European marsh turtle. European marsh turtle Walking in the fresh air and in the apartment

Turtles are very ancient creatures. To some extent, they are descendants of some species of dinosaurs.

There are a huge variety of turtles. They are divided into species, subspecies, orders, suborders. Many are already extinct, and some are on the verge of extinction. Some turtles can be kept in the house, but some are simply not meant for this.

Today we will try to understand all the diversity and types of turtles.

There are a huge variety of turtle species. In total there are more than 328 species, which are included in 14 families.

The tortoise order consists of two suborders, divided by the way the animal retracts its head into its shell:

1. Hidden-necked turtles, folding their necks in the form Latin letter"S"
2. Side-necked turtles with their head tucked toward one of their front legs

This is the simplest division. I will not give an official division into all types and subspecies here. For this we can read Wikipedia. The purpose of this article is not to confuse you, but to give the most convenient and simple classification. Therefore, we will divide turtles by habitat.

According to the habitat of turtles, there is the following classification:

• Sea turtles (live in seas and oceans)
• Terrestrial turtles (live on land or in fresh water)

In turn, terrestrial turtles last for:

• Land turtles
• Freshwater turtles

Types of sea turtles

Sea turtles are inhabitants of salt waters. Unlike their terrestrial relatives, they are large in size. They live in warm tropical waters, practically never visiting cold latitudes.

Sea turtles have remained virtually unchanged for millions of years since they appeared on the planet. They are characterized by developed forelimbs, used as flippers, and hind legs that are almost not involved in movement. Same with sea ​​turtles limbs cannot be retracted into the shell. Moreover, some species, such as the leatherback turtle, have no shell at all.

Despite the popular belief that turtles are slow animals, this is only the case on land, where they really look clumsy. However, in the water they are transformed, becoming examples of speed and superior navigator qualities. Even in Fiji (a state in the Pacific Ocean), the sea turtle is a symbol of the marine department. This is no accident - nature really rewarded these animals with qualities that allowed them to become excellent swimmers.

In addition, scientists have not fully figured out why, but turtles have amazing navigational abilities:

• Firstly, they accurately determine the place of their birth, and return exactly there to continue their offspring. And even after many years they remember the place of their birth.
• Secondly, sea turtles make epic migrations, presumably guided by the Earth's magnetic field, which prevents them from getting lost.
• And thirdly, some sea turtles, for example, the Ridley turtle, gather to lay eggs in the sand only on one day a year. Scientists suggest that only those individuals that were born in this particular place and were lucky enough to survive gather on the beach. Locals call this day "invasion" when thousands of turtles emerge from the water. This behavior suggests a collective consciousness among turtles.

When the turtle lays her eggs, she very carefully buries the eggs with sand, compacts it, and makes it invisible. Looking at such care for the eggs, it is difficult to imagine that the mother turtle does not experience any maternal feelings, and having done her job, returns to the ocean without waiting for the eggs to hatch.

The hatched turtle will likely live less than 10 minutes. Having got out of the sand, she rushes to the water, on the way to which a huge number of enemies await her, first of all birds of prey. But even when they reach water, most of them will be eaten by sea predators. Only one in a hundred turtles born will reach adulthood and return to this beach to continue their lineage.

Based on materials from: inokean.ru

The most famous representatives of sea turtles:

• Leatherback turtle
• Green (soup sea turtle)
• Loggerhead sea turtle (false carriage turtle)
• Hawksbill sea turtle (true caretta)
• ridley (olive turtle)

Types of land turtles

Terrestrial turtles make up the largest large group by the number of species included in it. This includes the land turtle family, which has 37 species, as well as the two largest families of freshwater turtles (85 species).

Terrestrial turtles also include many families, including 1-2 species.

Distributed throughout the hot and temperate zones (except Australia). Swamp turtles live in the steppe zone of Russia and the Caucasus.
Includes 5–7 species inhabiting the Mediterranean, the Balkan Peninsula, the Caucasus, Asia Minor and Central Asia.

Terrestrial turtles are herbivores. This is one of the few examples of the development of only plant foods among turtles. Serves them as food green grass and vegetation, with which they receive the necessary portion of water. In the habitats of many species, food and water are available only for short periods.

In such places, turtles spend most of their lives hibernating. Thanks to this slow metabolism, the life expectancy of turtles is very long, up to 100 - 150 years.

The most famous representatives of land turtles:

• Galapagos elephant tortoise
• Elastic turtle
• Steppe tortoise
• Elephant turtle
• Wood turtle

Types of land turtles

Land turtles, like freshwater turtles, belong to the species of terrestrial turtles.

Let's start with the land ones - a family of turtles with 11-13 genera, including about forty species.

Land animals with a high, less often flattened, shell, with thick columnar legs. The toes are fused together, and only the short claws remain free. The head and legs are covered with scutes and scales.

Among land turtles there are both small species, about 12 cm long, and giant ones, up to a meter or more in length. Gigantic species live only on a few islands (Galapagos, Seychelles, etc.). Specimens are known that have reached about 400 kg of live weight in captivity.

Compared to freshwater turtles, land turtles are very slow and clumsy, so in case of danger they do not try to escape, but hide in their shells. Another method of defense used by many land turtles is the sudden emptying of a very capacious bladder. When in danger, the Central Asian turtle hisses like a viper.

They are distinguished by phenomenal vitality and longevity. Life expectancy different types ranges from 50 to 100 years, sometimes up to 150.

Land turtles are primarily herbivores, but their diet must include a certain amount of animal food. They can go for a very long time without water and food, and in the presence of succulent vegetation they do not need water at all, but they drink it willingly, especially in the heat.

The most popular are the Central Asian and Mediterranean turtles. It's better to take a young turtle. This can be easily determined by the size of the shell (it is small) and behavior (reaction, better in young turtles).

Based on materials from: so-sha.narod.ru

The most famous representatives of land turtles:

• Panther turtle
• Yellow-footed turtle
• Yellow-headed turtle
• Red footed turtle
• Radiant turtle
• Steppe (Central Asian) turtle
• Mediterranean (Caucasian, Greek)

Types of freshwater turtles

Freshwater turtles are the largest family of turtles, comprising 31 genera and 85 species. These are small and medium-sized animals, the shell of which in most cases is low and has a rounded oval streamlined shape.

