Trachemys or yellow-bellied tortoises belong to the family of American freshwater turtles (from the Latin Trachemys scripta - painted or striated). This is the most common species among lovers of domestic turtles.
Buying such an exotic pet, many simply do not know the conditions of its maintenance, which is why most of the red-eared turtles are doomed to death.
The article will discuss the conditions of keeping the red-eared turtles, about whether the turtles have teeth, and also about the possible problems that each owner of the animal may encounter.
Appearance
The ears of the red-eared turtle are actually hidden under the muscles and skin. But this species of turtles was called rubella because of the red stripes that are located on both sides of the head next to the eyes. It is these signs that make the red-eared turtle recognizable and original. In young individuals, the shell has a bright green hue.
With age, the shell will become brown, and in animals of old age, a pattern of yellow stripes will appear on the shell. The neck, head and limbs of the turtle are decorated with a pattern of green and white wavy spots and stripes.
The length of the carapace (carapace) is 18-30 centimeters, depending on the subspecies and gender of the turtle. Females are slightly larger than males.
And what are the paws of the turtles? On the feet of red-eared turtles there are claws. In total there can be four or five.
Sense organs and voice
In red-eared turtles, the vocal cords are not developed. The animal can snort, hiss from excitement and sometimes even make a sound that looks like a squeak. Hearing is very poorly developed, in contrast to sense of smell and vision. Due to the fact that the ears are covered with skin, turtles feel only vibration with muffled sounds.
The shell feels touch, because nerve endings pass through it. Turtles also have a sense of touch. Thanks to him, they can refuse tasteless food in favor of more delicious.
Animals do not breathe under water. To breathe air, they rise ashore.
Do turtles have teeth
Some breeders of red-eared turtles warn that the animal may bite. So how many teeth does the turtle have? In fact, they have no teeth. They are replaced by incredibly strong horn plates.
The teeth of a land tortoise, as well as other species, can even bite the bones of small fish, and their bites are sometimes very powerful. If the turtle bites a person, he will feel pain and discomfort at the site of the bite. Moreover, an infection can get into the wound, since the turtle's oral cavity cannot be disinfected. The teeth of a sea turtle are missing.
If such an unpleasant incident happened to you, the bite should be immediately rinsed with a solution of peroxide and treated with brilliant green or iodine. Sometimes a patch or tight dressing is required. If, nevertheless, the infection has occurred, you must immediately consult a doctor.
Does a tortoise have teeth? In the photo you can see that they have no teeth, but only horn plates, like other representatives of this family.
How to determine the sex of an individual?
How many teeth does the turtle have? We learned. Now let's move on to determining sex. Trachemys grow fast enough. Animals reach maturity by about a year. Sex can only be determined when an individual reaches a size of more than 10 cm. Sex can be more or less accurately determined only by 3-4 years if it is a male, and by 4-5 years if a female.
Females are usually larger than males, and their tail is shorter. Also, their cesspool is located closer to the base of the tail. Males on their paws will have longer curved and longer claws, and the lower abdominal part is slightly concave inward, making it easier for him to mate with the female.
Purchase of Red-eared Turtle
Many people buy a pet, not even learning about the conditions of its maintenance, feed and many other features. Of course, you can simply go to a pet store or market and buy the first individual that comes across, but professionals are advised to take the animal to a veterinarian first.
The thing is that often red-eared turtles are often kept in inappropriate conditions, because of which they can hurt, have wounds on the body.
If you already have turtles at home, it is better to keep the purchased individual in quarantine for several months. Also, you can not put an adult animal in the young, as this is fraught with intentional and accidental injury to animals. Only those individuals that are similar in terms of keeping and size can live together.
After the change of residence, the turtle will adapt within a couple of days. At this time, it may be overly active or, conversely, inhibited. It’s better not to touch her and do not forget to feed her.
How to handle turtles
When picking up the turtle, be extremely careful. They are usually slippery from the water, hissing, resisting, and sometimes empty the intestines. How many paws do turtles have? Like all animals, there are four legs with sharp claws at the ends. They can defend them when you pick them up.
Also, the tortoise can bite painfully. So do the red-eared turtles have teeth if they bite? No, they are not, but they bite with powerful plates. Best of all, hold the animal with both hands. Due to the awkwardness, a lot of turtles and their owners suffer.
After you touch the turtle, wash your hands with soap. This is especially true for children, because the animal lives in a different environment, where completely different bacteria. Change the water in the aquarium regularly and keep it clean, as its inhabitants can be carriers of salmonellosis.
Best of all, if the turtle will not have access to the kitchen or to those places where you cook food. Do not wash the aquarium and its accessories in the kitchen sink. If you take good care of animals, they will live from 40 to 50 years.
How to care for babies
Buy turtles as kids. It is important to ensure that they eat well and are in comfortable conditions. Cubs have a high mortality rate, are exposed to various diseases, and can die for no apparent reason.
If you notice something unusual on the shell of a small turtle, it may be a yolk sac, from which only the hatched babies receive nutrients. Do not touch it. It will resolve itself after some time.
It is better not to hold the kids in their arms, as they are very scared, fall into stress and get sick. Also, do not knock on the glass of the aquarium, the cubs need a few days to get used to the situation. It is important to maintain a stable temperature of air and water during this time. Water should be at a temperature of 26-27 degrees, and air - 32 degrees.
Content
Domestic eared turtles feel most comfortable in a spacious aquaterrarium with a volume of at least 100 liters. Water should be changed regularly, but at least once every 30 days.
