A pet can become a true friend and a source of positive emotions for a person. It is important to know in advance all the details of the care and maintenance of the animal that is planned to be brought into the family. What does a Mediterranean tortoise look like? Description for children and adults, photos, as well as interesting facts about the animal are given in the article below. What to feed and how to properly water a reptile? What conditions would be required to keep such an exotic friend as the Mediterranean tortoise?
What do we know about Mediterranean tortoises: habitat
Like any pet, the Mediterranean tortoise will require conditions close to the natural environment to keep a person in a dwelling. The heat-loving and sun-loving reptile lives, depending on the variety, on the territory of the countries of the southern European region, in semi-desert or steppe areas, in the region of the Caucasus Mountains andTranscaucasia.
Two of more than twenty varieties of this land turtle can be found on the territory of our country. These are the Nikolsky tortoise, the Mediterranean tortoise, which lives exclusively in the Russian subtropics of the Krasnodar Territory, and the Pallas tortoise in certain regions of the Dagestan Republic, which are listed in the Red Book. However, selling in pet stores and keeping these rare animals at home is prohibited.
Appearance (description)
What does a Greek (or Mediterranean) tortoise look like? A description of this reptile can be found in any reference book. An adult is a medium-sized, only 15-30 cm, turtle with a powerful and fairly strong shell. The weight of the animal is rarely more than three kilograms. The most obvious difference from the equally popular Central Asian tortoise is the number of toes on the reptile's paws: this species has as many as five, while the Central Asian "relatives" have only four fingers on each paw. The color of the shell is brown, with a pronounced spotted pattern, the color of the young reptile is somewhat brighter.
The age of a turtle can be determined by examining the ring pattern on its shell: the more rings on the surface, the older the animal.
What is interesting about homemade tortilla?
Those who are just planning to get a turtle as a pet, it makes sense to know right away that such a pet needs to provide an ideal combination of external conditions, nutrition and hygiene - only in this case the Mediterranean tortoise will be able to livelong life, at least 25-30 years.
And of course, at the initial stage, all this will require certain financial costs. Is a homemade Mediterranean tortoise 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 towards a living creature - all this can be taught to a child by a Mediterranean tortoise. Interesting facts about this reptile, discovered by scientists, allow us to conclude that the turtle will not become a “living toy”, but a true friend. Here are just a few interesting details:
- The Mediterranean tortoise completely refutes the assertion that all tortoises are clumsy and slow creatures. Young he althy reptiles are happy to move around the house: the higher the temperature, the faster the speed of the “turtle run”. In addition, this species is able to climb to a considerable height for a turtle, clinging to ledges and bumps with its claws. For example, they may well climb onto a chair or bed.
- Land species of turtles have excellent hearing and vision, and are able to distinguish smells. Added to this is the ability to memorize objects and human faces, to respond to the intonation of the voice.
- To some extent, turtle shell contains phosphorus. Because of this, an amazing feature was noticed to accumulate sunlight (if the reptile spent the whole day under the influence of sunlight) and exude a slight glow at night.
- Turtleshardy and can go without food for a very long time, slowing down and hibernating.
Also, each reptile can have its own character traits and habits, which will certainly make it an interesting object for observation and can interest both adult family members and children.
Reptile home: where to put your pet?
Even before you bring your pet home, you should take care of the terrarium - "turtle manor", where the Mediterranean tortoise at home will feel as comfortable as in the natural environment.
This requires a tank, preferably made 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 install live green plants, if only for fear that the turtle will eat them. Of the required elements in the terrarium, you will need to install:
- Equipment for lighting and heating.
- Shelter.
- Feeder and drinker.
If the size of the terrarium allows, you can dig a container under the bathing pond. The advantage of such a device will be the additional physical activity of the reptile. But at the same time, there will be more worries: you will need to regularly change the water and control its temperature.
The place to install the terrarium should be well lit,but away from drafts and direct sunlight. For the winter, the pet can be provided with conditions for hibernation. To do this, the tank with the terrarium is moved to a cool, dark place. Before switching to the "winter" mode, the reptile must be redeemed and not fed for one to two weeks. Changes in the behavior of the pet serve as a signal for the start of wintering: the turtle slows down noticeably and tries to burrow into the ground.
Lighting
To create the desired lighting in the terrarium, a powerful lamp equipped with a reflector is suitable. A 60-90 kW lamp will perform the function of not only a source of light, but also heating. Such an "artificial sun" is placed in the corner of the terrarium in such a way that the reptile has the opportunity to choose the temperature regime that is needed at the moment. For control, the air temperature is measured using a home thermometer: in the "sunny" corner, this figure 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 the whole day. At night in the terrarium, you can also make "night" by turning off the light source.
Additionally, it is worth installing an ultraviolet lamp in the terrarium. The optimal mounting height for it is from 20 to 40 cm from the height of the pet. Just an hour of operation of such a device will be enough for the turtle to receive a daily allowance of "sunlight substitute".
Shelter
Small shelterin which the turtle can rest - a "house" in a terrarium with opaque walls. It's best to buy a ready-made one from a pet store, but if you can't get a ready-made turtle house, you can replace it with a rodent dwelling, a fixed half ceramic flower pot, or a homemade box house made of wood or safe plastic.
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 foods
When choosing food products, one should be guided by the following principle: land turtles are natural vegetarians, so fruits, berries, greens and grass shoots will be the best food for them. Figuratively, all products traditionally considered "turtle food" can be divided into three categories:
- Forbidden (inappropriate): This includes animal foods - fish, eggs, meat, cottage cheese and cheese and other lactic acid and dairy products. In addition, grain products (cereals, cereals, bakery products), nuts, potatoes, corn, dates are strongly discouraged.
- Food that can be given for a change, but very infrequently 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, lettuce, sweet peppers, 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% vegetable food to 25-30% chopped fruit.
The choice of dry food should be treated with extreme care and caution. Many veterinarians generally advise against including this food in the diet, but if necessary, you can feed the turtle with special food marked “for land”.
Eating mode
The diet of a reptile is as important as the right choice of food and vitamins. To avoid abnormal weight gain or loss, it is recommended to feed your turtle as follows:
- Young individuals - 1 time per day.
- Adult turtles that do not need to actively grow eat about 3 times a week.
Vitamins & Supplements
If a Mediterranean tortoise lives in the house, caring for a reptile is impossible without properly selected mineral and vitamin food supplements. One of the necessary supplements for turtles is calcium. The lack of this element leads to distortion and incorrectshell growth and bone fractures. Calcium supplements are given once every one to two weeks, as a spray or loose powder. Powdered eggshells can serve as an alternative to powdered calcium.
Additionally, you can feed the reptile with a special vitamin complex, but also not more than once a week. For example, once every 10-12 days, you can add a couple of drops of Trivit or fish oil to your pet's food.
Kept with other animals
An important question is how much the Mediterranean tortoise can coexist in the territory of the house with other animals of its own or other species. The owners of this species of turtles claim that due to the low aggressiveness of these reptiles, several Mediterranean tortoises get along well in the same territory. However, the size of the terrarium should correspond to the content of such a number of animals. In addition, experts recommend seating turtles during the mating season or if individuals are clearly showing aggressive behavior to each other.
As for other types of domestic animals, it is better to protect the turtle from contact with them. Excessively active behavior of a dog or cat can cause stress and, as a result, illness of the animal.
