long. Once I forgot to go home to feed, and it actually ate two crabs the size of coins raised by it! Later, I found the crab's pincers in its feces. I also caught crickets, dragonflies and cockroaches for him to eat.

It is best to cut the food into small pieces when feeding. When eating large pieces of meat or fruit, they will grab the food and tear it with their front paws until it is torn to pieces. When they swallow, the food residue in their mouths will come out with the water, making the water very dirty. If they are kept in indoor aquariums, I suggest taking them out and feeding them in another container every time, so that it is easier to clean up the leftover food and avoid the breeding box being too dirty. They will be excreted shortly after each meal, so you should wait a while after feeding and then put them back in the feeding box. In about 20 minutes.

Winter: Healthy turtles can hibernate naturally. Put it on the sand, and the turtle digs into the sand by himself, covering the surface of the sand with warmth and keeping it moist. Check weekly 1 time. The next spring, when the temperature reached 15 degrees, the tortoise came out by itself. The newly revived soft-shelled turtle is too weak to be fed in large quantities. In the changeable season, we should pay attention to the change of temperature. Weak and thin soft-shelled turtles can be raised by heating in winter, and the environmental temperature should be controlled at around 25℃, and the feeding management should be normal.

Endangerment and protection: Turtle is a kind of Chinese medicine for eating meat, and a large number of turtles are killed or sold in the market every year. Because they grow slowly, there is no farm to raise them. In recent years, due to the sharp decline in the number and the increase in prices year by year, unscrupulous businessmen are even more indiscriminate, leading to a vicious circle. At present, it has not been listed in the national list of protected animals. Although it is rich in resources and widely distributed, it will be on the verge of extinction if it is not protected and restricted.