Their limbs are usually swimming, have more or less developed membranes and are armed with sharp claws. The head is covered on top with smooth skin, only sometimes there are small shields on the back of the head. Many species have very bright, beautiful colors of the head and legs, and often the shell.

The family is distributed unusually widely - in Asia, Europe, North Africa, North and South America. There are two main nodes in their geography. The main, most ancient center lies in Southeast Asia, where more than 20 genera are concentrated; the second center apparently formed later in the east North America, where 8 genera of freshwater turtles are found.

Most species are aquatic inhabitants, inhabiting bodies of water with weak currents. They move deftly both in water and on land, and feed on a variety of animal and plant foods. Only a few species switched to living on land for the second time, which affected their appearance and behavior. Although carnivory is characteristic of aquatic turtles, some species are strict vegetarians.

Just like land animals, they should be kept in terrariums, but only in special ones. You need a heated lamp, a “bank” where the turtle should go out to warm up, and actual water.

Trionics is a representative of the family of soft-bodied turtles.

It inhabits the Amur basin within Russia (which is the extreme northern limit of its range) almost from the mouth and south to the western part of Primorye, Eastern China, North Korea, Japan, as well as Hainan Island, Taiwan. Introduced to Hawaii.

Lives in fresh water bodies. Most active at dusk and at night. During the day it often basks on the shore. In case of danger, it instantly disappears into the water, burying itself in the bottom silt. It feeds on fish, amphibians, insects, mollusks and worms.

Also, red-eared turtles are very popular. Representatives of the genus can be found south of North America, Southern and Central Europe, South Africa, Southeast Asia.

The turtle got its name from the two elongated bright red spots behind its eyes. This spot may be bright yellow in the Cumberland turtle subspecies or yellow in the yellow-bellied turtle subspecies. The plastron is usually oval dark color with yellow lines and a yellow border around the edge.

The most famous representatives of freshwater turtles:

• Side-necked turtle

Unofficial division of turtles

These divisions are not included in the official ones, but I believe that it is worth dividing them according to these criteria to make your choice easier.

Types of pet turtles

Here again we will divide for convenience into land and freshwater turtles.

Land pet turtles

The most common type of turtle. Those turtles that we are used to seeing among our friends, acquaintances, and relatives. Moves slowly and a little awkwardly, waddling.

By the way, it is officially listed in the Red Book and prohibited for sale. But, as we see, most pet stores circumvent this ban.

In nature, it lives in southern, warm regions, in agricultural and desert areas. Central Asia. The sizes are medium, the shell is 20-30 centimeters long, yellow-brown in color with dark zones on the scutes. The limbs have four fingers.

The most comfortable temperature for keeping in a terrarium is 24-30 degrees. However, being in a closed space has a detrimental effect on the health and psychological state of the animal, and it dies early. It’s not for nothing that the Central Asian turtle was included in the Red Book!

This breed has about 20 subspecies, living in various landscapes and climatic zones. This is mainly North Africa, southern Europe and South-West Asia, the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, Dagestan, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan.

Accordingly, it loves warmth and sunlight. Depending on the subspecies, it has different sizes and colors of the shell. The dimensions of the shell reach up to 35 centimeters. Color – brown-yellow with dark splashes. On the back of the thighs there is a horny tubercle. There are 5 toes on the front paws, and spurs on the hind paws. Comfortable temperature for keeping in an aquarium is 25-30 degrees.

Externally similar to Mediterranean turtles, but much less. The dimensions of the shell are 15-20 centimeters (according to some sources – 30 centimeters). The color of the shell is yellow-brown with black spots. IN at a young age– bright, fades over the years.

A characteristic feature of this species is the conical spike at the end of the tail. Individuals living in the west are smaller than individuals living in the east.

In general, this species lives in Southern Europe, along the Mediterranean coast: northeastern Spain, the European part of Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian coasts of Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, as well as the Greek islands. Comfortable temperature for keeping in a terrarium is 26-32 degrees.

These turtles are very small. Their shell size is only about 12 centimeters. Yellow in color, shields with a dark border. There are no spurs on the hind legs.

Habitat – Mediterranean coast Israel, Egypt, Libya. If you decide to get such a turtle, then remember that the temperature in the terrarium should be about 24-30 degrees. Feature behavior of the Egyptian tortoise - like an ostrich, it quickly buries itself in the sand when danger approaches.

Freshwater pet turtles

The most common species of freshwater turtles, which can be found in terrariums and aquariums of urban residents. It includes approximately 15 subspecies and belongs to the genus of decorated (lined, painted) turtles. They call her that because she is the main one distinctive feature– a red spot near the ears (in some subspecies yellow).

The shell is 18-30 centimeters long. In youth it has a bright green shell color, which darkens with age. There are bright green stripes on the head and limbs. Males differ from females in their larger and more massive tail and nail plate.

They live naturally in the USA (Virginia, Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico), Mexico and the countries of Central America and the Caribbean, and South America (Colombia, Venezuela).

Can also be found in Australia, South Africa, Arizona, Guadeloupe, Israel, Spain, and Great Britain. Lives in lakes and ponds with marshy shores. Leads a sedentary and lazy lifestyle. For comfortable living in your terrarium, maintain the water temperature 22-28 degrees, air temperature – 30-32 degrees.

There are 13 subspecies of the European marsh turtle. Their carapace is low, convex, and smooth. They reach a length of up to 35 centimeters and a weight of up to one and a half kilograms.

The carapace is dark green or dark olive in color, the plastron is light. Small spots on the head, neck, shell and paws (yellow specks). The claws on the paws are quite large, and there are membranes between the toes. In adult turtles, the length of the tail is up to ¾ the size of the shell, and in small turtles it is even longer!

