How to keep Brazilian turtles healthy?

This is more comprehensive and good for your turtle.

Instructions before raising:

Many people have experience in raising turtles, but more than half of them have experience in raising turtles. Half of the people who keep them either die or give them away or release them. This is not good for the environment and the turtles. Therefore, I hope you can think twice before buying turtles to raise at home. The following are the key points. I hope everyone will consider it carefully when buying a turtle, so as not to harm the turtle and line the pockets of the merchants.

1. Measure your own financial capabilities (turtle equipment, feed, medicines).

2． Ask yourself how much you know about the turtle you want to keep (its habits, whether it is a protected animal).

3. Is there enough space (depending on the size of the turtle when it reaches its maximum size).

4. Do you have the balance, patience, and care to raise them?

5． It's best to find an expert (at least) as a consultant.

How to buy:

If you decide to buy one or several Brazilian turtles, the following characteristics should help you choose red turtles or other types of turtles. Turtle:

1. Observe the turtle you want to buy carefully! Does it show natural escape movements (as long as the pot allows it room to escape)? When a person approaches the basin, does it try to escape by diving? Turtles that have difficulty swimming or diving, turtles with clogged nostrils or swollen eyes that cannot open their eyes are all dying, so you should never buy them.

2. The vast majority of healthy tortoise shells are not injured, which means that the shape of the shell is uniform and normal, with no missing links. If your tortoise shell feels "soft" when you touch it, you have rickets. Although this defect can be cured to a limited extent, it will leave an uneven carapace for life.

3. Ask the turtle seller to feed you some feed. Pay attention to which turtle or turtles go to eat first. This can also determine their health. It is advisable to be cautious with turtles that refuse to eat the feed, as they are either sick or have not yet adapted to the new feed.

4. If you still like the turtle you like, you should also consider that these cute little guys will not be little guys forever, and they will need more space in the future. Under better conditions, they will grow very quickly, and under your care, the carapace will grow to twenty-five or thirty centimeters in length! A pair of grown-up red turtles need about 100 liters of swimming space, and the grown-up turtles no longer look so bright green and cute. But in the eyes of people who really love to raise painted turtles, they will always be cute. "Weak shell syndrome" caused by calcium and vitamin deficiency can cause a small dent in the carapace by pressing it with your fingers. That is "rickets".

Maintenance of water quality:

Although Brazilian turtles are the easiest and least picky aquarium animals to raise, they have a disadvantage: they excrete too quickly, coupled with the temperature High, the remaining feed is easy to spoil, so the water always smells bad. It had only been two days since the water had been changed, and it had turned into a muddy soup again. Even the Brazilian turtles could hardly see it. This was due to the reproduction of Monocystis algae. The water had sufficient nutrients, the temperature was suitable, and the green algae reproduced very quickly.

Several experiments have tried to use chemicals to keep pool water clear, but the results have been unsatisfactory. Although using CHlNOSOL (one gram to thirty liters of water) can keep the water clear and non-stinky for a week, the debris and putrid feces stirred up by the turtles will make the water even dirtier. Brazilian turtles have been living in this kind of water for a long time. It has not yet been determined whether it is harmful to coliform bacteria, and it is not certain whether the water with chemical drugs will damage the animal's internal organs, so it is best not to use chemical drugs.

The easiest way is to completely change the water. Four hours after feeding, drain, pump out and throw away the old dirty water. Then scrub the walls and bottom of the container with a medium-hard brush and clean water. When cleaning, first put the Brazilian turtle in a plastic basin or on land by the pool – of course, somewhere where it cannot escape. Pour in clean water with a suitable temperature and then put the turtle back into the water.

Some species of bog or aquatic turtles are less able to adapt to a complete change of water, but the Brazilian turtle will soon get used to this practice and the disturbance it causes.

There is still a drawback to completely changing the water: 2. It will induce the turtle to expel feces in the intestines more quickly and soil the water that has just been changed. Therefore, it is best to check the breeding box (pool) shortly after changing the water to remove the feces. .

