The red-eared or yellow-bellied turtle belongs to the family of American freshwater turtles (from the Latin Trachemys scripta - painted or striated). This is the most common species among pet turtle lovers.
Buying such an exotic pet, many simply do not know the conditions of its maintenance, which is why most red-eared turtles are doomed.
The article will discuss the conditions of the red-eared turtles, whether turtles have teeth, as well as possible problems that every animal owner may face.
Appearance
The ears of the red-eared turtle are actually hidden under the muscles and skin. And this species of turtles was called red-eared 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. Juveniles have a bright green shell.
With age, the shell will turn brown, and in animals in 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 shell (carapace) is 18-30 centimeters, depending on the subspecies and sex of the turtle. Females are slightly larger than males.
And what paws do turtles have? Red-eared turtles have claws on their feet. There may be four or five in total.
Sense organs and voice
Red-eared turtles do not have vocal cords. The animal can snort, hiss with excitement and sometimes even make a sound that looks like a squeak. Hearing is very poorly developed, in contrast to the sense of smell and vision. Due to the fact that the ears are covered with skin, turtles feel only vibration with dull sounds.
The shell feels touch as nerve endings run through it. Turtles also have a sense of touch. Thanks to him, they can refuse tasteless food in favor of more delicious.
Animals don't breathe underwater. They go ashore to get some air.
Do turtles have teeth
Some red-eared turtle breeders warn that the animal can bite. So how many teeth does a turtle have? They don't actually have teeth. They are replaced by incredibly durable horn plates.
The teeth of the tortoise, as well as other species, can even bite the bones of small fish, and their bites are sometimes very powerful. If a turtle bites a person, he will feel pain and discomfort in the placebite. Moreover, an infection can get into the wound, since the turtle's mouth cannot be disinfected. The sea turtle has no teeth.
If such an unpleasant incident happened to you, the bite site should be urgently washed with a solution of peroxide and treated with brilliant green or iodine. Sometimes a patch or tight bandage is required. If, nevertheless, an infection has occurred, an urgent need to consult a doctor.
Do tortoises have teeth? In the photo you can see that they have no teeth, but only horny plates, like other members of this family.
How is the sex of an individual determined?
How many teeth does a turtle have, we found out. Now let's move on to gender. Red-eared turtles grow quite quickly. Animals reach sexual maturity by about a year. It is possible to determine the sex only when the individual reaches a size of more than 10 cm. It is possible to more or less accurately determine the sex only by 3-4 years if it is a male, and by 4-5 years if it is a female.
Females tend to be larger than males and have shorter tails. Also, their cloaca is located closer to the base of the tail. Males will have more curved and longer claws on their paws, and the lower abdomen will be slightly concave inward, making it easier for him to mate with a female.
Buying a red-eared turtle
Many people buy a pet without even knowing about the conditions of its maintenance, food and many other features. Of course, you can just go to the pet store or the market and buy the first individual that comes across, but professionals advise taking the animal to the veterinarian first.
Allthe fact is that often red-eared turtles are often kept in inappropriate conditions, which can cause them to get sick, have wounds on their bodies.
If you already have turtles at home, it is better to keep the purchased individual in quarantine for several months. Also, you can not plant an adult animal with young animals, as this is fraught with deliberate and accidental injury to animals. Only those individuals that are similar in terms of conditions of detention and size can live together.
After a change of residence, the turtle will adapt within a couple of days. At this time, it may be overly active or, conversely, inhibited. Better not touch her and don't forget to feed her.
How to handle turtles
When you pick up a turtle, be extremely careful. They are usually slippery with water, hiss, resist, and sometimes have a bowel movement. How many legs do turtles have? Like all animals, it has four paws, at the ends of which there are sharp claws. They can defend themselves with them when you pick them up.
Also, a turtle can bite painfully. So do red-eared turtles have teeth if they bite? No, they are not, but they bite with powerful plates. It is best to hold the animal with both hands. A lot of turtles suffer because of awkwardness, as well as their owners.
After touching the turtle, wash your hands with soap and water. 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 bevectors of salmonellosis.
It is best if the turtle does not have access to the kitchen or to the places where you prepare food. Do not wash the aquarium and its accessories in the kitchen sink. If you take proper care of the animals, they will live from 40 to 50 years.
How to care for babies
Buy turtles as babies. 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 a baby turtle's shell, it could be the yolk sac, from which only hatchlings get their nutrients. You don't have to touch him. It will resolve itself after some time.
It is better not to hold babies in your arms, as they are very frightened, get stressed and get sick. Also, do not knock on the glass of the aquarium, the cubs need a few days to get used to the environment. It is important to maintain a stable air and water temperature during this time. Water should be 26-27 degrees and air 32 degrees.
Contents
Domestic red-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 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 he alth of adults. Before filling the aquarium, water must bestand for five days. If you put a powerful filter in the aquarium, you can change the water less often.
Of course, in the aquaterrarium where the turtles will live, there must be an island of land, occupying a quarter of the total area of the aquarium. Animals get out on land to rest and warm themselves. To maintain the desired temperature, place an ordinary incandescent lamp on top of the aquarium and point it at the island. This will warm up both the air and the water.
This island should have a textured surface so that the turtle can cling to the slope with its claws. How many paws a turtle has and what kind of claws they have, now it’s clear.
If the island is plastic and smooth, the animal simply won't be able to climb it. After some time, the pet will learn to eat from this island, which will be very convenient when feeding. This is what the island should look like:
- One side of the shore must be completely covered with water.
- It should be placed in such a way that the turtle cannot get stuck between the shore and the wall of the terrarium.