You can meet the European marsh turtle in Russia (Crimea, Yaroslavl region, Smolensk, Bryansk, Tula, Oryol, Belgorod, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Samara, Saratov regions, upper Don, Mari El Republic, Trans-Urals, central and southern regions), Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine, Central and Southern Europe, the Caucasus, in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Asia, Turkey, northern Iran and northwest Africa.

In its natural habitat it prefers ponds and lakes with muddy bottoms. Activity occurs during the daytime. The water temperature in the terrarium is 22-25 degrees, the air temperature is 30. The species is listed in the Red Book.

Reaches a total length of up to 30 centimeters (25 centimeters of which is the shell). The carapace is flat, oval, brown-green in color with yellow stripes. There are also stripes on the paws and on the head. You can distinguish a male from a female by the tail (in females it is shorter and thinner), and by the concave carapace of the male.

Caspian turtles live in southern Europe (Montenegro, Croatia, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus), western Asia, and the northwest Arabian Peninsula(Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia), in the Caucasus, Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq.

In nature, it settles in bodies of water, both fresh and brackish water, near which there is coastal vegetation. And these turtles can climb mountains to heights of up to 1800 meters above sea level and live up to 30 years! In captivity, the air temperature in the terrarium is 30-32 degrees, the water temperature is 18-22 degrees.

Chinese trionix (Far Eastern tortoise). There are exceptions to any rule. Chinese Trionix is ​​proof of this. We are all used to seeing turtles with a classic hard shell. The Chinese Trionix is ​​soft.

The dimensions of the shell reach 20 centimeters, it is soft, leathery, without any scutes. Color – green. But this is not all that can surprise an unprepared person in this unique representative of the turtle order.

They have three toes on their paws. On the face instead of a nose there is a proboscis. And if you pass by some body of water somewhere in China and see such a proboscis sticking out of the water, you should know that this is a Trionix turtle sticking out to get a fresh portion of oxygen.

Despite all their vulnerability and cuteness, the jaws of the Chinese trionyx have sharp cutting edges with which they grab their prey.

The amazing qualities of this turtle also include its speed of movement and reaction. This is not your classic turtle, barely moving around the house.

It is dangerous for humans due to its nature: Trionics turtles are quite aggressive, bite painfully and are rarely tamed. Unless they are raised in captivity from a young age. You can meet Trionix in China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, on the islands of Hainan and Taiwan, in Russian Far East, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hawaiian and Mariana Islands, Micronesia.

They prefer to live in rivers with weak currents, lakes and canals. In eastern countries - China, Japan, Korea - it is highly valued for its meat and served as a delicacy. In captivity, the water temperature in the terrarium should reach 26 degrees, the air temperature - 30-32.

Based on materials from: gerbils.ru

Types of aquarium turtles

You can look at aquarium turtles in a photo or in their natural form in a store, and choose a pet based on your aesthetic preferences. There are no big differences in the content of different breeds of such amphibians.

Types of aquarium turtles that are most often found in aquaterrariums:

• Swamp turtle
• Long-necked turtle
• Mud turtle

The last one is the smallest. An adult reaches only 10 centimeters. Accordingly, she will need a comparatively smaller home. The rest grow 2-3 times larger at home. All these amphibians have good eyesight, react to movement, and distinguish smells and tastes. At the same time, turtles are somewhat deaf, their ears are covered with folds of skin.

Keeping turtles in aquariums

When thinking about how to care for aquarium turtles, you should consider that they need both water and dry land to live a full life. Well, it’s not for nothing that biologists called them amphibians! The minimum dimensions of an aquaterratium should be 160 centimeters in length, 60 centimeters in width and 80 centimeters in height. For a musk turtle, these dimensions can be halved.

Caring for an aquarium turtle will require the arrangement of three zones: a pond, land and “shallow water”. Dry land should occupy up to a third of the area of ​​the aquaterrarium. Cute amphibians climb onto it to warm themselves. The shallow water zone (depth 3-4 centimeters) may be very small, but it is definitely necessary. Turtles use it for thermoregulation.

Based on materials from: akvarym.com

Types of small turtles

The little turtle will be an ideal pet for those who are short on time.

Little turtles are very popular exotic pets. All over the world, millions of people choose these cute, funny animals that do not require complex care and maintenance as pets.

Advantages of small turtles over other pets

The little turtle is ideal for both small city apartments and spacious private houses. Small, leisurely, requiring virtually no care and very unusual in appearance, turtles will become true friends both restless children and calm elderly people.

If you don’t have the time or desire to walk your dog three times a day in any weather, brush your cat every week, or spend a whole day every month cleaning a fish aquarium, purchasing a turtle would be an ideal option.

For small turtles, a 100-liter aquarium or a terrarium prepared with your own hands from a large box or old suitcase (if the turtle is an amphibian) is quite enough.

Which turtles are small

Small turtles include species of turtles that do not grow in length by more than 12-13 cm. Turtles with a body length exceeding 13-15 cm are considered large and require more complex care and maintenance conditions. There are several species of small turtles.

Flat-bodied (flat) turtles. The body length of representatives of this species varies between 6-8.5 cm, weight reaches 100-170 g. Such miniature sizes allow the turtle to feel comfortable in a small aquarium, and the fact that these turtles feed mainly on small succulents (plants containing a lot of moisture), makes caring for them very simple.

Locking turtles. Locked turtles live naturally in parts of Africa, as well as in Mexico and the United States. There are four subspecies of reclusive turtles. Yellow snapback turtles and Sonoran snapback turtles typically grow to 7.5-13 cm. Striped snapback turtles and reddish mud turtles reach 7.5-11 cm.

Musk turtles. Another type of small turtles that can be kept at home. Adults reach a maximum length of 15 cm. The genus of musk turtles has four species. The keeled musk turtle reaches 7.5-15 cm in length. The common musk turtle and the small musk turtle grow to 7.5-12.5 cm. Sternotherus depressus is 7.5-11 cm long.

Spotted turtles. This is a semi-aquatic species of turtles reaching 7.5-13 cm in length. Since this turtle is a semi-terrestrial animal, in addition to a small water aquarium, a dry aquarium or terrarium is perfect for it.

