Brazilian colored turtle has a wide snout, yellow-green longitudinal stripes on its head and neck, and a pair of red stripes behind its eyes. The carapace is flat, emerald green or apple-colored, with a prominent ridge in the center of the back. There are yellow and green ring stripes on the shield. The net is light yellow, with irregular black round, oval and rod-shaped spots, which are symmetrical left and right. The limbs are light green with taupe longitudinal stripes and webbed toes and fingers.
Brazilian colored turtles are aquatic animals and can live in deep water. Young turtles like to live in shallow waters and live in groups. Like the sun, the habit of drying the back is stronger than other turtles. 165438+ 10 hibernates from March to the following year, and starts activities in April. When the water temperature reaches 16℃, start feeding.
Red-eared turtle is named for its thick red stripes on both sides of the back of the head. Chinese name is red-eared turtle, Latin name is trachemys scriptelegans, and English name is red-slider, commonly known as Brazilian turtle, Brazilian colored turtle, green turtle, mahjong turtle, American turtle, colorful turtle and colored turtle. It is an excellent species among turtles. Originally from South America, it was introduced to China in recent years. Brazilian colored turtle has high dietotherapy, medicinal and ornamental value, and is very suitable for artificial breeding.
geographical distribution
Brazilian colored turtles are not actually distributed in Brazil, but are produced in the United States and some countries in Central America. At present, there are a large number of aquaculture in China.
morphological character
The head, neck, limbs and tail of the red-eared turtle are covered with uneven yellow-green mosaic stripes, and there are two thick red stripes on both sides of the top of the head. The cornea of the eye is green with a black spot in the center. A stiff kiss. The center of each shield of carapace and carapace has yellow-green inlay and irregular spots, and the pattern of each turtle is different. There are webbed fingers and toes. The tail is moderate.
Ecological habit
Red-eared turtle is lively and active, which is more lively and active than any domestic freshwater turtle. It is sensitive to underwater sounds and vibrations, and will dive into the water once it is frightened. Red-eared turtles belong to aquatic turtles and like to live in clear ponds. At noon, when the weather is fine, they like to lie on the shore to dry their shells, and the rest of the time they float on the water to rest or swim in the water. The activity of red-eared turtle changes with the change of environmental temperature. The optimum temperature for hibernation is 20-32℃, 1 1℃, and the deep hibernation is below 6℃.
Brazilian turtles have the habit of sunbathing, but they sunbathe quickly. Outdoor turtle boxes should not be placed in long-term direct sunlight, and must be shaded. If you raise turtles indoors, you can install an ultraviolet lamp 30CM away from the turtle box and irradiate it for 15-20 minutes every day. Pay attention to the escape of turtles in the box, and it is best to add a net cover. In winter, the water temperature drops and makes it hibernate. In summer, if possible, you can take the turtle out to bask in the sun during the day and recover at night.
Eating habits
Red-eared turtles are omnivores. It is essentially a wild turtle, mostly for meat. Under artificial feeding conditions, they like to eat animal food, such as fish, pork, animal offal, mussels, snails, blood worms (chironomid larvae), filariasis (water worms), Tenebrio molitor (breadworms), fly maggots and so on. They also eat vegetables, rice, fruits and other plants. Raise small fish, shrimp, pig liver, red worms, cockroaches, etc. Feed raw materials should be put into water, but pebbles should not be put, so as to avoid feed rotting in the cracks of stones and affecting water quality. The feeding time of red-eared turtle is not selective, and it is eaten day and night. In the state of hunger, there is food grabbing behavior, and there is a phenomenon of eating.
sexism
There is no obvious difference in appearance color between male and female, but there is a great difference in weight. When the female individual weighs1000g and the male individual weighs 250g, sex identification can be conducted. The weight of female individuals can reach1000-2000g, the abdominal nail is flat, and there are cloacal holes at the rear edge of the dorsal nail. Male individuals weigh less than 500 grams, have long claws and a long tail. The cloacal foramen is located at the tail outside the posterior margin of the dorsal nail.
fodder
Although the red-eared turtle is omnivorous; However, under the condition of artificial feeding, the internal organs of poultry and pigs, maggots and breadworms are the main foods that favor animals. Properly mix fruits, vegetables and mixed feed to enhance nutrition in the body. Vitamin E powder and antibiotics are added in spring and autumn to increase the amount of eggs conceived by turtles and enhance their physique. Daily feeding should be regular, fixed and qualitative.