Light needs:

Many turtles need to bask in the sun. For example, the Brazilian turtles released in some pools can often be seen extending their heads, feet and limbs with their heads closed under the scorching sun. His eyes looked relaxed. Basking in the sun can kill some bacteria on the turtle shell, prevent the shell from becoming soft and brittle, and also provide warmth. These functions mainly require ultraviolet light, and ultraviolet green in sunlight is very important to turtles. Therefore, when you want your turtle to enjoy the warm sunshine, don't just let it bask in the water, and try not to expose it to glass, because ultraviolet green is easily blocked. If you are afraid of drying out if you forget to take it back for too long, you can set up a semi-water place so that they can be fully exposed to the sun or soaked in water. It is best to let it bask in the sun for one to two hours every day, and brush the turtle's back regularly with a soft toothbrush to remove parasites.

Raising of young turtles:

Young Brazilian turtles can be raised in a flat-bottomed container without any difficulty. Plastic basins, plastic troughs or boxes, and aquariums are all suitable. Water is not required. too deep. A commercially available flat shallow plastic tank with an island and a plastic coconut tree in the middle is the most unsuitable because (1) it is too small. (2) it cannot be installed with an electric heater. (3) it misleads users to put the small The island serves as a feeding place. Because the turtle feeds entirely in the water, the result may be that the island is filled with feed while the turtle is starving.

An ideal breeding place must have certain minimum requirements. Each young turtle should have five liters of water space for movement, and the water depth should not exceed the length of the turtle body so that the turtle's feet can reach the ground when it comes to the surface to breathe. At the same time, it is necessary to make an island for them out of bricks and stone chips. Floating islands are not suitable because the young turtles often cannot climb up and their efforts are in vain. On the other hand, be careful not to let the islands and decorations become dangerous obstacles that could trap the turtles and cause them to drown.

The water temperature that hatchlings can adapt to is about 25 degrees Celsius; when the weather is cold, the air above the container should also be heated. Installing a shade lamp on the breeding box can get the best of both worlds. If the water temperature is still too low, you can add an electric heating pipe to the water - the temperature can be adjusted as much as possible. If you choose an electric heating pipe with higher thermal energy (100 to 150 watts) now, it will be enough to handle a larger water tank when the Brazilian tortoise grows larger. The electric heating tubes sold in aquarium stores should be placed under the water. When installing, care should be taken to avoid the possibility of the electric heater and power cord getting stuck on the Brazilian turtle.

It is particularly important that the Brazilian turtles have the opportunity to be exposed to direct sunlight. The breeding box can be placed on the balcony or windowsill. If this is not possible, the young turtles must be exposed to ultraviolet light once or twice a week. About three to five minutes each time. The ultraviolet lamp should not be too close to the Brazilian turtle to avoid damage caused by excessive light. Sunlight is still the best, but care should be taken that the container glass used does not filter out the required ultraviolet rays. The hatchlings can be kept on the balcony throughout the summer. To prevent it from being picked up by birds, the box can be covered with netting. It is absolutely necessary to prevent the Brazilian turtle from climbing out of the breeding box, otherwise you will find a "mummy" electric heater under the bed or in a corner one day, etc. It may even be a bridge for the Brazilian turtle to "escape", because the Brazilian turtle's " He is very good at climbing.

It is okay if algae (moss) grows on the breeding tank, but it should not make the water in the tank stink. The most important thing is to change the water regularly, otherwise due to the high temperature, excrement and leftover feed in the water, the young turtles will live in a pool of thick, smelly water. This environment will promote the growth of bacteria, so it should be at least Change the water once a week.

Raising of adult turtles:

Adult turtles need much larger breeding tanks so that they have enough space to move around. To create an ideal environment, a pair of grown Brazilian turtles need at least one hundred liters of water to move around.

The size of the breeding tank will make the Brazilian turtles quickly become obese and sluggish. If it falls into the water, it will drown because it cannot turn over.

The size of the breeding container has also caused cases of underdeveloped tortoise shells. A large plastic basin, aquarium or large wooden container with plastic sheeting inside can be used as a turtle tank. A trough with drainage holes is most convenient because it is easy to change the water and clean it frequently.

If the cement tank is newly built, for the sake of caution, it can be coated with safety paint or thoroughly cleaned several times to prevent harmful substances from seeping out of the cement and entering the animal's body after being dissolved in water. There must be a fixed (non-floating) "island" in the tank, which can also be suspended, and should be easy for the turtle to climb up. Wood or plastic boards can be used, covered with artificial turf or palm mats. Or you can use a plastic basin filled with stones or sand and hang it in the trough to serve as "land".