Chinese three-keeled turtles. The average body length of representatives of this species of turtle is 13 cm. The three-keeled turtle is an excellent choice for people who are purchasing a turtle for the first time, as it is a very calm and unpretentious animal.

Small turtles do not require large expenses for their maintenance, do not need any special care and do not take up much space in the apartment - a small 100-150-liter aquarium will be quite enough for them.

Despite the enormous popularity of these small exotic animals as pets, keeping them in captivity is illegal in some countries.

Based on materials from: vitaportal.ru

Endangered turtle species

At the moment, there are several species of turtles that are either extinct or on the verge of extinction.

Galapagos tortoise or elephant tortoise. By the early 20th century, more than 200,000 Galapagos tortoises had been exterminated. Almost all natural habitats were also destroyed. elephant turtles.

This is due to the fact that agriculture began to actively develop and places were needed for raising livestock. Many types of livestock were also introduced, which competed with turtles for food.

Since the early 20th century, much effort has been made to restore the elephant turtle population. Captive-bred turtles were released in their respective areas. natural habitat. Today the number of such turtles is more than 20,000 individuals.

Leatherback turtle. About 30 years ago, there were more than 117 thousand females of such turtles. Now their number has decreased to about 25 thousand.
This is due to the fact that leatherback turtles feed on jellyfish and dive to very great depths for them. In their natural habitats, water bodies are heavily clogged and turtles very often swallow various rubbish they die from this.

Swamp turtle. The only representative of turtles in Belarus. Females are distinguished by larger body sizes and a comparatively thinner tail at the base.

Protected in many European countries. The species is listed in the Red Books of Belarus and many other CIS countries.

The decline in turtle numbers in Belarus is associated with the transformation and reduction in the area of ​​natural habitats that followed changes in natural landscapes and drainage of wetlands.

Far Eastern turtle. In most of its habitat, the Far Eastern tortoise is normal look. But in Russia, this is a rare species, the number of which in this part of its range is rapidly declining.

This is due to the fact that the Far Eastern turtle is one of the main edible species of turtles. Therefore, many poachers catch, kill and sell them. Local residents also destroy the nests and take away the eggs of Far Eastern turtles.

Poisonous turtles

Along with domestic turtles, there are some species that can cause irreparable harm to your health.

Leatherback turtle. The leatherback turtle is the largest of all turtles, sometimes reaching over 2.5 meters in length. These 900-kilogram omnivores may be the widest-ranging vertebrates on Earth, but their population is declining every year due to industrial development, pollution and their capture due to bycatch.

These turtles are usually quite gentle giants, however if disturbed they can bite and their bite can break bones as they are very strong and powerful. In one strange case, a huge leatherback turtle, likely weighing more than 680 kilograms, directed its aggression towards a small boat and rammed it. Shortly before, the turtle was being chased by a shark, so it considered the boat a potential threat.

Fringed turtle (mata-mata). The Amazon of South America is famous for its incredible and sometimes creepy creatures. In the same river as piranhas and river dolphins lives a bizarre fringed turtle.

What will happen if a person steps on a fringed turtle is unknown, but this strange river reptile has an elongated, snake-like neck and a strange mouth containing two sharp plates that resemble human teeth fused together. This uniquely creepy carnivore's lunch menu includes waterbirds, fish and other reptiles.

We can only imagine what will happen to a person who reaches out from the boat to touch the strange lump visible from the water...

Big-headed turtle. The big-headed turtle is a bizarre-looking creature with a long, snake-like tail that is almost as long as its body. This turtle is endemic to Southeast Asia, where it hunts a variety of prey in rivers.

The large head does not retract into the shell, and is equipped with very powerful jaws. If a turtle feels threatened, it will not hesitate to use its beak, which can crush bones, so it is better to keep your distance from them. Incredibly, this creature, living in Asia, is able to climb trees, where it can sit like a bird. Unfortunately, this amazing creature is endangered due to poaching, which must be constantly combated.

Soft-bodied turtles. Looking like flat human-reptile hybrids from alien horror films, soft-bodied turtles compensate for their lack of shell by greatly strong bite. Among the many species of soft-shelled turtles from around the world, the most feared is the great Cantor's soft-shelled turtle, endemic to China.

She hides in the sand, waiting for prey, and then jumps out and bites the prey with sharp teeth. The turtle's sheer size and the force of its bite can cause horrific injuries. However, this species is unfortunately currently endangered. However, more common species of softshell turtles, such as the evil trionix, can be found throughout the world and are quite capable of biting an unwary fisherman.

Based on materials: bugaga.ru

I hope you received today full description what types of turtles there are. We figured out all their diversity and have already planned a pet for the future. Well, I say goodbye to you.

Kawabanga, friends!

European marsh turtle (lat. Emys orbicularis) is a very common species of aquatic turtle that is often kept at home. They live throughout Europe, as well as in the Middle East and even northern Africa. We will tell you about its habitat in nature, maintenance and care of a marsh turtle at home.

Habitat in nature

As already mentioned, the European marsh turtle lives in a wide range, covering not only Europe, but also Africa and Asia. Accordingly, it is not included in the Red Book. She lives in various bodies of water: ponds, canals, swamps, streams, rivers, even large puddles. Swamp turtles live in water, but they love to bask and climb out onto stones, snags, and various debris to lie in the sun.

Even in cool and cloudy days they are making attempts to bask in the sun, which breaks through the clouds. Like most aquatic turtles in nature, swamp turtles instantly flop into the water at the sight of a person or animal. Their powerful paws with long claws allow them to swim through thickets with ease and even burrow into muddy soil or under a layer of leaves. They love aquatic vegetation and hide in it at the slightest opportunity.

Description

The European marsh turtle has an oval or rounded carapace, smooth, usually black or yellow-green in color. It is dotted with many small yellow or white spots, sometimes forming rays or lines. The shell is smooth when wet and shines in the sun, and becomes more matte as it dries. The head is large, slightly pointed, without a beak. The skin on the head is dark, often black, with small spots of yellow or white. The paws are dark, also with light spots on them.

