Cayman turtle. The content of caiman turtles in an aquarium at home

The cayman turtle (Chelydra serpentina), whose weight can reach thirty kilograms, and a length of thirty-five centimeters, is a real fortress with a very thick shell. People avoid meetings with them. On the one hand, they are not aggressive, but if on their way someone is met by cayman turtles, they attack, biting their victim with sharp and strong beaks. For this they are called biting.

Description

To recognize them in appearance is not difficult. Cayman turtles are distinguished by a very rough shell. It can be painted black, brown and even cream color. It is covered with mounds and hollows. The head of this turtle is large, with a sharp beak and powerful jaws. At the slightest risk, she literally throws her head to the side and bites. Considering how much its jaws are powerful, it is better not to avoid such attacks. In dealing with this turtle, you must strictly follow the safety rules, which we'll talk about a little later.

Cayman tortoise can grow in some cases up to forty-five centimeters. About the duration of her life, there is no exact information that they live from twenty to one hundred years.

This species of turtles is very similar to its griffin cousin, but that much exceeds the caiman in size - its length can be up to one and a half meters, with a weight of sixty kilograms.

Habitat

The natural habitat of caiman turtles is America. They amaze with their vitality, their ability to dwell in the desert and hot areas of Texas, in the snowy areas of Washington. Quite comfortable they feel in the North American Rockies, at an altitude of up to two thousand meters. The main condition for the life of caiman turtles is the presence of a pond (pond, lake or river).

It is completely aquatic animals. In natural conditions on land they are chosen only in order to move to another pond. In addition, the females, after mating, go ashore to lay eggs. In winter, when the air temperature drops to negative values, the cayman turtle at the bottom of the reservoir falls into a hibernation, buried in the silt. You can see a strolling animal on the ice of the reservoir or floating under the ice. They are able to breathe and light, sticking their heads above the water, and soaking up oxygen with skin, which allows them to stay in the winter for several months under the water.

Battle temper

We have already said that this is one of the varieties of turtles that people are really afraid of and avoid meeting with them, especially in rural areas where residents know that a large individual can eat a hand to a person.

In the water, our heroine behaves more calmly than on land. Probably, in the water the cayman turtle, the photo of which you see in our article, is less restrained in movements, so it feels more protected. When two such individuals collide, one of them necessarily dies - these turtles have a "bad habit" to bite off the opponent's head. If she senses that the enemy is stronger than her, she releases a fetid musky liquid like a skunk.

This turtle is not afraid of man at all. For her, he is a typical threat that should be bitten if the potential enemy is nearby. At the same time, she throws her head forward lightly, grabbing for the limb closest to her.

Cayman turtle at home

All of what we said earlier, should make fans of exotics before you get such a pet, it's good to think. First, it's dangerous. Secondly, the cayman turtle at home - an expensive pleasure, it will be too costly for a person with an average income. Perhaps, it is better to look at other varieties of turtles, for example, to trionics.

Cayman Turtle - content

We advise immediately to drop the idea of a typical aquarium - this turtle grows throughout life. It is more expedient to immediately buy the largest aqua-terrarium to last it for long. And fenced pond is even more suitable for caiman turtles. Thus, a cyman turtle at home will feel as comfortable as possible.

If you decide to purchase a terrarium, its minimum dimensions should be as follows: two meters in length, one meter in width, one meter in height. Cayman turtles in the aquarium will not survive the usual. Once again, we emphasize that this size is minimal, in a smaller pond your pet can not turn around.

Now we need to install two lamps. One is luminescent (for lighting), and the other is ultraviolet with a UVB labeling of 10%. This radiation is necessary for all reptiles. The duration of irradiation is not less than 12 hours daily.

A thick layer of soil is laid on the bottom of the terrarium. It may be sand, silt, into which your turtle can dig. An important role is played by the temperature in the terrarium - it should not exceed +25 degrees.

You will need a very powerful filter that will work around the clock. It will be necessary to create an island of land. To do this, you should use stones that are three times the size of the turtle's head, otherwise it will swallow them.

Probably, it is not necessary to say that there should not be other animals in the terrarium, even if they are larger. The tortoise will necessarily eat them, maybe not instantly, but it's only a matter of time.

Adult specimen should be taken for the back part of the shell, to hold tight, taking into account its weight and paw strength, as it will necessarily break out.

This turtle is completely indifferent to pH, water hardness, decor and other attributes of a familiar aquarium. For her, a lot of free space is important and good, powerful filtration, frequent water changes, as food remains rotten, and this can cause various diseases of the turtle.

