Aquarium turtles: varieties, care and reproduction

Turtles are amazing river or water centenarians that are now found not only in their natural habitat, but also in apartments and houses. Aquarium creatures need special care and, of course, the right neighborhood.

The more popular home aquarium dwellers are, of course, the little turtles. You can buy them at any zoological store. The best option for novice breeders is dwarf individuals, which do not require huge costs for their maintenance. Such a mini-turtle grows up to 13 centimeters in length, so it will live peacefully in any aquarium. It is worth noting the most suitable turtles suitable for life in the aquarium.

This is the smallest representative of all turtles. The body length of an adult is no more than 14 centimeters. The average size of the shell does not exceed 7 centimeters. The main feature of these turtles is their very long neck.

The carapace of such a reptile is rather smooth, with a uniform color. However, at a very early age, three distinct furrows appear on it. The natural habitat of turtles is considered to be bodies of water with freshwater, as well as with a muddy bottom. They spend more than half of their lives in water.

In terms of keeping in an aquarium, these are the most unpretentious individuals. Because of this, they have become so popular. They got their name due to the fact that after a certain period of time a specific smell emanates from them. This most often occurs when aquatic reptiles are frightened.

Such water turtles are all too common among aquarium hobbyists. They can be recognized by small yellow spots that are located on the shell. In addition, they can also be seen on the neck and on the head and on the paws. Their body length does not exceed 12 centimeters. The carapace on the belly is yellow. With a lot of black spots. In their natural environment, they live in swampy areas.

The snake-necked turtles include flat sea reptiles. Their body length does not exceed 15 centimeters. However, there are rare individuals with a body length of up to 18 centimeters. Such marine inhabitants differ from their counterparts by the presence of a beautiful yellow-orange pattern on their heads. Outwardly, it resembles a crown.

The carapace is dark brown in color, in addition, it has a yellow edging. The neck is covered with small spines. The paws and tail of the reptile are dark in color, which looks quite interesting against the background of the variegated body color. In addition, flat turtles have antennae.

This subspecies of turtles is very common in zoological stores. The body length of such reptiles does not exceed 13 centimeters, which makes it possible to keep them in aquariums. Reeves pond turtles come in a variety of colors: black, brownish yellow, and dark brown. The neck and feet are most often completely black or gray-green, with white lines on either side. In addition, they have a rather peaceful nature.

In addition to these swimming turtles, there are several other interesting individuals worth noting.

• Fringed reptilewhich can weigh up to 15 kilograms. For such a creation, an aquarium must be purchased for at least 250 liters.
• Pond slider is a medium-sized reptile and can grow up to 30 centimeters in length. The carapace is colored bright green. The neck, head and legs are patterned with green or white stripes.
• Chinese Trionix weighs up to 5 kilograms with a height of 35-40 centimeters. The carapace of such a reptile is more like a frying pan. Its upper side is painted gray-green. The rest of the body is brownish green.

It is very important to properly care for these reptiles. First of all, aquariums must have a substrate, which must necessarily include coarse sand and fine gravel or ordinary soil that does not contain any additives. You can feed your pets with different products, since they are not too demanding on food. For this, products such as:

• vegetables - cucumbers or zucchini;
• fruits - for example, apples or pears;
• seafood - squid, shrimp, or even low-fat fish;
• meat - it can be either raw or boiled;
• different greens - for example, mint or dandelion leaves, clover or alfalfa;
• you can use worms, locusts or crickets;
• cereals - such as wheat or sunflower seeds.

Don't forget about mineral supplements, egg shells, bone meal, or shell rock. In addition, the diet must necessarily contain branches of an apple or pear that animals can gnaw. Otherwise, their jaw may become deformed. Before starting a meal, the turtle must be warmed up. So the digestion process will be much faster.

Some owners try to feed their pets with dry food. However, experts do not recommend doing this, since it is better to give turtles only natural food. It is also important to ensure that no food remains in the water. They must be removed immediately. Otherwise, the water quickly becomes cloudy.

It is necessary to keep domestic reptiles in a container, the size of which will be at least 5-6 times the size of the turtle itself. The best option is considered to be a 150 liter aquarium. You need to pour a lot of water into it. When the pet grows up, its level should be gradually increased. The water temperature must be at least 25 degrees. If the pet is crawling around the apartment, then the room should also be warm.

Caring for your turtle also includes cleaning your tank regularly. It is necessary to change the water at least once a week, which takes no more than half an hour. It is best to use well-filtered water for your aquarium. Live plants can be left on the surface of the aquarium, which will also be excellent food for turtles. Do not leave a bowl of food at the bottom of the aquarium. It is best placed outside the tank.

Turtles usually live in an aquarium, but often try to crawl out of it. Therefore, you need to occasionally take them out and take them outside for a while, which will allow the reptile to always be in a good mood and stay healthy for a very long time. An ultraviolet lamp must be installed at a distance of 1.5 meters from the aquarium. Small reptiles need to turn it on for no more than 5 minutes twice a week. Then the lighting time should be gradually increased.

You need to install filters that will allow you to both purify the water and get rid of the odor in the aquarium. They can be both internal and external. The first ones are small in size and are also equipped with pumps and a diffuser. Such filters do an excellent job of water purification. The latter, in their appearance, resemble a small canister with a pump, which is taken out of the aquarium. Such a filter is connected to water by pipes. In addition, it is necessary to do a general cleaning of the aquarium several times a year, fully cleaning it.

Domestic reptiles reproduce well in captivity. Females regularly lay eggs, but they can also be infertile. For full reproduction, of course, you need two opposite-sex turtles. At home, reptiles mate most often from February to May. In addition, you can slightly stimulate the beginning of their mating. To do this, you need to raise the temperature slightly.

Before the start, the male takes care of his "lady" very interestingly. He begins to swim in front of her tail first, then tickles her cheeks with his claws. Sometimes males begin to beat the female with their shell on the shell. If the female is ready for mating, then she lets her chosen one approach her. This usually happens in water and lasts no more than 15 minutes. This is enough to lay 4 to 5 clutches of eggs.

In its natural environment, the turtle begins to lay eggs from the beginning of April. Laying lasts until September. First, she moistens the sand with her liquid, then digs a hole up to 20 centimeters in diameter. After that, it lays 5 to 15 eggs in it and covers them with sand. In order for the reptile to do this in the aquarium, it is necessary to make an artificial beach for it. To do this, place a cuvette with slightly moistened sand in it, the layer of which will not exceed more than 5 centimeters. To make it easy for the turtle to get there, you need to make a special ladder and carefully attach it to the ditch.

If the reptile has laid eggs directly in the water, they should be immediately removed from there and transferred to the sand. Most often, experts recommend buying a separate aquarium for the time of mating. Its volume should not be less than 100 liters, and water should fill it by about 10 centimeters. The mating process and its consequences must be monitored. The future of the offspring depends on this. If mating does not occur, then the pair must be seated separately and only after a while the mating should be repeated again.

A very important issue is the compatibility of reptiles with other inhabitants of aquariums.They may not get along with everyone. You should not settle small fish in a container with turtles, because these reptiles are considered predators and immediately eat them. This is especially true for red-eared and marsh turtles. Besides, they will need a special area with "land", which is completely unnecessary for other aquatic inhabitants.

Aquarium turtles can be kept with larger fish. These can be American cichlids, catfish or even carp, or other large fish. Two-clawed pig-nosed aquatic turtles will be able to get along in the same aquarium with such fish. They feed mostly on vegetation and squid meat. In addition, this type of reptile does not need an island among the aquarium at all.

To learn how to care for turtles, see the video below.