Emys orbicularis has several subspecies that differ in color, size or detail, but most often in habitat. For example, the Sicilian marsh turtle (Emys (orbicularis) trinacris) with a striking yellow-green carapace and the same skin color. And Emys orbicularis orbicularis, which lives in Russia and Ukraine, is almost completely black.

Adult marsh turtles reach a carapace size of up to 35 cm and a weight of up to 1.5 kg. Although, when kept at home, they are usually smaller, despite the fact that the subspecies living in Russia is one of the largest.

The European marsh turtle is very similar to the American marsh turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) in appearance and habits. They were even classified for a long time in the genus Emys. However, further study led to the fact that these two species were divided according to differences in the structure of the internal skeleton.

How long does a marsh turtle live? There is no consensus on the life expectancy of a marsh turtle. But everyone agrees that she is a long-liver. The numbers range from 30-50 years to 100.

Availability

The bog turtle can be found commercially or caught in the wild during the warmer months. But, with normal maintenance, owners with zero experience in breeding turtles successfully produce offspring. All individuals kept in captivity are unpretentious and easy to care for. However, it is important to note that to keep a marsh turtle, you need to create fairly precise conditions. And just bringing it and putting it in a basin won’t work. If you catch a turtle in the wild and you only need it for fun, then leave it where you found it. Believe me, this way you will make your life easier and will not kill the animal.

Juvenile marsh turtles should be kept indoors, but older individuals can be released into home ponds for the summer. For 1-2 turtles you need an aquaterarium with a volume of at least 100 liters, and as they grow, twice as much. A couple of turtles need an aquarium 150cm x 60cm x 50cm, plus dry land for heating. Since they spend a lot of time in water, the larger the volume, the better.

However, it is important to keep the water clean and change it regularly, plus use a powerful filter. While eating, turtles litter a lot and there is a lot of waste. All this instantly spoils the water, and dirty water leads to various diseases in aquatic turtles, from bacterial eye diseases to sepsis. To reduce contamination during feeding, the turtle can be placed in a separate container.

You don’t have to use decor and soil, since the turtle doesn’t really need it, and cleaning it up in the aquarium is much more difficult.

Approximately ⅓ of the aquaterrarium should be dry land, to which the turtle should have access. They regularly come out onto land to warm themselves, and so that they can do this without access to the sun, a heating lamp is placed above the land.

Heating

Natural sunlight is best, and it is advisable to expose small turtles to sunlight during the summer months. However, this is not always possible and an analogue of sunlight must be created artificially. To do this, in an aquaterrarium, above land, an incandescent lamp and a special lamp with UV rays, an ultraviolet lamp for reptiles (10% UVB), are placed. Moreover, the height must be at least 20 cm so that the animal does not get burned. The temperature on land, under the lamp should be 30-32C, and the length daylight hours at least 12 hours. In nature, they spend the winter and hibernate, but in captivity they do not do this and there is no need to force them! Her home conditions allow her to be active throughout the year; it’s not winter when there’s nothing to eat.

Feeding

What to feed a swamp turtle? The main thing is not what, but how. Swamp turtles are very aggressive when feeding! She eats fish, shrimp, beef heart, liver, chicken heart, frogs, worms, crickets, mice, artificial food, snails. The best food is fish, for example, you can put live fish, guppies, directly into the aquarium. Juveniles are fed every day, and adult turtles once every two to three days. They are very greedy for food and easily overeat.

For normal development, turtles need vitamins and calcium. Usually artificial food contains everything a turtle needs, so adding food from a pet store to the diet will not be out of place. And yes, they need the solar spectrum to absorb calcium and produce vitamin B3. So don’t forget about special lamps and heating.

Appeal

Very smart, they quickly understand that their owner is feeding them and will rush to you in the hope of feeding them. However, at this moment they are aggressive and you need to be careful. Like all turtles, they are cunning and can bite, and quite painfully. You need to handle them carefully and generally touch them less often. It is better not to give it to children, as they pose a mutual danger to each other.
It is best to keep her alone! Swamp turtles are aggressive towards each other and even gnaw off their tails. And other aquatic species are either competitors or food for them, this also applies to fish.

catfishes.ru

Care and maintenance of a marsh turtle at home

These reptiles are often kept as pets in their own homes. You can easily buy them or catch them yourself in their habitats, for which the warm summer months are very suitable.

Domestic swamp turtles are usually smaller in size than those found in the wild. Their unpretentiousness allows anyone, even the most inexperienced owners, to keep them and even have offspring from their pets.

Swamp turtle at home unable to fully live without sunlight. That is why it is quite possible to let adult healthy individuals go for a walk in the courtyard of their own dacha in warm summer weather, especially if there is a small artificial pond there.

Such reptiles can be kept in pairs, but care for swamp turtle requires the presence of an aquarium with a volume of at least one hundred liters, as well as a heating place illuminated by an ultraviolet lamp, which heats the environment to 30 °C and provides the animals with a twelve-hour daylight hours.

Living at home, swamp turtles do not hibernate, and animal owners should know this and not worry about this. To the disadvantages keeping a swamp turtle refers to her immense aggressiveness. Reptiles are pugnacious to such an extent that they are capable of injuring each other and even biting off their tails.

They are no friendlier to other pets, not tolerating rivals in the house, especially when it comes to fighting for food. They are capable of being cunning and can, if not carefully, be dangerous to small children. However, turtles are quite smart and reward those who feed them with gratitude.

Swamp turtle nutrition

When feeding, turtles become very dirty, so it is best to place them in a separate container while eating. In addition, these reptiles are extremely voracious and prone to overeating, so it should be borne in mind that adult individuals need to be fed only after two days on the third, but young turtles need daily food intake.

What does a marsh turtle eat?? In nature, they feed on snails, mice, crickets, worms and frogs, centipedes and crustaceans, as well as insects, larvae and algae, which can be found in aquatic environment.

Turtles are quite warlike predators, capable of attacking even snakes; they also catch and eat small lizards and chicks of waterfowl. What to feed swamp turtles if they are pets? It is possible to give them chicken and beef heart and liver, and pamper them a little with shrimp.