How to clean the liquid properly?

In order for the water to remain clear and clear to remove the turbidity from the remains of the turtle's fodder and faeces, we recommend that you install an external filter designed for aquariums, whose volume is 3 times the volume of water you have poured. This filter will perfectly cope with the task in hand and you will not need to change the water frequently in the terrarium, it will only be enough to replace it.

Like other large turtles, the representatives of this species are very strong. As a rule, they change the interior "according to one's own taste." In this they are helped by their powerful paws. Therefore, if an internal filter is installed in the aquaterrarium, then the probability is that, at one point, the turtle will simply tear it from the glass. From such troubles external filter is insured, therefore it will serve you long enough. Do not forget that dirt accumulates inside the device, so you need to wash it regularly.

Do we need a beach turtle?

Yes, it is necessary, despite the fact that cayman turtles quite rarely bask on the shore. But they like to crawl over it. In the aquaterarium, there is no such possibility for a turtle, so equip the shore with a standard - a lamp for heating and a UV lamp.

Content at the cottage

If you move to a dacha in the spring and summer, you can take the turtle with you. But in advance for it it is necessary to prepare a pond. To do this, a barrel, a bath, or a special plastic pond that can be buried in the ground, and beautifully to decorate it. It is desirable that the pond is in a sunny place. Conditions in it should be the same as in the terrarium. However, if the turtle will be exposed to direct sunlight, then there will be no need for a UV lamp. To your pet did not escape from the pool, you should not fill the water in it completely, but on top you can cover it with a grid. If the pond is on a level with the ground, then most likely, it will jump into the frogs, which the turtle will catch and eat.

It is necessary to carefully monitor the fact that small pets do not approach the pool - cats who, after seeing such a miracle, can put their paws in the water, small and very curious dogs, etc. If you have small children, So that they only approached the pond with the accompaniment of adults.

Food

Immediately want to please future owners of caiman turtles - they do not suffer from lack of appetite. These "babes" eat everything that swims past their predatory beak. If there is no food in the terrarium, it will eat the plants that are in it. With pleasure, the pet enjoys all kinds of fruits and vegetables, chilled meat or fish.

Proceeding from this, it will not be very difficult to make a diet for your pet. It should include all the necessary nutrients, minerals and vitamins. In autumn and winter, these turtles with great pleasure consume animal food - fish, meat, seafood, poultry, offal. The basic rule of feeding - food should not be too greasy.

In spring and summer, you can add freshly caught fish or frogs to this diet. At the same time, it is not necessary to clean and gut the fish, since its bones contain many microelements that are necessary for the tortoise. In the diet, do not add any vitamin supplements.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity caiman turtles reach to 18-20 years, that in comparison with the general life of turtles is not so much. The growing time can be traced along the length of the plastron, which by this time reaches about 14 cm.

In the natural environment, this process occurs in the spring. In captivity, cayman turtles mate at every opportunity. Male and female are better kept in different reservoirs, they can be unified only in the spring. Take care that the turtles do not maim each other, especially while eating. The female is endowed with a strong instinct to procreation, she can try to escape even from the indoor pool to lay eggs.

As a rule, on the shore, they lay off 10 to 15 eggs. Females tend to lay eggs, in warm sand, quite far from water. To organize a nest, turtles use everything that is available to them - vegetable debris, sawdust, etc.

The place for masonry is chosen by the female, and does it long and carefully. The selected plot is used constantly. Often, these turtles are attracted by roadsides, so quite often brickwork dies under the wheels of cars.

After 80-85 days of them appear turtles. Kids are afraid when they are picked up. They grow quickly, behave very actively. Eat a lot of both artificial and live food (guppies and earthworms).

Safety in communication

Anyone who has already started a cayman tortoise, and those who are only going to do it, you need to know that no one of this species has ever been able to tame. In her hands can be taken only in exceptional cases, when it must be transplanted, for example, to wash the terrarium. They bite since birth, so stock up with thick gloves.

To clean the shell, use a brush on the long handle, which must be rubber or metal. Such a tool made of wood or plastic will be easily bitten. It is desirable that at the time of your "communication" the turtle was full, then, perhaps, the desire to bite will be less.

If you are not afraid of the difficulties of keeping this animal, considerable material costs, and you just dream of seeing this overseas miracle in your pond, which can be considered a living fossil, do not doubt your own strength. In addition, not everyone can boast of the fact that in his house lives a turtle, which refers to such an ancient sight that her ancestors appeared on our planet before the giant dinosaurs.