- While heating water, it must not release toxins.
- The island must have a textured finish.
- The shore must be stable, because turtles are strong enough animals and can easily turn it over.
Except for turtles, keeping fish in an 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 must be at least 30 cm from the edge of the aquarium to the highest point of the island. Turtles can seem very clumsy, but this sign can be deceiving. 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 homes, they can crawl into hard-to-reach places, get injured, and without food and water they will quickly die. Turtles can also be threatened by other pets.
So, here is a list of items needed to keep red-eared turtles:
- aquaterrarium or aquarium with a volume of 100-200 liters;
- 100 Watt water heater;
- external or internal filter;
- UV lamp designed for introductory turtles with UVB 10%;
- lamp;
- incandescent lamp for heating the shore and water;
- thermometer;
- island/shore/land.
And that's just the bare essentials. If any of it is missing, the animal will soon die. If you do not have the opportunity to install an incandescent lamp above the aquarium, in warm weather take the “house” out into the sun, but only so that direct sunlight does not get inside.
Red-eared turtle feeding
These animals are predators, despite the fact that the turtle has no teeth. Protein food must be included in their diet. Babies are best fed with small worms, for example, bloodworms. Alsogradually you can 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 poured over with boiling water.
Small bones can not be pulled out, because the turtle itself will cope with them. From fish, cod, pollock, blue whiting, gobies and others are suitable for turtles, but not oily.
But only meat should not be fed to the animal. So the turtle can develop rickets. It is better to replace it with liver. From liver, give preference to liver, beef, chicken heart. You can diversify the diet with shellfish, small snails, frogs, tadpoles, squid.
Algae, cabbage leaves, pieces of lettuce are suitable as additional nutrition. You can also feed aquarium fish food, artificial food, live aquarium plants, vegetables.
Young animals are considered omnivores. Adults prefer plant foods more. Be sure to additionally give the turtles calcium so that the shell grows and forms normally.
No matter how many teeth a turtle has or if it has any, animals will happily eat anything they can get their hands on. They may even bite a large fish, causing it to simply die.
How much to feed turtles
It all depends on the age, size and type of food you feed your pet. Up to a year it is better to feed animals every dayartificial food designed specifically for turtles. Also give them plant foods every day, even if they refuse.
An older turtle can be fed every other day or two. It is advisable to give plant foods more often.
Young animals should receive 50% protein from the total diet. Most specialized feeds contain only 40% protein, so supplement your babies with insects, earthworms, and small fish. The teeth of the turtle, the photo of which is presented in the article, will be able to chew everything. More precisely, powerful plates are used for this purpose.
For adults, artificial food should be reduced to 10-25%, and the rest of the diet should be made up of various plants and vegetables. It does not matter how many teeth a turtle has, the main thing is that it eats well, and only in this case the individual will grow he althy and active.
Do red-eared turtles hibernate
Yes, an animal can hibernate, but only under unfavorable 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 hibernate.
Russia's climate is not suitable for them. The critical temperature is below 10 degrees. Only in the aquaterrarium do individuals feel comfortable.
Also, the animal can go into hibernation with some diseases. If this happens, it is better to take him to the vet.
Aggressive state and fights
Aquarium should be considered asa small pond where some individuals may exhibit dominant behavior towards others. In a fight, one individual can easily injure another with its claws or even bite.
We have already found out how many teeth the red-eared turtle has - none, but they bite not with teeth, but with plates. Males often chase the female, which can eventually end in a serious fight with bites, a severed tail, and even death.
If a new one is planted with an older individual, 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.
The red-eared turtle is a wild animal, so this behavior is quite acceptable for it. If you want to avoid fights, keep your pets alone. This type of turtle feels great without the opposite sex. This way they can live a lifetime.
How red-eared turtles breed
The male starts mating games at about 2-4 years old, when his shell reaches about 10 cm in diameter. It all starts with a kind of courtship: he will defiantly swim in front of the female, turning his face to her, and quickly waving his paws right in front of her. They breed in nature in March-June, but animals at home can mate for all 12 months.
When the turtle is in position, she needs to prepare a separate place where she canlay eggs. She often bears them without a male, but only in this case they will remain unfertilized.
You can feel the eggs between the hind legs and the shell. Just do it with great care, as they are very fragile. A large female can lay up to 20 eggs at a time. Under comfortable conditions, the female lays up to four clutches per year.
The fact that the turtle is ready for breeding will be shown by its behavior: it will imitate digging movements with its hind legs and try to crawl out of the terrarium. Throughout this period, she will stay ashore longer.
It is important to provide her with extra calcium and warm rays. It is important to prepare a place for masonry. If it is not there, she will simply lay her eggs in the water or continue to wear them, as a result of which they will harden. If you see several eggs in the water, immediately make a nest for the turtle. Most likely, she is still pregnant and will lay the rest of the eggs where necessary.
If the female does not lay eggs, they will simply harden, leading to infection or even death of the animal. Even if you have prepared the nest correctly, it is not certain that everything will go well, since the pet may be sick or already in old age. If she tries to lay eggs and fails, take her to the vet.
You can notice a bad condition by the reduced activity of the individual, shortness of breath, swelling near the cloaca. If an unpleasant liquid flows out of the animal and an odor appears, most likely the eggs inside have broken. In this case, you need to urgentlygo to the veterinary clinic.
Now it's clear if turtles have teeth. In the photo you can see what the red-eared turtles look like. The article presented the features of their cultivation, feeding and reproduction. When starting such a pet, think about whether you can take care of it, because the turtle lives for a very long time and will probably please not only you, but also your children.