(1) The feeding time is fixed. Generally, it is 10- 14 in spring and autumn and 7-9 o'clock in summer or 18- 19. When the temperature is too high or too low, the tortoise will eat less or not.
(2) Fixed point
The feeding place should be fixed, which is convenient for observing the eating and activities of turtles. When feeding, healthy turtles can climb to the food table to eat. Those turtles who are slow to respond or don't eat should pay attention to observation, and those who are serious should be kept separately. Not adjusting nai,
(3) The fixed feed must be fresh and tasteless, and the leftovers should be washed first, and then the extra tendons and skins should be removed to avoid indigestion.
Second, the feeding equipment and environment
Brazilian colored turtles can be kept in plastic pots, aquariums, glass jars and other containers, and the water depth is slightly higher than the turtle back. Large-scale farming can build pools, both indoors and outdoors. The turtle pond is made of cement, the size is adapted to local conditions, and the water depth is 30 ~ 50 cm. The wall of the pond is 50 cm above the water surface and painted smoothly to prevent the tortoise from escaping. A cement slab with appropriate size is set in the pool, which is placed obliquely at 30.5 degrees above the water surface. It is not only a table for eating and drying the back, but also a shelter for shading the sun and raising turtles. The area of Xinguitang is generally 100 ~ 500m2, and the water depth is kept at about 80 ~ 120cm. The slope of the pond is 30 degrees, so that turtles can rest and lay eggs ashore. Around the pool at 100 cm, a low wall with a height of 50 cm was built with bricks. The bottom of the wall was buried 30 cm, and the top of the wall was exposed at 10 cm. The surrounding area is used as a place for turtles to bask in the sun, rest and lay eggs. The spawning ground needs to be covered with 20 cm deep sand to facilitate the mother turtle to lay eggs. The turtle pond should be built in a cool, secluded place with sufficient water, convenient irrigation and drainage and not easy to be polluted. Commercial turtles can be kept in fish ponds and mixed with the four major fish.
Structure of turtle breeding box
All turtles like to stay in the water or eat, and they also like to rest or bask in the sun on land. Turtles don't have gills, but breathe with lungs, so they can't stay in the water for a long time. Therefore, after staying in the water for a period of time, they must float and expose their nostrils to breathe. Therefore, no matter how you design the turtle box, in principle, there must be water and land, and it is best to have half of the land and water, and a ladder should be set between the land and water to let the turtle climb to the land. The slope is about 20 degrees, which is convenient for turtles to get up and down.
For most Brazilian turtles, the best container for keeping turtles is an aquarium glass box of 30,55 gallons or more. There should be enough water in the container. The measure is that once the tortoise accidentally turns over, it can be easily turned back by using the buoyancy of water. According to estimates, this height is about 3/4 of the turtle's body length.
The container shall be equipped with the following equipment:
(1) a heater
(2) a filter
(3) Full spectrum lamp tube
(4) The place where turtles bask in the sun
If your turtle container is placed in a place with cold air or airflow, add a cover to the container (pay attention to ventilation).
PS: Remember: the bigger the container, the better.
Water quality management
Red-eared turtles live in water most of the time and like to live in clear water. So the quality of water is very important. In summer, change water every 10- 15 days/time. If the water color is brownish green or blue-green, it means that the water quality is too "fat" and all water should be changed in time. From June to September, due to the high temperature, water change should be carried out 3-4 hours after feeding. In winter, turtles can change water less or not during hibernation.
Keep the water clean and change it frequently. In addition, the sand at the bottom is often cleaned. Avoid breeding of bacteria and pests.
