Decorative Red-eared Turtle: Features of Care

Decorative red-eared turtle - one of the most popular species of freshwater reptiles contained in the home. In this article you will find out what equipment is necessary for keeping turtles, how to care for them, how to feed them, and much more.

Are red-bellied turtles decorative?

To answer this question, let's consider what generally means the word "decorative" when applied to pets. Decorative animal does not perform any useful actions, it is initiated only for the purpose of observation and communication. An ornamental animal does not guard the house, does not catch mice.

For example, take a rabbit. There is a rabbit wild, there is a rabbit home that is used for food, and there is a rabbit decorative - for keeping in the apartment as a pet. The word "decorative" is often associated with dwarfism (as many fine dogs are called decorative), but this attribute is not mandatory. Thus, the answer to the question of whether we can call a red-turtle designed for keeping in an apartment decorative, we will answer in the affirmative.

Are redhead turtles dwarfish?

In the network, you can meet questions: "How to distinguish a red-bell turtle from a decorative turtle?", "Are red-eared turtles dwarf?", Etc. The fact is that some unscrupulous sellers, they can even be called swindlers, sell ordinary red-bellied turtles, For dwarfish and calling while decorative. They give advice on care - feed once every 4 days with dried marrow or feed young animals 1-2 times a week.

Indeed, purchased from these vendors and living in the recommended conditions, turtles do not grow. How many can not have a red-bellied decorative turtle? Until a few weeks the animal can go hungry, but the owner will assume that this is normal, because the seller advised to feed less often! Turtles live in constant hunger, they do not have enough energy to grow, only to maintain the likeness of life. Animals die in a few years from exhaustion.

If you bought a "dwarf decorative" red-tailed turtle, which, according to the seller, will never grow up and remain as small and sweet, then know that you were deceived. There are no such turtles. Now let's talk about what the red-bellied tortoise is, how to care for it and how to feed it properly.

Description

Decorative red-bellied tortoise came to us from the north-eastern part of Mexico and the southern US states. Due to its unpretentious nature, the habitat of red-bellied turtles has expanded considerably. It can be found today in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

The name of the turtle was due to two red (sometimes orange or yellow) spots behind the eyes. Turtles grow comparatively small - up to 30 cm in diameter, but giants can meet up to 60 cm. In the first 2 years of life, the turtle grows intensively - up to 10 cm per year! With age, growth slows down, and the carapace of an animal adds 1-2 cm per year.

The lower part of the shell is dark with yellow stripes and fringing, and the color of the upper part varies with age and can be of different shades of green - from dark green to olive and even yellowish-brown.

Aquaterarium

Turtles are often recommended as a simple animal for beginners, and they are inexpensive - 100-150 rubles. But is it so unpretentious the red-bellied decorative turtle? Care at home will require both labor and material costs, because to buy the necessary equipment will have to pay 10-20 thousand rubles.

Decorative red-bellied turtle can be contained both singly and in a group. It should be noted that for the content of one specimen a water aquarium of at least 110 liters is needed. If you decide to purchase a few turtles, then they should be about the same age and size. In a group consisting of only males, there will always be conflicts, so notice in advance the sex of the animals.

The water in the aquarium should be warm, 26-28 ° C. The water level in height should exceed the width of the carapace of the animal, otherwise the turtle will not be able to turn over. Change the water 1-2 times a week, if you buy a filter, then you can do it less often - 1-2 times a month. To maintain the temperature, you need an aquarium heater.

The land in the aquaterarium should be at least 25% of the total area. The coast of the island must be inclined to rise from the bottom. The land should be located so that even a grown-up turtle could not escape to freedom - a minimum of 25 cm from the upper edge of the terrarium.

Lighting in the aquaterrarium

Decorative red-eared turtle in nature spend a lot of time on the beach, under the sun. They are in captivity replaced by a UV lamp. It is installed at an altitude of about half a meter above the aquatorium. First time the lamp is turned on 1-2 times a week for several minutes, gradually bringing the time to half an hour daily. UV rays disinfect the tortoise shell, without a special lamp the animal starts to ache.

The terrarium must be equipped with a conventional incandescent lamp for lighting and heating. The temperature of the air on the island should not rise above 30 ° C.

Food

How to feed a decorative red-bellied turtle? In order for the turtle to actively grow and be healthy, it needs to eat fully. At a young age, turtles prefer animal feed, with age they begin to eat more and more vegetarian food.

Young animals are fed daily, after two years - 2-3 times a week. You can feed as a special food, bought at a pet store, and natural food. It can be:

• Poultry meat, beef, horse meat (pork and lamb are not suitable due to fat content).
• By-products (liver, heart, lungs, stomach, etc.).
• Low-fat fish (aged for several minutes in hot water) or small live fish, shrimp, squid.
• Meat of snails.
• Insects. Not poisonous! Grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, flour worm, bloodworm, coretra, large daphnia.
• A live or dried hamarous.
• Aquatic plants - duckweed, hornwort, ceratopters, ludwigia.
• Vegetables and herbs - cucumber, lettuce, clover, dandelion.

Own food

It is possible to make a combined feed by yourself. Its composition can vary in different recommendations, but usually it is something like this:

1. Nutritional gelatin (30 g for half a cup of water).
2. Fish fillet - 150 g.
3. Squid fillet - 100 g.
4. Milk - 150 ml.
5. Egg chicken raw - 2 pcs.
6. Carrots - 70 g.
7. Apple - 50 g.
8. Cabbage - 50 g.
9. Calcium glycerophosphate - 10 tablets.
10. "Tetravit" - 20 drops.

The mixture can be stored in the fridge for a week. Before use, the cut piece should be warmed to room temperature. This amount is enough for 7-10 days for an adult turtle. As a source of calcium, bone marrow or crushed egg shells should be given daily.

If you choose a ready industrial turtle feed, then carefully read its composition. Do not eat fodder, consisting of only dried gammarus or bloodworm.

Feed the turtles in the water. The food left after 20-30 minutes after the meal should be removed from the terrarium.

The main mistakes of the owners of red-bellied turtles

So, in your house appeared decorative red-eared turtle. Care of this animal is not as simple as it seems. Very often, newly-minted owners are poorly oriented in the specifics of the animal's content. Let us consider their main errors.

1. "For a small turtle - a small aquarium." This reasoning is fundamentally wrong. The animal should swim freely at any age, and the turtles grow very quickly.
2. "A water turtle can live in an ordinary aquarium without sushi" - another mistake. A red-bellied turtle without an islet of land will simply drown!
3. "A UV lamp is optional." Once again, no, without UV rays, the tortoise will suffer from a vitamin D deficiency and begin to ache.
4. You can not feed the turtle the same, for example, only meat or just a gamarus. The diet should be varied.
5. You can not run water in the water area. It should be clean, no dregs or film! In dirty water, the young can refuse food.
6. Do not remove the peeling flakes from the shell, do not need to clean it with a stiff brush.
7. Do not buy two males or turtles that are significantly different in size, they will fight, conflict. A constant stress will lead to illness.
8. Do not enter the turtle itself into hibernation. At home, while maintaining the recommended temperature, the turtle will not go into hibernation.
9. All accessories for cleaning the aquarium should be separate, it is unacceptable to use sponges that you clean the room or kitchen.
10. Do not keep the turtle in the same fish tank, unless they are food for the reptile.
11. Do not release the turtle for a walk to the floor, it can quickly catch a cold.