Live small fish, for example, guppies, are also usually released into the aquarium to feed turtles. Supplements in the form of vitamins and calcium are simply necessary for such pets. In this sense, artificial food containing everything you need is very convenient.

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Who is she, this representative of reptiles?

The description of this species, ancient in origin, should begin with the fact that its homeland is Russia, or rather, parts of its wetlands, of which there are so many around. Tropical and temperate climates, high humidity, warmth and peace - this is what it needs to live in nature.

Today we are talking about the domestication of individual individuals and even the possibility of taming them and the development of conditioned reflexes:

• recognition of the one who feeds,
• developing habits,
• reaction to the owner’s voice, and possibly to his smell,
• showing friendliness to people and other animals.

And all this is not a myth.

About the structural features

Paws, tail, head - just like in the famous cartoon. Plus – reliable, strong protection for all this in the form of a shell. The European marsh turtle is distinguished, first of all, by its brownish-olive shell (usually with yellow spots) with a number of rings symbolizing its age, a relatively long tail (up to 10 cm in adults), well-developed hind legs with strong claws. The paws and tail are the main organs that enable movement, including swimming. There are small membranes between the toes that allow them to rake in water and swim faster than moving on land.

The male's eyes are red, while the female's are yellowish. The eyes are located on the sides of the head and point downwards.

The skin of the body is strong, but vulnerable.

Character can be expressed in one word: predator. The need to independently obtain food for themselves in nature led to the presence of appropriate formations in individuals: teeth and claws, from which the one who provides care can sometimes suffer. Moreover, such a friend bites painfully, and after scratches, skin problems will remain for a long time.

The carapace consists of a carapace (upper dark part) and plastron (light lower part, popularly called the abdomen). The bottom of the shell is yellowish, on which there may be one dark spot or several. This is a reliable shelter from enemies, a place of protection from drought, a way to relax “away from everyone.”

What to feed?

The turtle eats little and infrequently. It is generally recommended to feed adults every other day or every three days. Young people, whose bodies undergo processes of growth and development, need daily food intake. The predatory nature determines its need for meat, fish, mineral salts, and vitamins. However, plant foods are no less valuable, including fresh vegetables and herbs. It is a source of many essential biological substances.

To strengthen the shell, calcium is needed, which can be replenished by eating small fish whole with bones, or perhaps as part of special synthetic feed.

Needed minced meat, ground fish components, bloodworms, insects, worms, squids, snails and similar biological structures. Animal protein is required.

He will appreciate finely chopped young leaves of dandelion or clover, although he will not disdain aquarium vegetation. However, there is an opinion that feeding plant foods is better for older individuals.

She eats often, almost managing to swallow a lump of food dropped into the water before it pollutes the water. When eating, she tries to swallow everything quickly, which is why the possibility of stones entering her intestines cannot be ruled out.

How to create optimal living conditions?

A high water level in the aquarium is not necessary. 10-15 cm is enough (depending on the size of the individuals). The soil at the bottom can be anything, but does not consist of pebbles that can be swallowed.

It is necessary to equip an exit from the water to a special platform located under an artificial lighting lamp. This is where the European marsh turtle will take air baths and bask in the warm rays.

Ultraviolet irradiation has a beneficial effect. Thanks to it, the absorption of calcium improves (for the strength of the shell) and the air is effectively warmed.

In general, the water temperature in the aquarium should not rise above 27 and fall below 23 o. But aeration is not so important, since the lungs of such residents are filled with oxygen from the atmospheric air.

The company also needs to pay attention. Some aquarists decide not to populate the turtle house with other inhabitants. The specificity of their living conditions is rarely favorable for large fish. However, those who like to experiment will love the ensemble, in which a turtle with yellow spots against a background of bright green vegetation flirts with red swordtails.

About the characteristics of reproduction

Starting from the month of May, these interesting inhabitants of the aquarium begin to reproduce their offspring. Until July, the female produces up to three clutches of eggs, 5-12 eggs each. To do this, she uses small depressions in wet sand. The eggs are smooth, up to 3 cm in size and weighing about 8 g. After a period of 2-3 months, small turtles hatch, which during their first winter feed on the contents of the yolk sac and remain in the ground.

But with the first rays of the confident spring sun, as soon as the air warms up to 22-23 o, the cubs are released and begin an independent life.

At home, you can try to recreate similar conditions by equipping a container with warm, moist soil on an artificial shore, or placing the turtle in another aquarium while laying eggs. As the process completes, it is necessary to independently and carefully care for the laid eggs, warm them evenly, and prevent drying out and damage.

An aquaterrarium is an original and fascinating home decoration. However, you should not think that it exists independently. Its beauty and well-being will be ensured by proper care, accuracy and following the recommendations of experienced aquarists. Who doesn’t like plants constantly uprooted and floating on the surface, often muddy water and artificial jewelry turned upside down, you shouldn’t torture yourself.

Those for whom the marsh turtle has become a friend are sure that it will always respond to love, care and affection. And those moments when, when the owner approaches or the light turns on, she stretches her head and turns towards the hand, will delight and amuse everyone around her.

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Natural habitat

The population is quite widespread throughout Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and quite numerous.

You can meet the beauty under the shell in freshwater bodies of water and on the banks of ponds, rivers, lakes, streams, and swamps. Sometimes a drainage ditch or large puddles are suitable for temporary housing. Most of the time turtles stay in the water, but on bright days they like to bask in the sun. Set up beds on coastal stone ledges, rotting debris, and old roots. They also come out onto land in cloudy, cool weather.

They are distinguished by their speed of reaction. When they see danger, they quickly hide under the water in the depths. The choice of shelter is algae, stems of water lilies, thickets of reeds, or a thick ball of silt. Muscular paws and long claws help burrow into it. If necessary, piles of leaves are used for hiding on the ground.

Appearance and behavior characteristics

Turtles of this species have an oval or round carapace. Adults of some subspecies reach 37 centimeters in length and weigh up to 1.6 kg. The body is black, less often greenish-yellow. White or light yellow spots with blurred contours form a linear pattern. Color is a camouflage attribute. When wet, the matte shell acquires a beautiful shine and smoothness. The head of a mature turtle is pointed, without a beak-like extension, and proportionally large. Coloration, size and area of ​​residence indicate a separate subspecies. This is caused by the need for camouflage in the environment. The largest are representatives of the subspecies living in Eastern Europe.

