What does a grass turtle look like?
Soft-shelled turtle is a treasure all over the body, which is regarded as the top grade of food tonic and medicine tonic in Shennong Materia Medica Classic and Compendium of Materia Medica, and people often use it to make soup. Li Shizhen once said: "There are 360 midges, turtles are long turtles, and the spirit of midges is old." Turtles are listed as endangered [1] species by IUCN, and they are threatened by overfishing. As far as Hongkong and Chinese mainland are concerned, there is a market for artificial breeding of turtle, so there is a large market for turtle farmers. In nature, the animal feed of grass turtle is mainly worms, small fish, shrimp, snails, mussels, clams, earthworms, animal carcasses and viscera, pig blood and so on. Plant feed is mainly composed of plant stems and leaves, melon skin, wheat bran and so on.
In the international market, turtles in China are also very popular. People in Japan, the Philippines, Europe and the United States regard it as a symbol of good luck and something to prolong life.
Chinese name
Chinese grass turtle
Ancient yamen in China
Vertebrate subfamily
Distribution area
China, Japan, Korea.
suborder
Tortoise suborder
Another name
Tortoise, scarab, golden turtle, ink turtle, mud turtle, mountain turtle, smelly green turtle, longevity turtle.
door
Chordata
grow
turtle
Binomial nomenclature/system
turtle
boundary
animal kingdom
The branch of academic or vocational research.
testudinidae
Latin scientific name
tortoise
English name
China Chigui
summary
Reptiles
Yako
Freshwater turtle subfamily
subclass
Aperture subclass
eye
The original name of TESTUDINES
belong to
terrapin
How much is a Brazilian tortoise, a chafer, a domestic tortoise, a feng shui turtle, a lucky turtle, a turtle, a black turtle, a water turtle and a China turtle? I want to seal the sky.
morphological character
Chinese tortoises are rectangular, with slightly raised carapace and three longitudinal edges with obvious edges. The top of the head is black olive, the skin in front is smooth and the scales in the back are fine. The abdominal nail is flat with a notch at the back end. The neck, limbs and bare skin are grayish black or black olive. The male is very small, with a long tail and a bad smell. Female carapace is light brown to dark brown, abdominal carapace is dark brown, tail is short, and there is no peculiar smell.
Chinese grass turtle
Chinese grass turtle female turtle
There are yellow linear markings on the side of the head and neck, three longitudinal protrusions, and no serrations on the rear edge; The back of the male body is black or the whole body is black, the female body is brown, and the abdomen is slightly yellow, with dark brown markings; The limbs are relatively flat, with claws and webbed toes.
Living habits
Tortoise is a reptile that breathes with its lungs. It has a well-developed horny deck on its body surface, which can reduce water evaporation. Sexually mature turtles lay eggs on land without going through the complete aquatic stage.
Chinese grass turtle
Turtles are omnivores. In nature, animal feed mainly includes worms, small fish, shrimp, snails, clams, earthworms, animal carcasses and viscera, hot pig blood, carrion and so on. Plant feed is mainly composed of plant stems and leaves, melon skin, wheat bran and so on.
First, the feeding stage began in late April, accounting for about 2-3% of the turtle's weight; The food intake is the most vigorous from June to August, accounting for about 5-6%; In June 5438+ 10, the food intake will decrease, accounting for about 1-2%. The second is the dormant stage. The tortoise is a temperature-changing animal, and its body temperature changes with the outside temperature. From June 165438+ 10 to April of the following year, when the temperature is below 15 degrees, turtles dive into the mud at the bottom of the pond or lie still in the loose soil covered with straw to hibernate; From May to 65438+ 10, when the temperature is higher than 35 degrees, the tortoise's appetite begins to decline and it enters the summer sleep stage (short lunch break). At this stage, turtles are busy in estrus, mating, breeding, eating, accumulating nutrition and looking for wintering places.
Turtles like to live in caves in groups, sometimes because there are too many groups, the back armor is smooth and the limbs are worn out, but they still don't spread out.
Discrimination between men and women
Generally, the round body is female and the long body is male. The flat bottom plate is female and the concave bottom plate is male. The short tail is female and the long tail is male.