The land or island part of the tank can be filled with soil, peat or sand, and this part should be warmed every few days. The eggs laid by female turtles in this soil have the best chance of hatching. It is better to illuminate this land with lights (when it is cold). It is best not to use sand or gravel at the bottom of the tank, as this will increase the difficulty of changing water and cleaning. In addition to changing the water frequently (daily if necessary), installing filtering equipment can remove suspended solids in the water. Because the substances dissolved in the water have the greatest impact on the turtle's health, filtration equipment cannot completely replace water changes.

In order to make the water temperature in the breeding tank reach the temperature that the Brazilian turtle likes, the electric heating pipe used in the aquarium is used. When installing it, precautions should be taken to prevent the equipment and circuits from getting stuck in the Brazilian turtle. An electric felt can also be placed at the bottom outside the breeding box. Synthetic resin rubber can be placed under the electric felt as insulation material. However, the water temperature should not be higher than the outside temperature (about 25 to 30 degrees Celsius) to prevent the Brazilian turtle from catching cold. Painted turtles also need a warm place on land because they are cold-blooded animals and must rely on sunlight to reach a proper body temperature. If there is not enough sunlight on the balcony or in the open air, the land part must be warmed by a lamp. Painted turtles raised indoors or in places with insufficient sunlight lack ultraviolet rays and should be irradiated with ultraviolet lamps two or three times a week for five minutes each time. This kind of light tube is best installed on the cover of the breeding tank.

Diet: What do turtles eat? Many people buy "special turtle food" recommended by profiteers who sell pets, only to find out when they go back that turtles don't like to eat it or even don't eat it at all. In fact, those so-called "turtle food" are basically scams, profiteers They just want to make money and don't care about the life and death of the weak turtles they just bought. They will sell you garbage that the turtles won't eat at all. They are eager for you to feed them to death and buy another one as soon as possible. So don't buy any turtles when you buy them. I am not responsible for feeding the so-called "turtle food" recommended by profiteers to death! Sisibi red-eared turtles mainly eat meat, small fish, shrimps, loaches, earthworms, insects, etc. I often give them killed flies as snacks. The eating ability of newly bought turtles is generally weak, and It will not hunt live food, so you need to feed it little by little at this time. Be very patient when feeding it. Cut the fresh meat into the size of mung beans, hold it with tweezers and slowly stretch it in front of the little turtle's nose. It will carefully Smell it before eating. Sometimes the response is very slow, so don't rush. Try it a few times and practice makes perfect. Generally, you can feed as much meat as a cigarette butt in one feeding. When you are young, you need to feed it for an extra week. Three or four times, let it adapt to the environment and grow up quickly, because it will go into hibernation if it is hungry for a long time. If a turtle is too small, it will often not wake up when it goes into hibernation, so feed it more to prevent it from going into hibernation and growing bigger than a matchbox. When it gets bigger, it will usually eat on its own. At this time, you can put some very small fish and shrimps in the water to let it practice hunting. Don't put too many, otherwise it will bite many to death but not eat them, so it only takes a day at most. Water will stink and smell bad, and the same goes for feeding meat. Don’t waste it, and don’t feed it as much as it can eat, otherwise it will burst. My turtle used to be so stretched that its head and limbs couldn’t be retracted. It was funny. I actually vomited several times, which shows how hopeless Guigui is! Feeding too much will make the turtle grow too fast, and it will not be fun and cute at all when it grows up, unless you are raising it for food, haha! A friend of mine bought a tortoise with me, but he fed it too much. In less than two years, it grew to the size of a bowl, all the patterns on its body were gone, it looked gray and ugly, and it made a huffing and puffing sound. , like a dinosaur, it can already eat a basin of loaches a week when it is that big, which shows how terrifying it is, so when it grows up, it is enough to feed it once a week. It is best to feed it some small fish, which can supplement calcium to its shell. Longer and harder.

Daily life: Turtles will encounter some special physiological phenomena during their growth, which will have a great impact if not handled properly. Among them, the one that impressed me the most is molting.

Turtles and snakes are close relatives, so they also shed their skins, but unlike snakes, turtles also shed their scales! ! My tortoise shed its skin when it was about four years old. There were no digital cameras at that time, so I did not record this weird appearance. What I want to warn everyone here is that do not help the tortoise during the process of shedding, it will do it on its own. It will be taken care of. I just didn’t know and “helped” it, which caused lifelong damage to it. I apologize to the poor turtle. Here is a detailed introduction to what turtle molting looks like. If your turtle is ready to molt, age, then congratulations, this means that the method you raised the tortoise in front of you is correct, otherwise it will not survive this day, haha!

