How are turtles classified?

Domestic pet turtles are generally Brazilian turtles (with red linear stripes on both sides of their heads).

(1) General situation

Turtles, also known as scarabs, grass turtles, mud turtles and mountain turtles, belong to Reptiles, Turtles and Tortoises in animal taxonomy, and are one of the most common turtles. Turtles are distributed almost everywhere in China, but the yield in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River is higher. It is also produced in all parts of Guangxi, especially in the southeast and south of Guangxi. Foreign countries are mainly distributed in Japan and North Korea.

The tortoise shell is slightly flat, and the dorsal abdominal shell is fixed. The back shell is 65,438+00-65,438+02 cm long and 65,438+05 cm wide with three vertical ridges. There are yellow linear stripes on the side of the head and neck, slightly flat limbs, webbed fingers and toes, and claws at the end of toes except the fifth hind limb.

Turtles generally live in rivers, lakes, swamps, reservoirs and mountain streams, and sometimes they go ashore. In the natural environment, turtles feed on worms, snails, shrimps and small fish, and also eat the stems and leaves of plants. The tortoise is a temperature-changing animal with a body temperature of 65438 050℃.

When the temperature is higher than 10 degrees Celsius, it will enter hibernation. Tortoise activity is frequent from April to June every year, 65438+ 10. During this period, every day at sunset, turtles began to swim around in the water for food, and did not stop foraging until dawn, and often climbed ashore from 10 in the morning to 16 in the afternoon on sunny days, which was better than sunbathing on the shore. The feeding peak of turtles is from June to August, and the food intake decreases gradually in June 6- 10/October, and they hibernate in June-March.

In addition, turtles also have the following characteristics: low reproduction rate and slow growth. A turtle weighing about 500g will gain weight after feeding for one year100g. But the tortoise has a strong hunger tolerance, and it is not easy to starve to death even if it is deprived of food for several months. Strong disease resistance and high survival rate. So turtles are relatively easy to raise artificially.

Tortoise shell is a valuable medicinal material called "tortoise plastron", which has the effects of nourishing heart and kidney, nourishing yin and reducing fire, nourishing blood and strengthening body; At the same time, it is also a hemostatic and can be used to treat hematemesis, hematuria and uterine bleeding. In addition, turtle meat is extremely rich in protein and vitamins, and it is a delicious food and tonic. In recent years, due to overfishing, the resources of wild turtles are getting less and less, but the demand for turtles in domestic and foreign markets is increasing. Therefore, breeding turtles artificially can not only make people rich, but also protect the provenance of wild turtles.

(2) Feeding management

1. Feeding method

There are many ways to raise turtles artificially, such as pond culture, tank culture, wooden basin culture and reservoir pond culture. Each way has its own advantages and disadvantages, so you can choose according to local conditions. For general professional households and small-scale farms, it is better to build pond culture because of its convenient management and great economic benefits.

Construction of breeding ponds: Young turtle ponds and breeding ponds can be constructed according to the specifications and methods of scarab young turtle ponds and breeding ponds. Adult turtle ponds are similar to those of scarabs, but the area can be larger to breed more turtles. If the adult turtle pond is large, mixed culture of fish and turtles can be carried out, and some herbivorous and filter-feeding fish can be raised in the pond to improve the comprehensive economic benefits of breeding. It should be noted that turtles can also make holes and escape easily, so the wall base of the fence should be about 50 cm underground.

2. Turtle feed and feeding

There are many kinds of food for turtles, including rice, wheat, peas, small fish, shrimp, insects and snails, among which the favorite food is small fish, snails, corn and rice. In artificial feeding, in order to meet all kinds of nutrients needed for turtle growth and avoid poor growth and anorexia caused by single feed, various feeds should be adopted, such as fish, shrimp, snails and mussels in animal feed and rice, wheat and corn in plant feed. In order for turtles to fully digest these feeds, corn and peas need to be crushed and soaked for about 2 hours before feeding, and other large pieces of food must be chopped before feeding. It should also be noted that in different periods of turtle growth, feed containing different nutrients should be given according to its growth characteristics.

