A pet can become a real friend and a source of positive emotions. It is important to know in advance all the intricacies of care and maintenance of the animal, which is planned to have in the family. What does a Mediterranean turtle look like? Description for children and adults, photographs, as well as interesting facts about the animal are given in the article below. What to feed and how to drink reptile? What conditions will be required to maintain such an exotic friend as a Mediterranean land tortoise?
What we know about Mediterranean turtles: habitat
Like any pet, the Mediterranean turtle will require conditions close to the natural environment for keeping in a person’s dwelling. The heat-loving and sun-loving reptile lives, depending on the variety, in the countries of the southern European region, in a semi-desert or steppe area, in the region of the Caucasus Mountains and Transcaucasia.
Two of more than twenty varieties of this land tortoise can be found on the territory of our country. These are the Nikolsky Turtle listed in the Red Book, the Mediterranean turtle that lives exclusively in the Russian subtropics of the Krasnodar Territory, and the Pallas tortoise in certain areas of the Dagestan Republic. However, it is prohibited to sell these rare animals in pet stores and keep houses.
Appearance (description)
What does a Greek (or Mediterranean) turtle look like? A description of this reptile can be found in any directory. An adult is a small, only 15-30 cm, turtle with a powerful and fairly strong shell. The weight of an animal is rarely more than three kilograms. The most obvious difference from the equally popular Central Asian tortoise is the number of fingers on the legs of the reptile: this species has five, while the Central Asian "relatives" have only four fingers on each foot. The color of the shell is brown, with a pronounced spotty pattern, the color of the young reptile is somewhat brighter.
The age of the turtle can be determined by studying the annular pattern on the shell: the more on the surface of the rings, the older the animal.
What is interesting about homemade tortilla?
For those who are just planning to buy a turtle as a pet, it immediately makes sense to learn that such a pet needs to provide the perfect combination of external conditions, nutrition and hygiene - only in this case the Mediterranean turtle can live a long life, at least 25-30 years.
And of course, at the initial stage, all this will require certain financial costs. Is a home Mediterranean turtle worth the effort? Will such a pet be able to interest children and become a good alternative to a warm-blooded animal?
Of course, curiosity, the ability to observe the habits and lifestyle of a pet, a careful and responsible attitude to a living creature - all this can be taught to a child by a Mediterranean turtle. Interesting facts about this reptile, discovered by scientists, allow us to conclude that the turtle will not be a "living toy", but a true friend. Here are just a few interesting details:
- The Mediterranean turtle completely refutes the assertion that all turtles are slow and slow creatures. Young healthy reptiles move around the house with pleasure: the higher the temperature, the faster the speed of the “turtle run”. In addition, this species is able to climb to a significant height for the turtle, clinging to the protrusions and bumps with its claws. For example, they may well climb onto a chair or bed.
- Land tortoises have excellent hearing and vision, are able to distinguish odors. Added to this is the ability to remember objects and human faces, to respond to voice intonation.
- To one degree or another, the tortoise shell contains phosphorus. Because of this, an amazing feature was noticed to accumulate sunlight (if the reptile spent all day under the influence of sunlight) and exude a small glow at night.
- Turtles are hardy and can do without food for a very long time, slowing down and hibernating.
Each reptile can also have its own characteristics and habits, which, of course, will make it an interesting object for observation and will be able to interest both adult family members and the child.
Reptile house: where to put the pet?
Before you bring your pet home, you should take care of the terrarium - the “turtle homestead”, where the Mediterranean turtle will feel as comfortable at home as in the natural environment.
This requires a tank, best of thick transparent glass, at least 50x40x30 cm in size. Soil is created at the bottom of the future terrarium: a layer of disinfected soil and a layer of clean sand or hay on top of it, at least 5 cm high. The further design of the terrarium depends on the owner’s imagination: the relief can be decorated with small clean stones or wooden elements, artificial plants. It is undesirable to establish living green plants, if only for fear that the turtle will eat them. Of the required elements in the terrarium, you will need to establish:
- Lighting and heating equipment.
- Shelter.
- Feeding trough and drinking bowl.
If the size of the terrarium allows, you can dig a container under the swimming pool. The advantage of such a device will be the additional physical activity of the reptile. But there will be more worries: it will be necessary to regularly change the water and control its temperature.