Turtles are divided into male turtles and female turtles.
When mating, the tortoise takes the posture of male above female. In order to avoid slipping off the shell of the female turtle during mating, the belly shell of the male turtle is slightly sunken, just enough to catch the protruding back shell of the female turtle. But the mother turtle doesn't need this structure, so her navel is flat. You will understand that as long as you turn the tortoise over and touch the range of the abdominal armor with your fingers, you can quickly distinguish the male from the female.
The pattern on the abdomen of male turtle is sparse, while the pattern on the abdomen of female turtle is dense.
Female turtle: the carapace is short and wide, the carapace is flat, there is no depression in the center, the tail is thin and short, the tail base is thin, the cloaca is close to the rear edge of the carapace, and the notches formed by the two anal shields of the carapace are shallow and the notch angle is large.
Male turtle: The carapace is long and narrow, the center of carapace is slightly concave inward, the tail is thick and long, the tail base is thick, the cloaca is far away from the rear edge of carapace, and the notch formed by the anal shield of carapace is deep and the notch angle is small.
Note that when the male turtle matures, the whole body turns black (Jimo turtle), while the female turtle is still brown.
Ink turtle
breeding technology
Mating, spawning and hatching
When the female turtle weighs more than 700g, it can be used for mating and reproduction, and the male-female ratio is 2: 1. If the female turtle weighs more than 700g, it needs to be paired with a larger male turtle to successfully mate and reproduce. The suitable temperature for mating is 20-30 degrees, and the mating time is mostly 5-6 pm on sunny days and 2-4 pm on rainy days. The mating process usually takes only 3-5 minutes.
The spawning period of turtles varies from place to place. Generally, plain waters begin at the end of May, and the peak spawning period is in July and August, and ends in September. A female parent lays eggs 3-4 times a year, with 5 holes each time and 3-8 eggs per hole. Artificial turtles have the habit of laying eggs in groups, sometimes more than one, and dozens of them can lay eggs in the same hole. Before laying eggs, the female turtle chooses a slope with loose soil and several hidden edges or weeds, and digs the soil to form a hole, the size of which is about 8- 10 cm. 9- 12 cm deep. The spawning time is mostly at night or at dawn.
Chinese grass turtle
There are two kinds of hatching of turtle eggs: natural hatching and artificial hatching.
natural breeding
There are also two ways of natural incubation. One is to dig a bunker with a width of 20-40 cm and a depth of 20 cm (unlimited length) at the foot of the wall facing the sun in the turtle pond. Then fill the pit with yellow sand and arrange turtle eggs in the sand according to the distance of 1 cm; Keep a certain humidity and keep warm by the sun, and the young turtle will be born in 50-60 days. Secondly, build a few small sand piles around the parent turtle pond, let the mature breeding turtles climb ashore at night, dig holes in the sand piles to lay eggs, and let them hatch naturally. The young turtles will be born in about 50-70 days.
artificial hatching
Put the retrieved turtle eggs into a wooden box with a height of 25cm (the length is not limited, and the width is adapted to local conditions), drill a number of small holes in the bottom of the box, lay 15-20cm of sand on the bottom, arrange the turtles in the sand, then sprinkle spun yarn with a thickness of about 2cm on the eggs, cover the sand with a wet towel, and keep the indoor humidity at 25-35 degrees. On sunny days with dry air, sprinkle water 1-2 times a day on the sand, because the air humidity is high, which can reduce the number of sprinklers. The box is covered with wet cloth, which can prevent young turtles from escaping, enemy invasion and mosquito bites when they hatch. In this way, young turtles are hatched in 50-60 days, and the turtle yield is over 90%.