Water quality is one of the keys to successful feeding. Water can contact cold boiled water and tap water for chlorine removal (sodium thiosulfate, Vc, exposure, etc.). ) Three days in summer. The water level can be used in deep water when young turtles are young, and should be changed every day, especially after feeding and excreting. Adults are half the height and can prevent the occurrence of white eye disease.
If there is no filter, you can also bathe the baby Brazilian tortoise every two days. Caution: Do not use abrasive products.
* keep-the secret of fresh water/effective filtration is:
As much water as possible.
(2) As large as possible filtration area (surface area of filter material)
(3) Dissolve as much oxygen as possible (by air pump or inflator)
Remember: the air temperature should also be warm enough. In winter, it is best to raise the air temperature in the house where turtles are kept. In summer, don't turn on the air conditioner in the room where turtles are kept. Of course, capping the aquarium can also solve some problems.
Third, reproduction.
The sexual maturity of Brazilian colored turtles is generally about 3 ~ 5 years. Artificial heating culture can mature in advance. The suitable population combination is 4 females 1 male. In terms of body shape, females of the same age are about twice as big as males. The tail of the mother turtle is short and thin, and the cloaca does not exceed the trailing edge of the carapace; The tail of the male turtle is long and thick, and the cloaca is far away from the tail base, all of which are outside the rear edge of the carapace. Estrous mating begins in the middle and late April, and may-August is the spawning period. Every time 10 ~ 17 eggs. Lay eggs 3-4 times a year. The egg is white and red, and it is rectangular. There are white spots on the shell of fertilized eggs. Turtles usually lay eggs in the early morning or evening, usually between 6:00- 17:00. The number of eggs laid depends on the size of the individual turtle. Before laying eggs, turtles dig 1 8 cm in diameter and about 10 cm in depth, and then aim their tails at the caves. When laying eggs, its hind legs are slightly extended, so that the eggs can slide into the cave along the hind legs to prevent the eggs from breaking. After laying eggs, the turtle dug the cave with its hind legs and covered it. The surface of the cave was slightly lower than the ground. The whole spawning process takes about 2 hours. Egg white, oblong. The egg has a long diameter of 29-3 1.4 mm and a short diameter of 15.4- 18.9 mm. The egg weighs 5-6.79 g.. The surface of the cave is slightly lower than the ground, wet and easy to find.
Fourth, incubation.
The size of the incubator is generally 2 square meters. First, spread fine stones with a thickness of 3-5cm on the bottom of the pool, then spread wet sand with a thickness of 3cm, bury the geothermal heating wire in the sand, then dig out the eggs laid the next day and arrange them on the sand in turn, with white dots facing up and spacing of 1cm. Cover the eggs with 3cm thick wet sand, then put the second layer, cover with the same thickness of wet sand, cover the sand surface with wet cloth for watering, and cover with glass for moisturizing. Check it every two days. If the sand is dry and white, it should be wetted with a small amount of water. The incubation temperature is controlled at about 30℃ and the relative humidity is kept at about 85%. Small hatcheries are made of wooden boxes with holes in the bottom to facilitate water leakage. Other operations are the same as those in the incubator. According to the size of the container, incandescent bulbs with different wattages can be selected for heating. The temperature is controlled between 24-35℃ .. It usually takes about 60 to 80 days to get out of the shell. Young turtles will arch out of the beach after hatching. After the umbilical cord falls off, put it in potassium permanganate solution for disinfection 10 ~ 15 minutes, and then put it in a shallow pond for temporary cultivation. The newly hatched turtle should not be fed with bait immediately, but should be fed with cooked egg yolk or chopped earthworm and fish one day later. Feed it twice a day, and then after changing the water each time. Generally, it is best to keep the ambient temperature around 28 ~ 32℃.