Moulting: The turtle's scales will peel off first, just like pieces of fish scales attached to it. Pay attention! Don't help it take off those scales! ! The stems of melons will naturally fall off when they are ripe. My turtle's shell was injured because I peeled off some of its scales that seemed to be about to fall off. It took a year or two to grow back. After that, there will be scars there. No. No matter how beautiful the pattern is, if the turtle shell is not infected with bacteria and rots, it will directly kill it. When it sheds its skin, its old skin will also fall off, just like a snake sheds its skin, but it will not be replaced with a new one all at once. It's very interesting to hang it on it like wearing a wedding dress. Of course, don't tear it down for the same reason as above. So what you need to do when the turtle molts is to keep the fish tank clean and change the water frequently. Molting is a sign that a turtle has grown up. After molting, the color and pattern of the turtle will become worse, which is different from that of an ugly duckling.

Cleaning: The turtle's nest needs to be cleaned frequently, because not only will algae breed in the water, but the turtle will also poop. You must not only change the water but also give the turtle a bath, otherwise the turtle will Sticky moss will grow on the shell, because the shell of this kind of turtle is difficult to grow hard, so it needs regular maintenance to prevent it from rotting and falling off due to being too dirty. How to take a bath? Just use a small brush with not too hard bristles and dip it in clean water to clean both sides of the turtle shell. It is best to use an old toothbrush. The work is very simple, but it will scare the timid turtle enough. The head, limbs and tail They are all shrunk tightly, and be careful not to brush them on the head when brushing, because the bristles may hurt the turtle's eyes and nostrils.

If you are lucky, filamentous green algae will grow on the carapace of the turtle, and it will become a green turtle. My turtle looked like this one summer, and later because of the meat feeding There was a lot of fat on the green hair, which was difficult to clean, so I brushed it off.

Disease prevention and treatment: Many turtles die due to diseases. Some diseases are visible, such as skin ulcers, carapace rot, and eye diseases. Some diseases are difficult to detect, such as the digestive system. Diseases, parasites, etc., because turtles are relatively small, it is difficult or impossible to treat once they get sick, so we can only focus on prevention. First of all, you must keep the fish tank clean. Change the water when it smells bad. Clean the turtle shell if there is too much moss on it. Keep the turtle in the sun frequently and feed it freshly and cleanly. For purchased loaches, Small fish and water worms must be cleaned, and it is best to keep them for a few days to drain the dirt from the body before feeding them to the turtles.

The diseases that can be treated are mainly skin ulcers, carapace rot, and eye diseases. Once discovered, the turtle can be bathed with potassium permanganate solution. Be careful not to make the solution too thick, and be careful not to let the turtle drink it. If it's a mild case, it should be curable, but if it's a serious case, it just depends on luck.

Turtles are omnivores, feeding on animal insects, worms, small fish, shrimps, snails, clams, plant leaves, duckweed, melon rinds, wheat grains, rice, and weed seeds. Wait for food. It has a strong ability to withstand hunger and will not starve to death without eating for several months.

Types of turtle feed

1. Animal feed. Including various freshwater and seawater fish, molluscs, large eggs, aquatic insects, meat and offal of various poultry and wild animals, silkworm pupae, etc.

2. Plant feed. It includes corn, wheat, soybeans, millet, rice, various types of cakes, fruits, vegetables, aquatic plants in green feed, etc.

3. Feed additives.

It includes bone meal, calcium powder, salt, high-efficiency fast-acting vitamin additives among minerals, livestock multivitamins, cod liver oil, malt, etc. among vitamins, oxytetracycline, sulfonamides among antimicrobials, and stemonin among stomach medicines. Yeast, food mother raw material, seed koji, etc.

There are actually many types of Brazilian turtles as they are called in China

But most of the turtles we raise daily are red-gill painted turtles or yellow-gill painted turtles. These turtles are semi- Aquatic turtle.