Breeding environment
The turtle pond should be sheltered from the wind, sunny and convenient for irrigation: (1) land. Generally, the water depth is 1- 1.5m, and the bottom slope is 1:2 or 1:3. Water inlet and outlet shall be provided. In the pond, duckweed, water peanut or water hyacinth are kept in the shade of about 65,438+0/3 of the pond area. A fence with a height of 0.5- 1 m is built around the pond, and the foundation of the fence is buried 30 cm to prevent turtles from fleeing. Leave an open space in the wall with a length of 1.5 m and a width of 1 m (several areas can be reserved); Or leave an island in the pool, accounting for about 5% of the total area, and pile an appropriate amount of sand on the island of the open river for turtles to lay eggs. (2) Concrete floor. Pool depth 1.3- 1.5m, water depth of 0.5-0.8m and soil quality of 20cm. There should be water inlet and outlet for irrigation and drainage in the pond, islands should be set in the pond, weeds should grow and sand piles should be placed in the grass. The stocking density of adult turtle ponds is generally 5-7 per square meter, and the highest is 10.
Turtle turtle
The living space of soft-shelled turtle determines its healthy growth and directly affects the breeding effect. Therefore, the farm is required to choose a place facing south, with abundant sunshine, fresh air, sufficient water, convenient drainage, no pollution and no noise.
There are many living environment factors for soft-shelled turtle, and water for breeding is the most direct, basic and important living condition for soft-shelled turtle. The requirements for aquaculture water are as follows: first, the water source should be free from any harmful pollution (including industrial chemical pollution, domestic sewage pollution and agricultural drug pollution, etc.). Secondly, water bodies should be monitored and regulated regularly. Prevent the generation of harmful substances, avoid the deterioration of water bodies, and prevent the generation or infiltration of chromium, cadmium, phenol, aldehyde, hydride and sulfide, otherwise it will threaten the survival of turtles and turtles and directly threaten human health. In this regard, attention should be paid to adjusting the clarity and transparency of water bodies; Reduce ammonia nitrogen, increase dissolved oxygen, adjust and make good use of algae plants.
Pollution-free imitation ecological environment construction includes:
Set aside a piece of land around the turtle pond, plant some grass and small trees, and spread sand belts. This can not only adjust the temperature around the turtle pond, but also provide shelter for turtles to go ashore to lay eggs and dry their backs at low temperature in summer.
Planting a small amount (about 1/3) of water hyacinth or water hyacinth in turtle pond can absorb harmful heavy metals and substances in water, inhibit ammonia nitrogen concentration in water and control water fertility. At the same time, it can also reduce and stabilize the water temperature in summer. In addition, it also provides a place for young turtles to live and bask in their backs. For turtle's parents, this is a shady mating place.
Interplanting tilapia, crucian carp, mandarin fish and snakehead in the pond, stocking about one or two per square meter. Its advantages are that it can turn over the bottom mud, accelerate the decomposition of organic matter, eat some turtle dung and some algae that are difficult for other fish to digest, accelerate the energy cycle of water body and maintain the ecological balance of water body.
Water level requirement
Soft-shelled turtle has good water quality. Many people think that as long as there are stones or platforms exposed to the water, the water can be deep (the water depth is really ornamental, and the water quality is not easy to deteriorate, so fish and turtles can be mixed, and I like it very much). However, if the water is deep, the tortoise is bound to consume more physical strength to go to the surface for air exchange, which will cause excessive physical strength consumption to the tortoise. For turtles with poor constitution, it is also possible to choke and drown.
Personally, it is ideal to leave just a small shallow water area behind. After all, grass turtles like water, and the water depth was too deep when they were young. If the water exceeds 1CM, it will be fine. If you want to raise turtles in deep water, you can consider building a "land island" in the water for turtles to use, forming deep water areas, shallow water areas, sandy land, sun-dried back stones and so on. So that they can come up to rest, breathe and dry their shells. This is an ideal environment for turtles to protect.
Number of water changes
Water turtles constantly excrete feces, and the residual bait in the water is constantly oxidized and rotted, which will produce harmful substances, make the water quality worse, affect the normal activities of turtles, and make turtles sick or even die. Therefore, it is necessary to change the water frequently and timely to keep the water fresh, so that turtles can grow normally.
Many turtle friends think that the water for raising water turtles should be as clean as possible. That's not true. Some bacteria in natural water are normal. Some of these bacteria are good for grass turtles. Turtles in nature can maintain a healthy state because of the balance of bacteria in the body. If there are no beneficial bacteria in turtle body or the balance is broken under the condition of artificial feeding, it will lead to illness or malnutrition.
