CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How many times a year does a soft-shell turtle reproduce?

How many times a year do turtles reproduce?

Turtle breeding

Under natural temperature conditions, soft-shelled turtles reach sexual maturity when they are 4 to 5 years old. When the water temperature reaches above 20℃, they begin to estrus and mate. They mate once and lay eggs many times. They lay eggs 2 to 3 times a year in the north and 4 to 5 times in the south. The spawning period is from May to August, and the peak period is from June to July. The spawning time is generally in the second half of the night (0 to 6 o'clock), which is related to the soft-shelled turtle's preference for a quiet environment. The soft-shelled turtle lays eggs by digging holes and burying them with sand after laying, so a sandy spawning ground should be set up around the pond.

How do turtles mate?

With the arrival of summer, sexually mature tortoises begin to display various courtship and mating behaviors. During courtship and mating, due to energy consumption, feeding is somewhat different from usual, or they may suffer neck bites or shell bruises, requiring special care and prevention.

Burmese tortoises mating

1. Tortoise estrus, courtship, and mating

The signs of estrus in land tortoises are different from those in water turtles. Take the Burmese tortoise as an example. During the estrus period, the area around the nostrils on the head of a sexually mature male tortoise becomes increasingly red, and the genitals may occasionally be exposed involuntarily.

1. Smell: When a male turtle takes a fancy to a female turtle, he will actively use his nose to sniff the back half of the female turtle's body.

2. Impact: Then use the shell to ram the female turtle in an attempt to conquer the target.

3. Chase: The female turtle will run away and the male turtle will chase.

4. Impact: Continue to impact after catching up. Or just ride on the back.

5. Riding on the back: The male turtle will wait for an opportunity to move out and ride on the female turtle.

6. Mating: If the female turtle is conquered, she will slow down and move slowly or stop. The male turtle's penis will extend and insert into the female turtle's cloaca, and mating can take place. Strong male tortoises will mate every morning and evening.

Leopard tortoise mating

In addition to conquering female tortoises by ramming, male tortoises in estrus will also use ramming to declare their sovereignty to other male tortoises.

Male Burmese tortoise exposing his genitals

A male Burmese tortoise hits a female Burmese tortoise

A series of photos of a male Burmese tortoise chasing and riding a female Burmese tortoise

2. Daily care during estrus

Feeding amount: If a female tortoise in estrus is frequently disturbed by a male tortoise, her appetite will decrease slightly and her spirit will change. If she was more active before, she may become a little quieter in estrus. Male tortoises in estrus will show an increased appetite and good spirits. At this time, you need to provide more food to the male tortoise than usual, because courtship, mating or collision behaviors in estrus require more energy.

Types of food to feed: According to research, foods high in zinc can help improve the sexual ability of male turtles. You can occasionally feed them foods high in zinc, such as bananas, but because bananas are harmful to the digestion of the tortoise's stomach and intestines, you should not feed them too much.

Notes on feeding: The food fed needs to be cleaned up in time to prevent the turtle from eating rotten food and causing enteritis. Physical discomfort will reduce mating behavior.

3. Prevent and control injuries during courtship and mating

1. It is also very easy for turtles to get injured during the estrus period, such as penis prolapse, shell bruises causing shell rot, etc.

Penis prolapse: Male turtles in estrus will occasionally expose their penis, which can be retracted by themselves, or during mating with female turtles, the penis is extended into the female turtle's cloaca, and the penis retracts into the cloaca by itself. If the penis is bitten by other individuals while it is extended, it will cause prolapse. In addition, long-term feeding of turtle food with too high hormone content, constipation, diarrhea, excessive fright, etc. are all causes of this disease. Long-term exposure of the penis can cause bacterial infection and tissue necrosis. If the penis is not retracted after 2-3 hours of exposure, congestion or hematoma or surface tissue necrosis will occur. The longer the penis is exposed, the less likely it is to retract. If there is no infection, it can be flushed and artificially retracted. If the infection is serious, surgical removal and anti-inflammatory treatment are required.

Weak genitals

2. Shell injury: A male turtle in estrus may cause shell injury if it hits a male turtle or a female turtle. Minor injuries do not require treatment, but serious injuries require disinfection and anti-inflammatory treatment, otherwise it may cause shell rot infection, and severe cases may require surgery.

3. Red and swollen cloaca: If the male turtle is too large and the female turtle is too small, and the size difference is too great, try to avoid mixed breeding during the estrus period. Forced mating may cause damage to the female turtle's cloaca, leading to inflammation and swelling. If the cloaca is already inflamed and swollen, it needs to be isolated, disinfected with povidone-iodine solution, and antibiotic ointment should be applied to reduce inflammation. After urinating or defecating, help the sick turtle clean its cloaca.

The above is a brief introduction to the relevant knowledge about the estrus period of land tortoises.

Turtles are oviparous animals. Every year from late April to early May, when the water temperature rises to about 20 degrees, the parent turtles begin to estrus and mate. It is better to choose old turtles that are more than 10 years old, weigh more than 3 kilograms, are strong, obese, and have no diseases or injuries.

During mating, the male turtle chases the female turtle in the water, then hugs the female turtle and mates on its back. The male turtle uses the copulatory organ to transfer semen to the female turtle's cloaca for internal fertilization.

After mating, the female turtle begins to lay eggs about 2 weeks later. Usually, the eggs are laid at night, and the egg-laying site is mostly chosen in the soft and moist sandy areas near the shore. The female turtle uses its hind legs to dig a hole in the soil, and then lays the eggs in the hole.

The hole is shaped like an overturned bowl, wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. The mouth of the hole is about 6 cm wide and the depth is 15 to 25 cm.

Female turtles can lay eggs several times a year, ranging from a few to more than 40. After laying, most of the eggs are piled up in several layers, wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. After laying the eggs, the female turtles use their hind legs to dig the soil into the hole, cover the eggs, and compact the soil to prevent other animals from discovering and destroying them.

The reproduction capacity of soft-shelled turtles is very strong, and they lay a lot of eggs. However, due to the influence of various factors such as natural enemy damage or climate change, the hatching rate of young soft-shelled turtles is greatly reduced, and the survival rate of young soft-shelled turtles is very low, with the natural hatching rate less than half. However, if artificial hatching is used, the hatching rate is higher, often reaching 70-90%, and they will not be harmed by natural enemies in nature, and the survival rate is relatively ideal.

Sex Identification of Soft-shelled Turtle

(1) Look at the body shape. Female turtles are rounder and thicker. Adult female turtles often have eggs. They are heavy and moist with less meat. Their carapace is slightly concave. Male turtles are nearly oval and thinner. Adult male turtles have more meat.

(2) Look at the tail. The female turtle’s tail is short and soft, with the tail tip not protruding from the edge of the skirt; the male turtle’s tail is long and hard, with the tail tip protruding from the edge of the skirt.

(3) Look at the distance between the hind limbs. The distance between the hind limbs of female turtles is wider, while the distance between the hind limbs of male turtles is narrower.

(4) Look at the plastron. The plastron of a terrapin is in the shape of a “ ”; the plastron of a male turtle is in the shape of a curved “five”.

(5) Look at the reproductive cavity. The reproductive cavity of female turtles is red and swollen during the spawning period; the penis of male turtles can be seen by squeezing the reproductive cavity.