CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How to distinguish between stone turtles and grass turtles?

First, let me talk about the stone turtle:

The body is generally brown, with the head being a lighter color, and darker spots on the sides and jaws. There may be a ridge with a light stripe on it, but the spurs may not. The rear edge is clearly serrated. The carapace may have clear characteristic growth rings, and may also have a delicate pattern of radial grooves. There is a notch on the plastron. Some larger females have a straight line length of up to 7, but most tend to be smaller, 5-6. The carapace length of adults is 13-18cm. The body color of the Japanese stone turtle is brown with a slight yellow tint. Its head is olive brown. There is a faint ridge on the back. The rear edge of the carapace is serrated. The edges of the limbs and tail have orange or dark orange stripes. Females are larger than males. Males have long tails.

Living Environment

They are strong swimmers and live in streams, rivers, ditches, and other bodies of water throughout Japan. This turtle lives in cool mountain streams and ponds. The water is fast and cold. They eat aquatic insects, snails, tadpoles, frogs, weeds, and fruits. They hibernate at the bottom of streams or ponds.

recipe

This turtle is omnivorous, but prefers a carnivorous diet. Worms, insects, snails, shrimp, forage fish, cat and dog pellets, etc. can be used as part of its diet. Aquatic plants can also be fed, as well as other green leaves, vegetables, and occasionally some fruit. They will also accept a granular floating turtle diet formulated specifically for aquatic turtles. A calcium source such as cuttlefish bones or boiled egg shells should also be provided.

Reproduction habits

The female turtle lays her eggs in a relatively dry nest, with a clutch of 4-10 eggs. She can produce 1-3 clutches per season. These eggs are often eaten by predators such as raccoons, weasels and four-striped snakes. Their incubation period is 2-3 months.

Tortoise

Wild Chinese tortoises are mainly distributed in mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and other places. In mainland China, except for the Northeast, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Xinjiang,

Except for Xinjiang, it has been found in other places. Wild grass turtles live in rivers, lakes, and ponds, and feed on small fish, shrimp, insects, frogs, plants, etc. Grass turtles are semi-aquatic animals. They often crawl

The turtles come out of the water and bask in the sun on rocks or wooden stakes. The five-year-old grass turtles enter sexual maturity. In mid-April every year, the male and female grass turtles mate in the water. The female turtles lay eggs between May and August. Each female turtle lays three to eight eggs per year.

Four times, each time laying five to seven eggs. The female turtle lays the eggs in the sand not far from the water. After 50 to 80 days of natural incubation, the young turtles emerge from their shells and are ready to lay eggs.

The grass turtle can grow to about 23 cm in length. The average life span is 50 years. Compared with other common turtles, the grass turtle grows slowly and is much smaller. The grass turtle has the habit of hibernation. Every year, when the water temperature drops below 15 degrees Celsius, the grass turtle begins to hibernate. The grass turtle buries itself in the moist sand or hides in

Hibernate in rock crevices.

The method of distinguishing the sex of grass turtles is shown in the picture above. The tail of male turtles is thinner and thicker at the base. The cloaca is farther from the bottom of the plastron. The distance between the cloaca and the bottom of the plastron of female grass turtles is closer. This method of distinguishing sex is more accurate, but it may be wrong when used to identify young turtles, because young turtles are not fully developed and the difference between them is not obvious.

It's not obvious yet.

Other differences in size between male and female: Male grass turtles have a slight indentation on their plastron, while females have a flat plastron. Male grass turtles get darker as they age. Most male grass turtles lose their neck markings when they reach adulthood, and their entire bodies turn jet black. This is why grass turtles are called "turtles." Female grass turtles generally stay the same color throughout their lives, and are slightly larger than males of the same age.

There are many foods to feed pet tortoises, including small fish and shrimp sold in aquarium stores; various meats used in home cooking (raw meat, not cooked); various special feeds for turtles; and even cat and dog food. Generally speaking, feed them twice a day in the summer when the temperature is high; once a day in the fall when the weather turns cooler.

Feed once. For adult grass tortoises, some breeders recommend feeding them once every other day. Because they are already adults, their metabolism is relatively slow, and overfeeding is actually bad for their health. Most grass tortoises still retain their eating mentality in the wild. In the wild, food is not easy to obtain, so when grass tortoises eat, they always eat voraciously.

Overfeeding. So when feeding them, be careful not to overfeed them.

If your turtles have just arrived, they may not eat right away. This is normal, don't worry. As long as the water temperature in the tank is right, the turtles will naturally eat after they get familiar with the new environment. Compared with other pet turtles, turtles adapt to new environments relatively quickly.

Tortoises need to bask in the sun. Vitamin D produced by sunlight is beneficial to the absorption of calcium and is very important for the growth of the tortoise shell. If your tortoise is kept in a courtyard or balcony where the sun can shine directly, that would be the best. When letting the tortoise bask in the sun, it is best to let the sun shine directly on the tortoise, because glass will block certain wavelengths of light and affect the effect. When sunbathing in the summer, you should also pay attention to having a shaded place for the tortoise to choose shaded places to prevent heatstroke. If you keep tortoises indoors and don't have time to sunbathe them. It is recommended that you use a professional reptile lighting lamp. According to the equipment instructions, simulate irradiation for a period of time every day. The aquarium for raising turtles needs to have a land area, which should be arranged with driftwood or stones so that the tortoise can go ashore to rest and take a light bath. The water level in the aquarium should not be too high, and the water level should be slightly above the turtle's back.

Grass turtles are hardy and easy to keep. If the water quality, temperature and food are well controlled, they will hardly get sick. Common bacterial infections and skin injuries can be cured by soaking and applying aquarium medicines and antibiotics. You can consult an aquarium store or pet hospital for details.