The terrarium should be well lit, but away from drafts and direct sunlight. In winter, the pet can provide conditions for hibernation. To do this, the tank with the terrarium is rearranged in a cool, darkened place. Before moving to the "winter" mode, reptiles must be redeemed and not fed for one to two weeks. A signal to the beginning of wintering is a change in the behavior of the pet: the turtle is noticeably slowing down and trying to bury itself in the ground.
Lighting
To create the desired lighting in a terrarium, a powerful lamp equipped with a reflector is suitable. A lamp at 60-90 kW will perform the function of not only a light source, but also a heating. Such an "artificial sun" is placed in the corner of the terrarium so that the reptile has the opportunity to choose the temperature mode that is needed at the moment. For control, the air temperature is measured using a home thermometer: in the "sunny" corner, this indicator should be at least 30-35˚, while in the opposite "cool" corner - about 24-26˚. For comfortable conditions, it is not necessary to turn on the lamp for a whole day. At night in the terrarium you can also make a "night" by turning off the light source.
Additionally, it is worth installing an ultraviolet lamp in the terrarium. The optimal mounting height for her is from 20 to 40 cm from the height of the pet. Only an hour of operation of such a device will be enough for the turtle to receive the daily norm of a “substitute for sunlight."
Shelter
A small shelter in which the turtle can relax is a “house” in a terrarium with opaque walls. It’s best to buy a finished one at a pet store, but if you don’t get a ready-made turtle house, you can replace it with a rodent dwelling, a fixed half of a ceramic flower pot, or a home-made wooden box or safe plastic box.
Heating
To heat a reptile in a terrarium, a special thermal cord or a small thermal mat is often used. The equipment must be placed on the floor or fixed on the wall in one of the corners of the terrarium (not under the lamp). It is not necessary to completely cover the entire surface of the terrarium; constant heating can be harmful to the internal organs of the animal.
How to feed a turtle: suitable products
When choosing food products, you should be guided by the following principle: land turtles are natural vegetarians, so fruits, berries, herbs and grass shoots will be the best food for them. Figuratively, all products traditionally considered “turtle food” can be divided into three categories:
- Prohibited (unsuitable): this includes animal food - fish, eggs, meat, cottage cheese and cheese, and other lactic and dairy products. In addition, cereal products (cereals, cereals, bakery products), nuts, potatoes, corn, dates are strongly not recommended.
- Food that can be given for a change, but very rarely and in small quantities. This category includes exotic fruits (bananas, pineapples, citrus fruits), cucumbers, cherries, asparagus, radishes and radishes, green onions, legumes, spinach and sorrel leaves, beets, seeds, garlic, tomatoes, cabbage.
- Foods that are good for your daily diet. These are berries, apples, young shoots of dandelion, nettle, clover, plum and nectarine, persimmon, parsley and dill, pumpkin, salad, sweet pepper, peaches and apricots, carrots, melon and watermelon (seedless and peeled), kiwi, grapes, zucchini and eggplant.
Food should be carefully chopped, best in the form of a mixture of several products, in the ratio of 70-75% of vegetable food to 25-30% of chopped fruit.
The choice of dry food should be treated very carefully and carefully. Many veterinarians do not recommend including this food in the diet at all, but if necessary, you can feed the turtle with special food marked "for land."
Diet
The reptile feeding regimen is no less important than the right choice of food and vitamins. To avoid abnormal increase or loss of body weight, it is recommended to feed the turtle in this mode:
- Young individuals - 1 time per day.
- Adult turtles that do not need to grow actively eat about 3 times a week.
Vitamins and Supplements
If a Mediterranean turtle lives in the house, reptile care is not possible without properly selected mineral and vitamin food supplements. One of the essential supplements for turtle is calcium. Lack of this element leads to curvature and abnormal growth of the carapace and bone fractures. Calcium supplements are given once every one to two weeks, in the form of a spray or free-flowing powder. An alternative to powdered calcium is crushed egg shells.
Additionally, you can feed the reptile with a special vitamin complex, but also not more often than once a week. For example, once every 10-12 days, you can add a couple drops of Trivita or fish oil to your pet’s food.