Representatives of Emysorbicularis are very similar to their relatives from America - the Emydoideablandingii turtles - in habits and external characteristics. For a long time scientists considered them complete analogues. Research has shown differences in the placement of skeletal bones, so each subspecies has occupied its own separate niche in the scientific classification.

Life expectancy ranges from 35 to 100 years and depends on various factors and their combination. Even with ideal home care, turtles sometimes age and die earlier than usual. Growth also slows down a bit.

Why are European marsh turtles the most accessible and beloved by zoologists?

Representatives of the swamp family can be easily found in any pet store and affordable prices or catch in habitats throughout the spring and summer. Young turtles are resistant to stress associated with changes in conditions, and newcomers who organize their maintenance correctly and accurately will soon be able to produce offspring if they place a female and a male together. But we must understand that nothing comes easy. You won’t be able to put it in a jar, play with it, and forget it. It is better to immediately abandon the idea of ​​​​placing a European turtle in your house.

Caring for a turtle. Peculiarities. Difficulties.

It is important for every living creature to have its own nook. For married couple For turtles, it will be an aquarium, but not a terrarium of a suitable size. Its volume must be at least one hundred liters. The third part of this structure is always dry land, as a place for heating and the opportunity to dry out.

Related article: Why can't you keep turtles in the same aquarium as fish?

The primary requirement is water purity. This is not so easy to do, given the number of liters and the fact that a lot of polluting waste is left behind during meals. Residents are not prone to cleanliness. Pathogenic putrefactive bacteria multiply and diseases of the eyes and skin develop. Placing them in a separate container for feeding and frequent cleaning of the main shelter will help solve the problem. To simplify the task, it is better to avoid unnecessary decoration of the bottom and underwater soil. Turtles have little need for such details. It is recommended to keep young animals in a suitable room at all times; adult, stronger representatives can be placed in artificial ponds on the street, if the air temperature allows.

How to arrange heating

Natural sunlight is not always available, although whenever possible, natural ultraviolet light should be used when raising young. Babies are periodically exposed to the sun so that they get a dose of vitamins and warm up. In addition, a special lamp with the required radiation is placed in the aquarium above the dry area. The mounting height is adjusted with age and size preferences, but does not fall below 20 centimeters above the surface. The temperature regime is stopped at 30°C and the glow duration is 12 -14 hours.

Home conditions are more comfortable in this regard, so the activity of turtles remains at the same level regardless of the season. In satiety and warmth, natural hibernation is canceled.

How to feed

What to feed a swamp turtle? The diet of the marsh turtle is extensive and includes fish and meat products. The turtle is omnivorous. Delicacies include beef liver, pieces of hearts, snails, squid, worms, mice, and insects. Artificial combined feeds are also an option. To maintain natural instincts, live fry or small fish are released into the aquarium.

Plant foods: Lettuce, cabbage and dandelion leaves are recommended to be given only to adults.

The youth are fed daily, controlling only the quantity, older ones - after 2 days. It is necessary to be careful not to overeat, because greed is the main trait of their character.

Food must contain vitamins and more calcium, which the shell requires. In pet stores, in special departments for reptiles, ready-made vitamins are sold in jars.

For a turtle, the very process of absorbing food is important, the process of processing and assimilation of which is not possible without light. Everything is interconnected, located in one chain. Since the reptile eats only in water, before feeding it must be placed in a separate basin with water, the temperature of which is +32 °C. It is also necessary to plant them to avoid contamination of the terrarium.

How to contact and communicate

Turtles are smart and understand who is looking after them and feeding them. But eating is a sacred activity for them; touching animals at this moment is risky. They respond with aggression, attack, and bite very painfully. Cunning is another prominent trait, so you need to lift the turtle by the back of its shell. Communication with these reptiles must be multiplied by caution and accuracy. Restrict children's access to places of residence.

How often is it recommended to change the water in the aquarium and is it necessary to bathe the turtle?

Many people ask the question: “Is it worth bathing a turtle at all, since it spends most of its life in water?” “Do reptiles need a similar hygiene procedure?”

It is not always possible to change the water in an aquarium, since changing 100 liters at a time is not so easy. Due to the fact that it is impossible to maintain perfect cleanliness, dirt accumulates on the turtle's shell. Therefore, it is necessary to bathe her.

As dirt accumulates, mechanical removal is carried out. For water procedures, pour warm water into a basin and rub the reptile’s shell with a soft brush or cloth. You cannot use hard objects, otherwise it will damage the shell - you can erase the keratinized covering of your pet.

Related article: How to wash a land turtle?

How to keep a European tortoise? For normal life, a turtle needs to be kept only in clean water. The water should be changed when it becomes dirty. And since the turtle both feeds and defecates exactly in the place where it lives, there is a need to frequently change the water. The owners must constantly keep this issue under control. If kept in dirt, the turtle will develop diseases.

Changing water and complete cleaning aquarium should be carried out once a month. You can only change the water more often. To do this, you need to drain 2/3 of the water from the aquarium and add new water. Can be diluted with clean, settled tap water.

Does a European tortoise need hibernation when kept at home?

Turtle lovers have debated for a long time whether a turtle needs to hibernate. In natural living conditions, winter sleep is simply necessary for reptiles, since they are cold-blooded animals and cannot control their body temperature themselves. When the ambient temperature drops, all processes in the turtle slow down and it is forced to hibernate.

Related article: Hibernation red-eared turtle.

Pets are kept in an aquarium with optimal water temperature, so during winter hibernation they don't need. Moreover, not every owner can prepare them for hibernation and create the appropriate conditions.

Who is in the house: male or female?

Sex can only be determined in adults. Males have a concave plastron and a long tail. All small turtles have long tails, so at this age it is not possible to determine the sex, and length is not an indicator. With age, the length of the tail becomes shorter.