Usually carnivorous, such as small fish, shrimp or refined pork and beef. The turtle has a strong dependence on water when it is a juvenile, and needs to live in water for more than 2/3 of its time. As it grows older, it becomes less dependent on water, but it still needs to live in humid areas near water sources. Because the Brazilian turtle is a tropical turtle, in addition to paying attention to water quality and food, the temperature of the water must also be controlled in daily care. Deterioration of water quality is one of the main causes of death of Brazilian turtles. The container for raising Brazilian turtles should not be too small. A small foam plastic block can be placed in the water for the turtles to climb and rest. Keep changing the water every day (except for fish tanks with filtration systems). It is best to keep the water temperature above 25C°. The replaced water must be dechlorinated to ensure water quality. In the spring and autumn, the turtle can be properly exposed to the sun every morning and evening to enhance the turtle's physique, but exposure to the sun in summer should be avoided.

Nowadays, many people like to raise cute Brazilian tortoises, especially those whose families have students. Under the competition of their classmates, they may bring a small tortoise home one day. Although Brazilian turtles are relatively easy to raise, they have a disadvantage: they eat a lot and excrete quickly and frequently. In addition, due to the high indoor temperature, the remaining feed and feces are easily putrefied together, so the water always smells. It had only been two days since the water had been changed, and it had turned into a pool of muddy soup again. Even the Brazilian turtle was almost invisible. If there is enough light, green algae will also grow. In particular, some people use relatively small glass jars or washbasins to raise turtles. If they are not careful, the smell will be overwhelming, and it is not healthy for people to bother the turtles.

The easiest way to solve this problem is to completely change the water. Generally, all dirty water is changed four hours after feeding. When changing the water, first take the turtle out and put it in a bucket. At the same time, it is best to scrub the walls and bottom of the container with a brush, then inject clean water with a suitable temperature and put the turtle back into the water. It should be noted that not all species of bog or aquatic turtles can adapt to a complete change of water, but the Brazilian turtle will quickly become accustomed to this practice and the disturbance it brings to it. After completely changing the water, it may induce the Brazilian turtle to expel feces in the intestines at a faster pace, thereby soiling the water that has just been changed. Therefore, if necessary, it is best to change the water for the Brazilian turtle before going to bed at night. Although it may feel a bit cumbersome to do this, it is guaranteed.

Young Brazilian turtles can be raised in a flat-bottomed container without difficulty. Plastic basins, plastic troughs or boxes, and aquariums are all suitable. The water should not be too deep. A commercially available flat shallow plastic trough with an island and a plastic coconut tree in the middle is the most unsuitable because (1) it is too small. (2) it cannot be installed with an electric heater. (3) it misleads users to put the small The island serves as a feeding place. Because the turtle feeds entirely in the water, the result may be that the island is filled with feed while the turtle is starving.

An ideal breeding place must have certain minimum requirements. Each young turtle should have five liters of water space for movement, and the water depth should not exceed the length of the turtle body so that the turtle's feet can reach the ground when it comes to the surface to breathe. At the same time, it is necessary to make an island for them out of bricks and stone chips. Floating islands are not suitable because the young turtles often cannot climb up and their efforts are in vain. On the other hand, be careful not to let the islands and decorations become dangerous obstacles that could trap the turtles and cause them to drown.

The water temperature that hatchlings can adapt to is about 25 degrees Celsius; when the weather is cold, the air above the container should also be heated. Installing a shade lamp on the breeding box can get the best of both worlds. If the water temperature is still too low, you can add an electric heating pipe to the water - the temperature can be adjusted as much as possible. If you choose an electric heating pipe with higher thermal energy (100 to 150 watts) now, it will be enough to handle a larger water tank when the Brazilian tortoise grows larger. The electric heating tubes sold in aquarium stores should be placed under the water. When installing, care should be taken to avoid the possibility of the electric heater and power cord getting stuck on the Brazilian turtle.

It is particularly important that the Brazilian turtles have the opportunity to be exposed to direct sunlight. The breeding box can be placed on the balcony or windowsill. If this is not possible, the young turtles must be exposed to ultraviolet light once or twice a week. About three to five minutes each time. The ultraviolet lamp should not be too close to the Brazilian turtle to avoid damage caused by excessive light. Sunlight is still the best, but care should be taken that the container glass used does not filter out the required ultraviolet rays. The hatchlings can be kept on the balcony throughout the summer. To prevent it from being picked up by birds, the box can be covered with netting. It is absolutely necessary to prevent the Brazilian turtle from climbing out of the breeding box, otherwise one day you will find the wiring of the "mummy" electric heater under the bed or in a corner, which may even be a bridge for the Brazilian turtle to escape, because the Brazilian turtle has very good climbing skills. clever.