In babies, it is better to change the water more often, because clean water is the key to the rapid growth of young animals, as well as the health of adults. Before filling the aquarium, water must be defended for five days. If you put a powerful filter in the aquarium, you can change the water less often.
Necessarily in the aquaterrarium, where I will live the turtles, there should be an island of land, occupying a quarter of the total area of the aquarium. Animals are selected on land to relax and warm themselves. To maintain the desired temperature, install an ordinary incandescent lamp on top of the aquarium and point it to the island. This will warm both air and water.
This island should be with a textured surface so that the turtle can catch on the slope with its claws. How many paws of a turtle and what claws are on them is now clear.
If the island is plastic and smooth, the animal simply will not be able to climb on it. After some time, the pet will learn to eat from this particular island, which will be very convenient when feeding. Here's what the island should be:
- One side of the coast should be completely covered with water.
- It should be located in such a way that the turtle could not get stuck between the shore and the wall of the terrarium.
- In the process of heating water, it should not emit toxins.
- The island must have a texture coating.
- The shore should be stable, because turtles are strong enough animals and can easily turn it over.
In addition to turtles, keeping fish in the aquarium is not recommended, as they are predators. If they are not fed enough, they will simply hunt for fish. Do turtles have teeth to eat fish? There are no teeth, but with their powerful plates that replace their teeth, they can easily bite the back of a fish.
The height of the walls in the aquarium should be at least 30 cm from the edge of the aquarium to the highest point of the island. Turtles may seem very clumsy, but this symptom can be misleading. Sometimes pets are very active both in water and on land, and often they just crawl out of the aquarium.
If they jump out of their home, they can crawl into hard-to-reach places, be injured, and quickly die without food and water. Other pets can also threaten turtles.
So, here is a list of items needed to keep the red-eared turtles:
- aquaterrarium or aquarium with a volume of 100-200 liters;
- 100 watts water heater;
- external or internal filter;
- UV lamp for introductory turtles with UVB 10%;
- lamp;
- incandescent lamp for heating the shore and water;
- thermometer;
- islet / coast / land.
And this is only the most necessary. If one of them is missed, the animal will soon die. If you can’t install an incandescent lamp above the aquarium, in warm weather take out the “house” in the sun, but only so that direct sunlight does not fall inside.
Red-eared tortoise feeding
These animals are predators, despite the fact that the tortoise has no teeth. Protein food must be included in their diet. It is better to feed babies with small worms, for example, bloodworms. You can also gradually give small river crustaceans.
Adults will not mind eating cockroaches, earthworms, boiled and raw meat. Several times in 7 days you can feed the animals with fish, which must first be cut into small pieces and doused with boiling water.
Small bones can not be pulled out, because the turtle itself will cope with them. From fish, cod, pollock, blue whiting, bullhead and other, but not greasy, are suitable for turtles.
But only meat should not be fed to the animal. So a tortoise may develop rickets. It is better to replace it with a liver. From the liver, give preference to the liver, beef, chicken heart. You can diversify the diet through shellfish, small snails, frogs, tadpoles, squid.
Algae, cabbage leaves, slices of salad are suitable as additional nutrition. You can also feed with feed for aquarium fish, artificial feed, live aquarium plants, vegetables.
Young growth is considered omnivorous. Adults prefer plant foods more. Be sure to additionally give the turtles calcium so that the carapace normally grows and forms.
It doesn’t matter how many teeth the tortoise has and whether they even exist, the animals are happy to eat everything that they can reach. They can even bite large fish, which makes it simply die.
How much to feed the turtles
It all depends on the age, size and type of feed that you feed your pet. Up to a year, it is better to feed the animals every day with an artificial food designed specifically for turtles. Also, give them plant-based foods every day, even if they refuse.
An older tortoise can be fed in a day or two. It is advisable to give plant foods more often.
Young growth should receive 50% of the total diet. Most specialized feeds contain only 40% protein, so feed babies with insects, earthworms, and small fish. The teeth of a turtle, the photo of which is presented in the article, will be able to chew everything. More precisely, turtles use powerful plates for this purpose.
For adults, artificial feed should be reduced to 10-25%, and the rest of the diet should be different plants and vegetables. No matter how many teeth a turtle has, the main thing is that it eats well, and only in this case will the individual grow healthy and active.
Do red-eared turtles go into hibernation
Yes, an animal can go into hibernation, but only under adverse living conditions. In nature, the red-eared turtle lives in warm areas where the air temperature warms up to 40 degrees. If you constantly maintain the same conditions in the aquarium, your pet will not go into hibernation.
The climate of Russia is not suitable for them. Critical is a temperature below 10 degrees. Only in the aquatorrarium do individuals feel comfortable.
Also, the animal can go into hibernation with some diseases. If this happens, it is best to show it to the veterinarian.
Aggressive state and fights
The aquarium should be considered as a small pond, where some individuals may exhibit dominant behavior in relation to others. When fighting, one individual can easily injure another with its claws or even bite.
We have already figured out how many teeth a red-eared turtle has - none, but they bite not with teeth, but with plates. Males often chase the female, which in the end can result in a serious fight with bites, a torn tail and even death.
If a new one is planted on an adult, this can also provoke aggression. To avoid this, you can increase the space of the aquarium (buy more) or feed the turtles separately. You can also add a partition, plants or some kind of barrier so that the animals are out of sight of each other.
Trachemys tortoise is a wild animal, therefore such behavior is quite acceptable for her. If you want no fights, keep your pets alone. This kind of turtles feels great even without the opposite sex. So they can live a lifetime.