Verb (abbreviation of verb) overwintering management
Brazilian colored turtle went into hibernation below 15℃. Outdoor wintering, cold season should be covered with plastic film to prevent freezing. Generally, the water temperature is not lower than 4℃, so it can be safely wintered. If conditions permit, turtles can be moved indoors for the winter in late June165438+1October. Just keep the water depth at 15 ~ 20cm. Cover with insulation, but pay attention to ventilation. Generally speaking, it is advisable to keep the water surface free of ice.
Before hibernation, when the water temperature reaches 22℃, human antibiotics are mixed into the feed to enhance the disease resistance of soft-shelled turtle. When the water temperature drops to 14℃, the activity of soft-shelled turtles decreases, most soft-shelled turtles sink to the bottom and stop eating, and a few soft-shelled turtles only eat a small amount. At this time, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the pond and check the soft-shelled turtle, including skin, head, feces and parasites. Unhealthy turtles can't hibernate, so they should be raised separately. The water temperature should be raised above 20℃ before they can eat, and at the same time, they should be treated accordingly. During hibernation, if the water temperature occasionally rises above 18C, don't feed it, so as to avoid the temperature drop at night and cause indigestion and other diseases. During hibernation, some abnormal turtles, such as floating on the water and weak limbs, should be fished out in time and kept in isolation. After hibernation, with the increase of temperature, the water temperature reached about 16C, and some turtles were able to eat. At this time, it is not appropriate to feed in a hurry. Wait until the temperature difference between day and night does not exceed about 6℃. Before feeding 1, thoroughly change the dressing and disinfect it.
VI. Disease Prevention and Control
Brazilian colored turtles are generally not easy to get sick, but prevention should be given priority. In the juvenile stage, furazolidone and potassium permanganate are used alternately and put into the water once a week. Furazolidone 2ppm, potassium permanganate110000. If you don't pay attention to cleanliness, turtles eat deteriorated feed, which sometimes causes gastrointestinal diseases. The feed can be mixed with antibiotics, 500 grams of turtle medicine 1/2 tablets, or chloramphenicol 65438+ million international units. Attention should be paid to preventing rats, snakes, cats and dogs. Invade the little turtle. Prevent toxic substances from polluting feed. It is forbidden to spray highly toxic pesticides on farms.
Treatment of eye diseases of Brazilian tortoise
Eye disease of Brazilian tortoise: This disease is called white eye disease, which is caused by water pollution.
Take the turtle out of the water, put it in the shade, let the membrane flow out of its eyes and feed it to some animal livers.
Use chloramphenicol or other anti-inflammatory eye drops 1-2 times a day; Or penicillin is fed 1-2 times at a dose of 45,000 units per kilogram of turtle weight; Or 1% nitrofuracilin or 1% Rivnuel aqueous solution dipped in cotton swabs or new hair tips, smeared twice a day, and then put in clean water. So six days is good.
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White eye disease
Etiology Poor water quality causes eye irritation, eye injury or bacterial infection. The disease is more common in red-eared turtles, soft-shelled turtles, yellow-throated soft-shelled turtles, yellow-edged soft-shelled turtles, eye-spotted soft-shelled turtles, etc., and the incidence of young turtles is higher. The onset season is spring, and autumn and spring after wintering are the epidemic peaks.
Symptoms The turtle's eyes are inflamed, congested and swollen. The cornea and nasal mucosa of the eye are eroded by inflammation of the eye, the outside of the eye is covered with white secretions, and there is inflammation inside the eye. Sick turtles often wipe their eyes with their forelimbs, which makes them slow down and stop eating. In severe cases, the sick turtle went blind, and finally the turtle was thin and died. Some sick turtles have only one eye at the beginning of the disease. If no measures are taken, symptoms will soon appear in the other eye.
Prevention and cure method
1) Strengthen feeding management. Before and after overwintering, animal livers (bovine liver, sheep liver, rabbit liver, dried chicken liver, etc. ) feed regularly to strengthen nutrition and enhance disease resistance.
2) Disinfect the turtle-raising equipment, and soak the glass jar and aquarium in 10% salt water for 30 minutes. The tortoise is washed with clear water before being raised.