The turtle's life is closely related to the climate, and it begins to eat at the beginning of April every year. From June to August, the feeding activity reached its peak and the weight gain rate was the fastest. 5438+ 10 After the temperature gradually dropped in June, its food intake began to decline. When the temperature drops below 10 degrees Celsius, stop eating and enter the hibernation period. Therefore, turtles should be raised according to their growth characteristics, and the general requirements are as follows:

(1) timing. The temperature is low in spring and autumn, and the tortoise is inactive in the morning and evening. It only feeds around noon, so it is more appropriate to feed at 8-9 am. From Grain Rain to the autumnal equinox is the peak season for turtles to feed, and it is in summer. Generally speaking, soft-shelled turtles are inactive at noon, and they are usually fed in the afternoon 17- 19, so it is more appropriate to feed in the afternoon 16- 17. Timing can make turtles eat on time, get more nutrition and ensure fresh feed.

(2) positioning. Fixed feeding points should be set up along the edge of the pool, and the feeding platform of the feeding point should be close to the water surface, which is convenient for turtles to swallow water and bite. The purpose of feeding the turtles in a fixed position is to make them form a habit, so that they can find food conveniently, and at the same time, it is convenient to observe the activities of the turtles and check their feeding situation.

(3) Qualitative judgment. The feed should be kept fresh, and the leftover food should be removed in time after feeding to prevent the feed from rotting and stinking, affecting the appetite of turtles and polluting the water quality.

(4) quantitative. The feeding amount of feed depends on the temperature, water quality, the appetite and activity of soft-shelled turtle, and also depends on the appetite and activity, and it is advisable to have a little surplus in the meal. Generally, feed for one or two days 1 time.

3. Feeding of young turtles

The newly hatched young turtles are weak in physique, gastrointestinal function and digestive ability, so they should not be put into the culture pond immediately. They should be carefully fed and cared for for for a period of time to improve the survival rate of young turtles.

The feeding and nursing principles of young turtles are: 1. Do a good job of cleaning and hygiene to prevent turtles from getting sick. 2. Control the appropriate temperature and astringency to facilitate its normal growth. 3. Young turtles gradually adapt to the external environment and eat by themselves. The specific method is: first, put the larvae in a small glass box and let them crawl for 3-5 hours. After the umbilical cord of the larvae dries and converges, soak it in 0.6% physiological saline for a while. After disinfection, put it in an indoor glass box or wooden basin for breeding. Never use your hands to break the umbilical cord of the young turtle, which will cause casualties of the young turtle. Change the water 1-2 times a day in the turtle breeding box, and strictly control the water temperature at 25-30 degrees Celsius. When the weather is hot, it is necessary to spray water into the breeding box many times to adjust the temperature and increase the oxygen in the water, so that the young turtles can grow normally under suitable conditions. Young turtles that have just hatched 1-2 days need not be fed. After 2 days, they will start to feed a small amount of grain feed, and then feed a small amount of mixed feed such as cooked eggs, ground fish and shrimp, frog meat, pumpkin and sweet potato. After 7 days' rearing, the young turtles are strong and can be transferred to outdoor breeding ponds for breeding.

4. Precautions for raising turtles

(1) Young turtles, adult turtles and parent turtles should be raised in separate ponds to avoid the phenomenon of turtles swallowing young turtles, and at the same time, it is convenient to determine the feed dosage and feeding management, and to observe and master the growth of turtles.

(2) Because turtles are gentle and timid, they should keep quiet around the culture pond to avoid affecting their normal activities such as foraging, sunbathing, mating and spawning.

(3) Change the water in the feeding pond frequently, keep the water clean, do a good job in the hygiene of the feeding pond, and prevent the turtle from getting sick.

(4) The sand in the open space between the pool and the fence should keep a certain humidity. Some cooling measures should be taken in midsummer, such as sprinkling water and planting some small shrubs.

(5) Before the hibernation period, check the growth of turtles, and give the weak breeders more feed that turtles like to eat, so that turtles can store a lot of nutrients, grow strong and survive the winter safely.

