water turtles
Water turtles are beautiful animals to watch. From the graceful leatherback turtle with its impressive size of no less than 2.5 meters that seems to glide through the sea water to the smallest North American Mühlenbergs turtle with its size of 10 cm. These are examples of extreme animals that we fortunately do not encounter in the hobby. In the hobby it is mainly about the more "standard" species. However, it is important to have the correct information about caring for these animals. Turtles are very nice animals to watch, an aquarium with turtles can look very cozy.
water turtles
There are varieties that are completely uniform in color and varieties with beautiful drawings and patterns. Fortunately, hobbyists are becoming more and more aware that keeping aquatic turtles is quite a responsibility. Aquatic turtles need large enclosures where they can swim, sunbathe, eat and, if possible, lay eggs. Aquatic turtles are decent eaters and will try to eat anything. So watch out for your fingers. As with any animal, anything that is eaten comes out as feces. Turtles also like to eat in the water, so that often remains are left over. It is important that this is filtered out of residence as soon as possible. This requires a strong filter that filters the entire contents of the accommodation several times per hour and ensures that the water remains clean and clear. It is necessary to heat the water via an aquarium heating element, just make sure that it is tight and cannot come loose. It is best to ensure that the animals cannot reach the element.
Caresheet
Aquatic turtles can live to be an average of 35 years. It is wise to think about this before buying a water turtle. It is important that the animals have rooms in which they can swim well. Think of enclosures of at least 10 times the size of an adult animal. A turtle then has an enclosure where he/she can stay for its entire life. Aquatic turtles that are kept in an aquarium that is too small will certainly remain smaller, but this is all but good for the animal. Animals will develop deformities as the intestines continue to grow. In the worst case, animals will die prematurely as a result. Always check in advance the space you have to accommodate a water turtle. Usually small baby water turtles are offered in pet stores, unfortunately it is not yet possible to see what men and women are with these small animals. This is again something to keep in mind. Babies can be kept together without any problem, but several males cannot be kept together. Sex can only be seen after a number of years and as soon as the men reach puberty, there is a chance that they will fight with each other. These really need to be taken apart. A second aquarium must then be set up. The difference in sex can usually be seen by the length of the tail or length of the nails. Adult males have a longer tail when viewed from the cloaca or longer nails.
Nutrition
There are a lot of different products on the market to feed aquatic turtles. There are different types for such as sticks, pellets, sinking and floating food. The type depends on the type of turtle you have. A floating type of food can be given for most water turtle toads. But for the musk turtle (Sternotherus) for example, you want to use a sinking food. These are also mainly meat eaters and will skip green food. Make sure that the animals get enough minerals, a deficiency can cause the shell to become soft. Aquatic turtles do not have teeth, but their mouths consist of a number of plates that close over each other. It can best be compared to a pair of scissors.