Change water, partially change water, completely change water.
Partial water change is also called "water change", that is, siphon is used to suck turtle feces, residual bait and other dirt out of the bottom of the fish tank. The water absorption should be about a quarter of the water in the tank, and a large fish tank can absorb a certain proportion less. In short, it depends on the specific situation. After the dirty water is sucked out, fresh water with the same amount and temperature should be added and dried or chemically dechlorinated. If the water temperature is low, you can add boiling water or heat the water to the water temperature in the cylinder with a heater, and then pour new water into the cylinder. Twice a week in autumn and winter is the best time to replenish water; Three times a week in spring and summer is appropriate.
All water changes should be carried out under the condition that there is a lot of dirt in the tank, and the grass and bottom sand need to be cleaned again. Take out all the equipment in the fish tank, all the aquatic plants and all the turtles. It should be temporarily put into other containers with the same temperature as the raw water, and the wall and bottom of the pool should be scrubbed clean with sponge or emery cloth, and then all the water should be sucked out. If necessary, rinse again with a small amount of concentrated brine, and then rinse with clear water. The bottom sand and aquatic plants should be washed once, and it is best to wash the bottom sand with strong salt water, and then rinse it before loading it. It is advisable to change the water once every two weeks to once a month, but if the water quality changes, it should be changed at any time.
So in the feeding process, if there is a filter in the container, there is no need to change the water every day. Usually change the water of 1/2 or 1/3 once every half month, and then replenish fresh water. However, if turtles are kept in tanks and eat in the same tank at the same time, if the leftover food is difficult to clean or will pollute the water quality, the number of water changes should be increased as appropriate. You can also change 1/3 water every day. If there is no filter, it depends on the cleanliness of the water.
If you want to replace all the water, it is best to dry the tap water for two days to achieve the effect of chlorine removal. Generally, water should be changed every 10~ 15 days/time in summer. 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, changing water should be carried out 3 to 4 hours after feeding. In winter, turtles can change water less or not during hibernation.
Water temperature requirement
After beginning of spring, the weather gradually became warmer, and grass turtles gradually woke up from hibernation and began to grow, develop and reproduce. The production practice of soft-shelled turtle proves that the growth of grass turtle is directly related to water temperature.
So, at what temperature does the grass turtle grow fastest? Adult and young turtles were raised in five temperature groups of 23℃, 26℃, 29℃, 32℃ and 35℃ for 30 days respectively. The results showed that the weight of adult turtles (males) increased obviously in the range of 23℃~26℃, with the fastest growth at 23℃, followed by 26℃ and the worst at 35℃. Adult turtles (female turtles) gained significant weight at 23℃~29℃, with the fastest growth at 23℃, followed by 29℃ and the worst at 35℃. Under the same temperature of 23℃ and the same diet, the female turtle grows 34.2% faster than the male turtle. Young turtles grow fastest at 26℃, followed by 29℃ and 35℃.
Growth and development of soft-shelled turtle at different water temperatures
The weight gain is obvious.
The fastest growth
Rank second
the worst
Adult male turtle
23℃~26℃
23℃
26℃
35℃
Adult female turtle
23℃~29℃
23℃
29℃
35℃
Water quality requirements
Turtles belong to water turtles. They breathe with their lungs and naturally rely on water. Interestingly, the diet and defecation of grass turtles are basically carried out in water. So if you want to raise grass turtles, don't forget to create a water environment for them.
The water body where the grass turtle lives should be fresh, and the transparency of the water should be about 30 cm. Turtle is a temperature-changing animal, and the change of water temperature has a direct impact on the change of turtle body temperature. Therefore, the water depth should increase or decrease with the seasons. In spring, the temperature is low and the water is shallow, generally about 0.5 meters; In summer, the temperature is high, the water depth is deep, and in autumn, the water temperature gradually drops and the water is shallow; The water level should be stable in winter, because the turtle's body temperature changes with the rise and fall of air temperature and water temperature. If the temperature drops sharply and the water level rises and falls, the tortoise can only use its own accumulated water.