It is okay if algae (moss) grows on the breeding tank, but it should not make the water in the tank stink. The most important thing is to change the water regularly, otherwise due to the high temperature, excrement and leftover feed in the water, the young turtles will live in a pool of thick, smelly water. This environment will promote the growth of bacteria, so it should be at least Change the water once a week.

A warning to websites and individuals who plagiarize articles and pictures on the Pet World website: You will bear legal responsibility!

Selection of turtles

When selecting turtles, you can check their appearance, activities, and physique.

1. Appearance: Female red-eared turtles weigh up to 1,000 grams, and males reach sexual maturity when they weigh more than 250 grams. The appearance is neat, the carapace and plastron are not damaged, and the skin on the body surface is free of water mold. The eyes are bulging but not red or swollen.

2． Activity: A healthy turtle crawls on the shore and immediately jumps into the water or runs away when disturbed. After entering the water, it sinks or swims in the water. On the contrary, it is not suitable to choose turtles that are slow to react when disturbed, do not run away, and float on the water after entering the water.

3. Physique: Turtles with strong physiques are enlarged, actively eat, and have full limbs. When crawling, the limbs hold itself up and the plastron is suspended in the air instead of flat against the ground. Pull the turtle's legs with your hands and feel that the turtle's legs are strong and retracted inward.

Feeding

Although red-eared turtles are omnivorous, they are partial to animal food. Under artificial breeding conditions, they feed on poultry, pigs and other animal offal, fly maggots, and mealworms. host. Properly mix fruits, vegetables and mixed feeds to enhance nutrients in the body. Add vitamin E powder and antibiotics in spring and autumn to increase the number of eggs the turtle can carry and enhance its physical fitness. Daily feeding should be done at a fixed time, at a fixed point, and at a fixed quality.

(1) The time for regular feeding is fixed, generally between 10 and 14 o'clock in spring and autumn, and between 7 and 9 o'clock or 18 and 19 o'clock in summer. When the temperature is too high or If it is too low, turtles will eat less or not eat at all.

(2) Fixed point The location where the bait is thrown should be fixed so that it is easy to observe the turtle's eating and activities. When the food is fed, healthy turtles can crawl to the food table to find food. Those turtles that are unresponsive or do not eat should be carefully observed, and severe cases should be kept separately. Divination. Yes,

(3) Qualitative feed must be fresh and without peculiar smell. The scraps should be washed first, and then excess tendons, skin and other materials should be removed to avoid indigestion.

Water quality management

Red-eared turtles spend most of their time in the water and like to be in clear water bodies. Therefore, the quality of water is very important. Change the water every 10-15 days in summer. If the water color is brown-green or blue-green, it indicates that the water quality is too "fertile" and all water should be changed in time. From June to September, due to higher temperatures, water changes should be performed 3-4 hours after feeding. In winter, the turtle can change less or no water during hibernation.

Winter management

Before hibernation, when the water temperature reaches 22°C, antibiotics are mixed into the feed to enhance the turtle's disease resistance. When the water temperature drops to 14°C, the activity of the turtles decreases. Most turtles sink to the bottom of the water and stop eating. A few turtles only eat a small amount. At this time, the pool needs to be thoroughly cleaned and the turtles are inspected. The inspection includes skin, head, and feces. , parasites, and unhealthy turtles cannot hibernate. They should be selected and raised alone, and the water temperature should be raised to above 20°C to allow the turtles to eat, and corresponding treatment measures should be taken. During hibernation, if the water temperature occasionally rises above 18C, do not feed them to prevent the temperature from dropping at night and causing indigestion and other diseases.

During hibernation, some turtles that are floating on the water, have weak limbs, etc. should be fished out in time and kept in isolation. After hibernation, as the temperature increases, the water temperature reaches about 16°C. The turtles have a small amount of activity, and some turtles can already look for food. At this time, you cannot rush to feed. You should wait until the water temperature difference between day and night does not exceed about 6°C before feeding. The first time The water needs to be completely changed and disinfected before feeding.

Don’t eat it!

