The world of turtles is amazingly diverse. Very tiny and huge, land and water, brightly and effectively painted and having a very nondescript coloring - all these reptiles inhabit our planet. Today we will talk about what is the content of water turtles at home.
Types of turtles
The Emydidae family includes about ninety-five species, combined into thirty-three genera that live in freshwater bodies of America, Europe, Asia, and Northwest Africa. Many aquatic representatives of the family have bright colors, beautifully painted head, legs and shell.
Today we will focus on two species of these animals, which are most often bred at home. This is the Far Eastern Trionics and the Red-eared Turtle. These are cold-blooded animals that need a warm, balanced diet, with the obligatory addition of vitamins and minerals. About what to feed a water turtle at home, we will tell a little later.
As pets, they have a red-eared or marsh individual. They are distinguished by their small size and relative simplicity of care for them. Despite its small size, this reptile lives for a long time.
Water -red-eared turtle at home
Experienced and aquarists, as well as beginners in this business, start up such a pet . Rubella eared turtles at home do not cause much concern to the owner. They are small in size and have a rather long lifespan.
The reptile got its name for two spots that are on the sides of the head. They can be yellow, deep orange or bright red. The length of the shell can vary from 11 cm to 60 cm. It depends on the age of the turtle. It has an oval-round, streamlined shape. The entire shell is covered with horn-shaped plate-shields. The toes end with sharp claws and are connected by membranes. The head is covered with soft skin.
The main factors contributing to the comfortable maintenance of reptiles at home are temperature, lighting (including ultraviolet radiation), and water filtration.
Trionics
Another representative of water turtles, which aquarists like to keep at home. Trionics is a soft-bodied reptile with a long neck, which distinguishes it from other representatives of a large family. Her paws have three fingers with sharp and strong claws. The structural features of the trionix are due to the aquatic lifestyle. Most of the time they spend burying themselves in soft soil. It can be silt, fine sand or small stones. In this way they watch for the prey.
We equip an aquarium
Turtles at home primarily need an aquarium. The aquaterrarium should become their home. It should be horizontal, and its length should be at least two times the height, since the area of their “house" is more important for this type of reptile than the volume.
Turtles grow very quickly, so choose a spacious aquaterrarium so that your pet can move freely in it. The water part should occupy about 2/3 of the entire area. It is advisable to make the “shore" of the pool flat, as in natural conditions, so that your pet can easily go out on an islet of land.
The content of the tortoise at home should be fully consistent with its habits in the natural environment. You need to know that despite the fact that this reptile is called aquatic, it does not spend all its time in water. She definitely needs an island of sushi, where she can warm up and dry the shell.
Sushi island
The size of this island depends on the size of your pet. It should fit freely completely. It must be taken into account that the island must have such a shape that the water flowing from the turtle does not stagnate on it. It should be made of non-slip materials. Today, such islands can be offered to you at pet stores. This will save you time on its construction.
For an aquarium, you need a filter for water purification and an ultraviolet lamp. Without ultraviolet light, turtles absorb calcium poorly. The bottom of the aquarium is laid out with pebbles or coarse soil. The reptile will certainly try the soil with its teeth, so the size of the pebbles should be larger than the head of the turtle. When buying, find out which breed it belongs to. The temperature regime of water in the aquarium depends on this.
Lighting and ventilation
It is impossible to oversaturate the terrarium with light, but you should not save on lighting. Water turtles, kept at home, especially appreciate the sun. They urgently need additional ultraviolet radiation, since its deficiency can provoke the development of various diseases. Today, such UV lamps can be selected from a huge range of products of domestic and foreign manufacturers. They have different capacities and price categories. The choice of a lamp depends on the size of the terrarium, the number of turtles living in it, etc. A detailed consultation will be given to you by the sellers of the pet store. But experienced aquarists recommend purchasing such devices with a five percent UVB.
Water turtles spend all day in the aquaterrarium. At home, your pet can only be planted in another container of water for the duration of cleaning or feeding. Do not let him go to the floor, as the animal may get some kind of infection or get injured.
Proper care of the turtle at home involves the installation of a powerful filter. Even with it, you should not forget about partial or complete replacement of water, at least once a week.
The aquaterrarium should be equipped with good ventilation. But do not confuse ventilation with drafts. These reptiles are very afraid of them, they can get colds.
How to feed water turtles at home?
This question excites many lovers of these cute animals. It should be noted that it must be approached very seriously. From what to feed a water turtle at home, the well-being of your pet and its life expectancy depend on 80%.
The diet should include lean raw fish, without sharp bones. It is cut into small pieces, depending on the size of your pet. One fish should not be limited. It must be alternated with seafood, aquarium snails. Turtles will not refuse from beef liver or earthworms.
Occasionally, you can diversify your diet with chicken or beef. All products are given raw. Adult turtles can add vegetable feed to the menu. It can be lettuce, slices of pear, cucumber or apple. But most often, water turtles at home eat special dry food, as they are ideally balanced in the content of all the necessary vitamins and minerals.
Pets that are less than ten centimeters long should be fed every day, and individuals that exceed this size are fed no more than three times a week. A portion is calculated from the amount of food that an animal eats in thirty to forty minutes. At the time of feeding, it is advisable to place the animals in a special container with water so as not to clog the water in the permanent turtle house. We hope that you have learned that water turtles eat at home. These tips will help keep your pet healthy for years to come.
Water purification
Most often, aquatic representatives of the family eat perishable food. In addition, the natural discharge of animals greatly pollutes the terrarium. Previously, the owners of such pets had to change the water several times a week. Now, due to the fact that modern filters of various designs have appeared on sale today, caring for them has become much easier.
For a small aquarium with small individuals, a regular internal filter equipped with a sponge will be enough. There are many such filters that are suitable for small ponds. They perfectly cope with their task and purify water from small and medium-sized particles of dirt.
Recently, special devices have appeared and become very popular, which greatly simplify the care of aquatorrariums. These are “biological filters”. They use special bacteria that remove nitrogen compounds.
In addition, the pet store will offer you specialized fillers, which are usually made by foreign manufacturers. They help maintain water in perfect condition for a long time and prevent the development of bacteria in it.
What should I look for?
If the turtle is not properly cared for, your pet may become ill. The owner should be very careful about the appearance of symptoms such as:
- curved or soft shell;
- swollen or permanently closed eyes;
- peeling of the skin;
- lack of appetite;
- runny nose.
A sick pet does not move much, spends a lot of time on an islet of land, and often refuses to feed. In such cases, you can’t hesitate - you urgently need to show it to the vet. To treat the tortoise, it will be necessary to find a specialist who deals with these animals, since it is difficult to make a diagnosis.
Caring for a water turtle should give pleasure to the owner, only in this case both people and the animal will be satisfied. If you are too busy in the service, and therefore circumstances will not allow you to pay due attention to the turtle - wait a bit with the purchase. Otherwise, the maintenance of such a cute pet will turn into a boring duty for you, which will lead to illness and even death.