5. Hibernation management

Turtle is a temperature-changing animal, and its life is greatly affected by the environmental temperature. 165438+ 10 to March of the following year, when the temperature is below 100C, the turtle is still lying in the mud at the bottom of the pond or in the loose soil covered with straw, and does not eat and hibernate. At this time, its new metabolism is very slow and weak. It was not until the beginning of April that the temperature rose above l50C that the tortoise resumed its activities and ate a lot. During hibernation, there was no need to feed food or change water. The main work in this period is to keep warm, such as covering the open space around the pool and between the pool and the fence with straw; The second is to prevent tortoises from being attacked by natural enemies.

(3) Breeding technology

1. Male and female identification of tortoise

There are obvious differences in appearance between female and male turtles: the male turtle has a small body, a black shell, a slender trunk, a long tail and a thin handle, and a special smell; The female turtle has a large body, brown shell, prominent longitudinal edges, short and thick trunk, thick tail and short handle, and no special smell. A more reliable and accurate identification method is: in the breeding season of the tortoise, catch the adult tortoise, and when its limbs and head and tail are trying to shrink into the human shell, squeeze its head and limbs with your fingers so as not to give it time to breathe. At this time, the water from the accessory bladder is discharged from the reproductive hole of the turtle, and then the genitals slowly protrude. If only the longitudinal inner wall protrudes outward, it is a female turtle; If there is a connector with congestion, swelling and brown-purple protrusion, it is a male turtle. If it is in mating season, male turtles will also have milky semen.

breed

Turtles generally mature over 8 years old, 10 years old. The mating time of turtles begins in late April, usually from 17 to 18 in the afternoon. They mate on land or in water. Turtles lay eggs on land from May to August. Before turtles lay eggs, they usually climb to a secluded place far from the shore at dusk or before dawn, where the soil is loose (the soil water content is 5%-20%), and then dig holes alternately with their hind legs (generally, the hole depth is about 10cm and the diameter is 8- 12cm), and then lay eggs in the holes. After laying eggs, scrape them clean, cover them with soil, and level the soil with abdominal nails before leaving. Turtles have no habit of guarding holes and eggs; Another reproductive feature is that the maturity of eggs is not synchronized. Therefore, female turtles lay eggs 3- 14 times a year, and each time they lay eggs 5- 17.

When artificially raising soft-shelled turtles, before mating period, mature soft-shelled turtles are selected, carefully fed and supplied with sufficient nutrition, especially feed rich in protein, so as to help soft-shelled turtles produce excellent germ cells; Secondly, in the mating period of turtles, the sexually mature and strong male and female turtles are raised in a ratio of 1: 1 to make them naturally mate. During the spawning period of turtles, attention should be paid to keeping the breeding pond quiet and the appropriate humidity of the ground sand outside the pond, so as to facilitate the smooth spawning of female turtles. Finally, turtle eggs should be collected at any time for artificial incubation in order to obtain higher reproduction rate and improve economic benefits.

3. Artificial incubation of tortoise shells

The turtle egg shell is gray oval, 2.7-3.8 cm long and 1.3-2 cm wide. Under natural conditions, after 50-80 days of incubation, the young turtles break out of their shells. However, the natural hatching of turtle eggs is easily affected by external conditions such as temperature and light, and is endangered by natural enemies such as snakes, rats and ants, resulting in long incubation period and low hatching rate and survival rate. In order to improve the hatching rate of turtles, artificial hatching can be used. Specific practices are as follows:

(1) Egg collection: Male turtles like to gather under grass and tree roots and dig holes to lay eggs. Therefore, they can find turtle spawning holes and collect turtle eggs according to the soft soil or footprints left at acupoints. Because turtles mostly lay eggs at dusk or before dawn, it is best to collect eggs in the morning to avoid being hurt by the scorching sun.