The Brazilian turtle is the main breeding species in many provinces (regions) in South China in recent years, such as Hunan, Hainan, Guangxi, Fujian and many farmers in our province have practiced large-scale breeding of the Brazilian turtle. At present, the market space for Brazilian turtles is still very broad, but like other turtle species, the market risks of Brazilian turtles still exist. The author believes that winning in terms of quantity and quality is the key to success. In order to facilitate friends who raise turtles to understand and raise Brazilian turtles well, this article introduces the breeding of Brazilian turtles from three parts: living habits, advantages of artificial breeding, and disease prevention.

1. Living habits

Brazilian turtles have active habits, like to live in water, are not afraid of people, and have strong adaptability to the environment. The suitable water temperature for growth is 20-32℃, and the optimal growth water temperature is between 25-30℃. When the temperature is below 20°C, food intake is reduced and the activity is less active; when the temperature is below 15°C, food intake is basically stopped; below 10°C, the activity is significantly reduced and the animal is in a semi-dormant state. The Brazilian tortoise is an omnivorous turtle. It mainly eats carnivores in artificial breeding, especially in the juvenile and juvenile stages. It mainly eats small fish, shrimp, lean animal meat, etc. In the adult stage, the turtle can also eat plant feed (bananas, fruits, etc.) and worker compound feed. Brazilian turtles eat a lot and grow faster than turtles. Generally, hatchlings hatched from July to September can reach an average weight of 25-40 grams before overwintering that year under normal temperature, sufficient food and normal breeding conditions. They can grow to turtles weighing more than 200 grams in the following year, and generally in the third year. Commercial turtle sizes up to 400 grams or more. However, the growth rates of male and female Brazilian turtles are inconsistent, with the latter being significantly faster than the former.

2. Advantages of artificial breeding

1. It is highly ornamental. The Brazilian turtle is very brightly colored and has conspicuous red spots on the eardrums behind its eyes. It is almost indispensable in the current pet ornamental fish market. Excellent variety.

2. It is easier to breed and grow faster, has strong adaptability to the environment, and is easy to raise artificially, but the market price is lower than other turtles. Compared with Brazilian tortoises, tortoises, yellow-throated aquatic turtles and snapping turtles of the same specifications, the Brazilian tortoise is relatively low-priced and is almost a popular commodity, making it easier to be accepted by market consumers.

3. The market development space is not yet saturated. Although the Brazilian turtle is currently the most cultivated species, with an annual output of more than 10,000 tons of commercial turtles and an output value of 400 million yuan, turtle seedlings mainly rely on imports and are supplied after introduction into the country. The number of turtle seedlings is in short supply, and the gap is large. With the boom in turtle breeding, the shortage of turtle seedlings is bound to be exacerbated.

In addition, the turtle also has both edible and medicinal values.

3. Disease prevention and control

From the current breeding practice, Brazilian turtles have strong disease resistance. As long as early introduction and disease prevention measures are taken, and a reasonable feeding model is adopted, If sick turtles are found to be isolated in time and actively treated, better breeding benefits will be achieved.

1. The prevention of turtle diseases is generally related to the environment, the turtle body itself, feed, and pathogens. Maintaining a good turtle breeding environment, such as water quality that meets breeding requirements, quiet surroundings, and reasonable and scientific turtle habitats, can reduce the occurrence of turtle diseases. Similarly, when introducing new species, please purchase them from a nearby location, avoid long-distance transportation, and avoid purchasing them from the market or from farmers who are not familiar with the current breeding situation. The tortoise species should be healthy and defect-free, and the feed should meet the turtle's growth needs, be fresh, comprehensive, and nutritious. Cutting off the channels for pathogens to spread to healthy turtles can play a certain preventive role.

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Adult turtles have a wide range of food habits, including small fish, shrimps, snails, clams, vegetables, rice and wheat. Generally, they start eating when the water temperature rises above 15 degrees. The feeding period is from June to September, and the food intake begins to decrease in November. When the water temperature drops below 15 degrees, the temperature is lower in spring and autumn, and the feeding time is between 8 and 9 am. During the midsummer, the turtle is active in the morning and evening. Feeding should be done at 4-5pm when the turtle is swollen and swallowing.

The amount of bait swallowed by the turtle is about 4% of its body weight. Feed it every other day. After feeding, the leftover food should be cleaned up in time to prevent damage caused by contamination. Change the water frequently to keep the water fresh. The growth of turtles is related to the quality of feeding. Generally, turtles are often fed animal food and can gain about 50 grams of weight per month