Tortoises have the habit of hibernating in winter. If you live in a place where winter comes early, lasts long, and is very cold, it is best to warm it up, shorten the hibernation time, or cancel hibernation.

Generally, the heating temperature is 25 to 30 degrees Celsius. The hibernation time is controlled to about three months. Hibernation is very beneficial for healthy adult tortoises. The heart rate is lowered during hibernation, which makes the tortoise live longer. In addition, the tortoise may need to complete some hibernation in this period in order to develop. Therefore, it is best to respect their hibernation habits and ensure that there is a

During the winter, the turtles are kept warm and fed as they are in summer. Many young turtles die during hibernation, so hibernation is not recommended for young turtles born that year.

Grass tortoises are very intelligent and have strong interaction with people. When you approach, they will swim towards you and ask for food; when you feed them, they like to take food from your hands. Each grass tortoise has its own unique personality. You will find many interesting phenomena in the process of raising it. It is a very interesting pet. The turtles mentioned in ancient Chinese legends, myths, and fables mostly refer to grass tortoises. The ancient Feng Shui theory believes that turtles are animals that can bring good luck and longevity to people. Turtles can also predict good and bad luck, ward off evil spirits, and bring you wealth... Although these are all superstitious sayings circulated among the people, but... Since there are still many unknowns for us, let's take them seriously for now. Anyway, it's not a bad thing.

Can you tell the difference after reading this?

1. Distinguish from appearance characteristics

Stone Turtle

The stone turtle is also called the yellow-throated turtle. Its carapace is about 15 to 20 cm long. It has a small head with a smooth olive green top. The upper beak is concave in the middle, the eardrum is clear, and there are two yellow cherry-like lines on the side of the head passing through the eyes. The throat is light yellow. The carapace is flat, brownish yellow-green or brownish black, with three ridges, the central one is more obvious, and the rear edge is slightly serrated. The plastron is yellow, and there is a large ink stain on the outside of each shield. The limbs are relatively flat, brown-gray on the outside, yellow on the inside, with five fingers on the forelimbs and four toes on the hind limbs, with webbed fingers and toes, and a thin and short tail.

Tortoise

The Chinese soft-shell turtle has an oblong body, with a slightly raised carapace, three longitudinal ridges, and obvious ridges. The top of the head is dark olive, with smooth skin in the front and fine scales in the back. The plastron is flat, with a notch at the rear end. The neck, limbs, and exposed skin are gray-black or dark olive. The male is smaller, with a long tail and a foul smell. The female carapace is light brown to dark brown, the plastron is brown-black, the tail is shorter, and the body has no odor. There are yellow linear markings on the sides of the head and neck, with three longitudinal ridges, and the rear edge is not serrated; the male's back is black or all black, and the female is brown, with a slight yellow on the belly, and both have dark brown markings; the limbs are relatively flat, with claws, and full webs between the toes.

2. Distinguish from living habits

Stone Turtle

The yellow-throated turtle lives in hilly areas, mountain basins and river waters in mid-mountainous areas. In the wild, it lives in rivers.

It lives in rice fields and lakes, and often moves around in nearby bushes and grass. During the day, it mostly plays and swims in the water, looking for food. On sunny days, it likes to stay on land, and sometimes crawls on the shore to bask in the sun.

When the weather is hot, they often hide in the water, dark places or buried in the sand, shrinking their heads and not moving. They are afraid of being disturbed. Once they encounter enemies or moving shadows, they will immediately dive into the water or shrink their heads and not move. They come out at night to move around and look for food. The yellow-throated turtle is omnivorous and has a wide range of food. It likes to eat fish, shrimp, shellfish, snails, aquatic plants and other foods. In artificial breeding, it is generally fed with fish, shrimp, meat or poultry offal.

The Yellow-throated Terrapin is very active from the end of April to the end of September every year. The most suitable environmental temperature is 20℃～30℃. Around 15℃ is the transition stage for the turtle to go from active state to hibernation state. The turtle goes into hibernation at around 10℃. At the end of March, when the temperature is around 15℃, the turtle wakes up, but only crawls and does not eat. In April, the temperature rises to around 20℃ before it eats. After hibernation, the turtle loses about 50 to 100 grams. When raising it in a pond, the water level can be more than twice the height of the turtle shell or higher. But there must be a small island in the pond for the turtle to rest or bask in the sun.

Tortoise

Turtles are reptiles that breathe with lungs. They have well-developed keratin scales on their bodies that can reduce water evaporation. Sexually mature turtles lay their eggs on land, without the need for a complete

Fully aquatic stage.

Turtles are omnivorous animals. In nature, their animal feed mainly consists of worms, small fish, shrimps, snails, clams, cockles, earthworms, as well as animal carcasses and offal, hot pig blood, carrion, etc.; their plant feed mainly consists of plant stems and leaves, melon and fruit peels, wheat bran, etc.

The first is the feeding stage, which starts in late April and accounts for about 2-3% of the turtle's body weight; the food intake is the most active from June to August, accounting for about 5-6%; the food intake will decrease in October, accounting for about 1-2%. The second is the dormancy stage. Turtles are cold-blooded animals, and their body temperature changes with the external temperature. From November to April of the following year, when the temperature is below 15 degrees, the turtles dive into the mud at the bottom of the pond or lie quietly in the loose soil covered with straw to hibernate; from May to October, when the temperature is above 35 degrees, the turtles' appetite begins to decrease and enter the summer dormancy stage (a short lunch break). During this stage, the turtles are busy with estrus, mating, reproduction, feeding, accumulating nutrients, and looking for a place to overwinter.

Turtles like to live in burrows in groups. Sometimes, because they live in too many groups, their carapaces become smooth and their limbs become raw, but they still refuse to disperse.

The tortoise's shell is green and it loves to eat vegetables!!!!