(2) Egg selection: fresh and high-quality fertilized eggs should be selected for artificial incubation. The sign of whether the egg has been fertilized is that the eggshell of the fertilized egg is smooth and not sticky with mud; However, unfertilized eggs vary in size, with fragile or sunken shells and sticky sediments. To check whether the eggs are fresh and high quality, you can observe them in the sun. For example, a rosy egg is a good egg, and a turbid or smelly egg is a bad egg. In addition, don't choose abnormal eggs.

(3) Artificial incubation of turtle eggs: wooden pots, washbasins and incubation trays (70cm×50cm× 15cm shallow wooden boxes) can be used as incubators. First, lay a layer of fine sand about 5 cm on the bottom of the incubator. In order to facilitate embryo development, the "animal pole" of turtle eggs (referring to the larger end of the eggs) is placed upward on fine sand, then the eggs are covered with a layer of fine sand about 3 cm thick, then covered with a wet towel, and finally the incubator is placed in a ventilated place. Temperature and humidity are the key to the success or failure of incubation. Too high or too low temperature and humidity are not conducive to the embryonic development of turtle eggs. During artificial incubation, the temperature should be controlled at 28-320℃, and water should be sprayed 1-2 times a day to maintain proper humidity. At the same time, we should pay attention to prevent natural enemies from harming turtle eggs. In this way, after 50-60 days of incubation, young turtles can be hatched.

(4) Prevention and treatment of common diseases

Generally speaking, turtles have strong adaptability and disease resistance, and are not easy to get sick. In artificial breeding, turtles generally don't get sick as long as they pay attention to cleanliness and hygiene at any time and often change water in the breeding pond. But sometimes the following diseases and enemies appear:

1. Cold

Sick turtles are slow-moving, with bubbling nose and often open mouth, which can be regarded as a cold.

Treatment: Ganmaoling and Analgin can be dissolved in water for soft-shelled turtle, and 0.2 ml gentamicin can be injected into the muscle of soft-shelled turtle's hind leg. Or inject 1 0,000 units of penicillin, and the injection dose of turtles weighing more than 0.5 kg can be increased to 50,000 units each time. Generally, continuous medication and injections can be cured in 3 days.

2. Enteritis

This disease is mostly caused by intestinal bacterial infection caused by water pollution or feed deterioration. Symptoms are that the head of the sick turtle often looks around, and the feces are sticky and bloody, "and it stinks; Loss of appetite and emaciation.

Treatment: change water and feed fresh bait many times a day; Intramuscular injection of chlortetracycline or chloramphenicol, 0.5 ml for each sick turtle, and the injection amount of turtles weighing more than 0.5 kg can be increased to 1 ml for 3 days. Add a small amount of chloramphenicol or furazolidone to the bait for feeding.

3. Mycosis

The disease is mostly caused by mold infection after skin injury of soft-shelled turtle, which is characterized by red, white and necrosis of skin and serious mildew spots.

Prevention and control methods: Be careful in the process of transfer, stocking and fishing to avoid turtle body injury. If the turtle is injured before entering the pool, apply 1% malachite green ointment or sulfanilamide ointment to the affected area. Once the diseased turtle is found, it should be isolated in time and disinfected with 20%-30% lime water in the whole pool; The sick turtle is coated with purple liquid medicine for 7 days, and a small amount of oxytetracycline powder can also be added to the feed for 3 days.

4. Soft disease

This disease is mostly caused by malnutrition and insufficient sunshine, which is characterized by loss of appetite, general weakness, listlessness, slow action and slow growth.

Treatment method: feed a complete feed with good palatability and rich nutrition, and add calcium tablets to the feed; Increase the sunshine time and bask in the sun 2-3 times a day.

5. Enemy injury

The natural enemies of turtles are mainly mice, ants, snakes and some birds. Rats are the most harmful. They will bite or even kill turtles. Ants often crawl and eat cracked turtle eggs, so attention should be paid to prevent these natural enemies from invading people in aquaculture management.

(5) Technology

The medicinal part of the tortoise is mainly the tortoise shell. The processing method of raw tortoise shell, vinegar tortoise shell and tortoise shell glue is the same as that of scarab. Please refer to the section on breeding scarabs.