Water turtles at home: content, food

The world of turtles is amazingly diverse. Quite tiny and huge, terrestrial and watery, brightly and effectively painted and having a completely unimposing coloring - all these reptiles inhabit our planet. Today we will talk about the content of water turtles at home.

Types of turtles

The family of Emydidae includes about ninety five species, united in thirty-three genus, which live in freshwater reservoirs of America, Europe, Asia and North-West Africa. Many water representatives of the family have a bright color, beautifully painted head, legs and armor.

Today we will focus on two types of these animals, which are most often bred at home. This is the Far Eastern trionix and red-bellied turtle. They are cold-blooded animals that need warmth, balanced nutrition, with the obligatory addition of vitamins and minerals. About what to feed the water turtle at home, we'll tell you later.

As pets, a red-eared or marshy species is planted. They are distinguished by their small size and relative simplicity in their care. Despite the small size, this reptile lives for a long time.

Water turtle turtle at home

Such a pet is produced by experienced and aquarists, and beginners in this matter. Red-bellied water turtles at home do not give special care to the owner. They are small and have a fairly long life.

Its name was given to the reptile for two spots, which are on the sides of the head. They can be yellow, rich orange or bright red. The length of the shell can range from 11 cm to 60 cm. It depends on the age of the turtle. It has an oval-round, streamlined shape. The whole shell is covered with horny platelets. The toes of the paws end in 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), water filtration.

Trionix

Another representative of water turtles, who are loved to house aquarists. Trionics is a soft-bodied reptile with a long neck, which distinguishes it from other representatives of a large family. Its legs have three fingers with sharp and strong claws. Features of the structure of the trionics are due to the watery lifestyle. The most time they spend, buried in soft soil. It can be silt, fine sand or small stones. In this way, they are trapping prey.

We equip the aquarium

Water turtles at home in the first place need an aquarium. The watertourerium should become the house for them. It should be horizontal, and its length should be at least twice the height, since for this type of reptile the area of their "house" is more important than the volume.

Turtles grow very quickly, so choose the aquatorarium spacious, so that your pet can move freely in it. The water part should occupy about 2/3 of the total area. The "shore" of the basin is desirable to be flat, as in natural conditions, so that your pet can easily go to the island of land.

The content of a water turtle at home should fully correspond to its habits in a natural environment. It is necessary to know that despite the fact that this reptile is called watery, it does not spend all the time in the water. She needs an island of land where she can warm herself and dry her shell.

Sushi Island

The size of such an island depends on the size of your pet. It should be free to fit there completely. It must be taken into account that the island must be shaped so that the water flowing down from the turtle does not stagnate on it. It should be made of non-sliding materials. Today, such islets can be offered to you in pet stores. This will save your time on its construction.

For the aquarium, you need a filter for water purification and an ultraviolet lamp. Without ultraviolet turtles poorly absorb calcium. The bottom of the aquarium is spread with pebbles or large soil. The reptile will surely try the ground with teeth, so the size of the pebbles should be larger than the head of the turtle. When buying, find out what kind of breed it is. This determines the temperature of the water in the aquarium.

Lighting and ventilation

To over-saturate the terrarium with light is impossible, but it's not worth saving on lighting. Water turtles, at home contained, especially appreciate the sun. It is vitally necessary for them to have 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 capacity and price category. The choice of a lamp depends on the volume of the terrarium, the number of turtles living in it, and so on. A detailed consultation will be given to you by the pet shop sellers. But experienced aquarists recommend purchasing such devices with a 5% UVB.

The whole day is spent in the water turquoise water turtle. At home, your pet can only be put in a different container of water at the time of harvesting or feeding. Do not let him go to the floor, because the animal can get any infection or injury.

Proper care for a water turtle at home involves the installation of a powerful filter. Even with its presence, 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 the water turtle at home, 80% of the health of your pet and the duration of his life.

The diet should include low-fat 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 should be alternated with seafood, aquarium snails. Turtles will not refuse from beef liver or earthworms.

Occasionally you can vary the ration of chicken or beef meat. All products are given in raw form. Adult bugs can add vegetable feeds to the menu. It can be salad leaves, pieces of pear, cucumber or apple. But most often water turtles at home eat special dry food, because they perfectly balanced the content of all the necessary vitamins and trace elements.

Pets that are less than ten centimeters in length should be fed every day, and individuals exceeding that size are fed no more than three times a week. Portion is made from the calculation of the amount of food that the animal eats in thirty to forty minutes. At the time of feeding, it is desirable to place the animals in a special container of water, so as not to clog the water in a permanent turtle house. We hope that you have learned that eating water turtles at home. These tips will help to maintain the health of your pet for many years.

Water purification

Most often, water representatives of the family eat perishable food. In addition, the natural allocation of animals strongly pollutes the terrarium. Previously, owners of such pets had to change water several times a week. Now, thanks to the fact that today modern filters of various designs have appeared on sale, their care has become much easier.

For a small aquarium with small individuals it will be sufficient to have a conventional internal filter equipped with a sponge. Such filters, which are suitable for small reservoirs, today there are many. They perfectly cope with their task and purify water from small and medium-sized particles of dirt.

Recently, special instruments have appeared and become very popular, which greatly simplifies the care of water aquariums. These are "biological filters". They use special bacteria that remove nitrogen compounds.

In addition, in the pet store you will be offered specialized fillers, which, as a rule, are made by foreign manufacturers. They help a long time to maintain water in an ideal condition and prevent the development of bacteria in it.

What should I pay attention to?

If care for the turtle is not carried out properly, your pet may get sick. The owner should be very attentive to the appearance of such symptoms as:

• Curve or soft shell;
• Swollen or permanently closed eyes;
• Skin peeling;
• lack of appetite;
• Runny nose.

The ill pet does not move much, spends a lot of time on the island of land, often refuses to feed. In such cases, cases can not be delayed - it urgently needs to be shown to the vet. To treat the turtle, it will be necessary to find a specialist who is dealing with these animals, because they are difficult to diagnose.

Care for a turtle must be a pleasure to the owner, only in this case both are satisfied - both man and animal. If you are too busy in the service, and therefore circumstances will not allow the turtle to give proper attention - wait with the purchase. Otherwise, the content of such a nice pet will turn into a boring duty for you, which will lead to illnesses and even his death.