3) soaking in furacilin (or furazolidone) solution is not only a preventive measure, but also an early treatment. The concentration of young turtles is 20 mg/L, and the concentration of young turtles to adults is 30 mg/L. The soaking time depends on the water temperature. If necessary, soak 1 time (40 minutes) every day for 3-5 days.
4) Take the sick turtles and soft-shelled turtles out of the soil pool or cement pool where the soft-shelled turtle water is disinfected for further treatment. For the sick soft-shelled turtle or soft-shelled turtle in the pond, apply bleaching powder with the concentration of 1.5-2.0g/m3 and spread it all over the pond.
5) intraperitoneal injection of streptomycin (or kanamycin) is 200,000 units per kilogram of turtle weight. After the injection, the patient was temporarily isolated for 5-6 days. The patient's condition did not improve significantly, and he was given a second injection with the same dose. If the sick turtle is wintering, it has stopped eating. Each sick turtle was injected with 0.5 ml of glucose solution (medical, containing 50% sugar) and streptomycin. The effect is very remarkable.
6) Rivanol1%aqueous solution is suitable for Rivanol, also known as Rever's ear, which is a surgical drug. Apply it to the affected eyes for 40-60 seconds each time, 1 time every day for 3-8 days. This method should be used when the green turtle is sick, because soaking and washing with furacilin and furazolidone is very toxic to soft-shelled turtle and soft-shelled turtle, but it is very toxic to filamentous green algae of green turtle, and soaking and washing will kill filamentous green algae.
7) The usage of furacilin (or furazolidone) 1% aqueous solution is the same as that of rivanol solution. The green turtle should be sick by permanent magnet method. When applying the liquid medicine, don't let the liquid medicine come into contact with filamentous green algae. After applying the medicine, put the green turtle into a white basin filled with clear water and turn red for half a minute, and immediately change the water 1 time. If there is no yellow liquid medicine in the water, it can be fed in a sterilized tank. Furacillin is not as effective as rivanol, but it is cheap. Rivanol should be used in severe cases.
8) As a preventive measure, the concentration of furacilin (or furazolidone) solution in the whole pond is1.2-1.5g/m3; Use 2.0-2.5g/m3 for treatment. After spraying in the whole pond, the efficacy generally lasts about 10 days. If the condition does not improve obviously after application, the same concentration can be sprayed again in the whole pool on the first 1 1 day. In severe cases, the drug can be injected first, and then the liquid medicine can be smeared or soaked. You can also apply or soak the liquid medicine first, and then sprinkle the medicine all over the pool, which has more obvious curative effect.
9) Spray erythromycin 1.5-2.0g/m3 in the whole pool.
10) Other antibacterial drugs, Medrol, soluble in feeding edema, each glass goldfish bowl contains 1 tablet. This method is suitable for green turtles. Streptomycin can also be dissolved in water, so that every 1 mg of water contains 65438+ 10,000-200,000 international units, which is suitable for treating diseases of green turtle and other small water turtles.
Secret recipe of an old friend of turtle friends in Yangguan, Dunhuang, Gansu;
A friend's red-eared turtle has severe white eye disease. My eyes are completely closed. I soaked it for nearly two months according to the methods introduced in books and online, but it didn't work. Fortunately, tenacious, can persist until now. In a state of near despair. A drowning man will catch at a straw. Apply some dakening cream. I didn't expect to see the effect immediately. Treating athlete's foot can also treat eyes! ! After taking medicine for two days, my eyes opened. I am so excited. This method is not exclusive. May more turtles suffering from this disease be saved.
Treatment experience of fish: combination of method 3 and method 7 *
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Nail rot
The reason is that after the shell is worn, bacteria invade and cause the shell to fester.
Symptoms: The surface of crustaceans festers, forming caves or seeing muscles in severe cases, and people are hungry or eat less.
Prevention and treatment: remove the focus of the diseased turtle, scrub the affected area with hydrogen peroxide, and then directly smear it with potassium permanganate crystal powder.