It is necessary to pay attention to the cloacal region near the tail. In the male, the cloaca opening is located further from the tail than in the female, and it has greater mobility, which plays a huge role during mating.

Walk in the fresh air and in the apartment

Turtles love to walk on the grass. But when choosing places for walking, it is advisable to avoid nearby bodies of water. Although the turtle is not that agile, if it falls into the water, it will not come back to you.

You can let the turtle walk around the room, but you can’t lose sight of it. She can hide in a hard-to-reach place. If your pet is hiding, you can turn off the light and wait a few minutes. Soon the turtle will make itself known with its rustling noises.

It should be remembered that we are responsible for those we have trained! When keeping a marsh turtle in captivity, you must follow the rules of care, otherwise you will not be able to avoid trouble. If you notice any strange behavior in your pet, you should contact a specialist.

turtle-home.net

It is found not only in Europe. It can be found in Asia and Africa. Its natural habitat is bodies of water: rivers, swamps, lakes, ponds, quiet creeks. A prerequisite for turtles to live must be the presence of open shores where they can bask in the sun. The structural features of the body allow the reptiles to easily swim in dense thickets and bury themselves in silt and leaves.

Description

The marsh turtle is distinguished by an oval, perfectly smooth, streamlined carapace of black or yellow-green color. The neck, head and paws are dotted with small spots of white or yellow flowers.
The reptile has a large, sharp head, on the sides of which there are eyes, slightly lowered down. It has a relatively long tail, powerful, well-developed paws with sharp claws. The membranes between the toes allow the animal to actively rake in water and swim faster than moving on land.

Despite the strong body covering, it is very easy to injure.

Young turtles must be kept at home - in an apartment; older turtles can be released into small country ponds and lakes in the summer. Keeping a European marsh turtle at home requires the presence of a special terrarium or aquarium.

Aquaterrariums should be spacious (from 120 liters), conditionally divided into two parts - land for heating and water. Animals don't need it high level water, a depth of 15 to 20 cm is sufficient for them.

The terrarium for marsh turtles will be additionally equipped with:

• an artificial lighting lamp that is installed above land;
• UV irradiator for effective heating;
• water filter for water purification;

• bottom soil similar to the natural bottom of the reservoir;
• edible plants.

Reptiles are often kept in basins, under radiators, or in boxes. With this lifestyle, irreversible processes occur in the animal’s body (dehydration, breathing problems, lack of heat), as a result of which the pet becomes lethargic, apathetic, lifeless and slowly dies over several years.

Reptiles of this species are predators. However, they feed not only on food of animal origin, but also on “carrion” and aquatic plants. The main diet should be proteins. You can diversify the menu with fish, shrimp, liver, dried or live worms. You should not exclude plant foods that act as vitamin supplements.
If you don’t know what to feed your marsh turtle, then it is better to use ready-made balanced food containing all the necessary vitamins and microelements that have a positive effect on the general condition of the body. To preserve the reptile’s natural instinct to hunt, it is recommended to introduce live small fish into the terrarium.

Do not forget that marsh turtles eat little, given their age. Young ones need food every day, adults are fed 2-3 times a week. Animals are prone to overeating, so you should strictly monitor the amount of food consumed.

A bog turtle kept at home requires regular and careful care. While eating food, the reptile litters a lot, which leads to rapid contamination of the water.
Dirty water is a favorable source for the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms that are harmful to the health of the animal. To avoid rapid contamination of the water, turtles are kept away while they eat.

Animals also need water treatments. Since dirt accumulates on the shell, it must be removed mechanically. For washing, use warm water and a soft brush, which carefully removes all dirt.

By nature european tortoise aggressive, smart, quick-witted, cunning and even insidious. She understands her owners well, but when she eats food she can be aggressive and can bite. The reptile loves solitude, so it is better to keep it in solitude.
When keeping an animal at home, you need to know how a marsh turtle winters. With the onset of the first cold weather, the animal may hibernate, during which processes in vital organs are inhibited.

The domestic reptile does not feel the coming of winter as keenly as its relatives living in nature, so it does not need winter sleep. When favorable conditions are created, including a microclimate and clean water, the reptile will delight with its activity throughout the year.

The breeding season for European turtles begins in the spring. Animals living in captivity have a greater chance of reproducing. They become sexually mature at 6-8 years of age. A few days before laying eggs, the female’s behavior appears nervous and restless; she tries to get out of the terrarium, sits on dry land and digs a hole.
During this period, you should create conditions for the animal that are as close to natural as possible for laying: place a flat tray with sand or transplant the turtle into another aquarium with a 15-20 cm layer of soil. After laying the eggs, they are carefully transferred to a special incubator, the temperature of which should be 28-30 degrees. The young reptiles will hatch after 10-12 weeks.

Failure to comply with comfortable living conditions can lead to the rapid death of a swamp reptile. The largest percentage of all animal diseases are associated with unsanitary conditions in the aquarium. Prolonged stay in contaminated water leads to the development of bacterial eye disease and subsequently to sepsis.

Swamp turtle diseases often occur due to lower water temperatures. If hypothermia occurs, the animal can even get pneumonia or pneumonia. A lack of vitamin D or vitamin A hypovitaminosis leads to malocclusion and, as a consequence, the formation of stomatitis and herpes.
The most common disease of reptiles living in captivity is calcium deficiency, which occurs due to poor diet or lack of UV radiation. An accurate diagnosis of a particular disease can only be established by a professional veterinarian.

How long a marsh turtle lives will depend on its living conditions, nutrition and microclimate inside the terrarium. On average, a reptile lives at home for 30-50 years. However, there are cases when an animal outlives its owner for many years.

pets2.me

The European marsh turtle is characterized by a dark olive or brown-brown oval shell (carapace) with diverging bright yellow dots or dashes, paws with sharp claws (5 toes on the front legs and 4 on the hind legs) and moderately developed swimming membranes, long tail. The head and paws are decorated with yellow spots. The plastron is lighter, from yellow to dark brown with black. The color of the shell may change as it grows and develops. Newborn turtles are almost completely black with a yellow rim along the edges of the plastron and carapace. As turtles grow, they lighten and become covered with a bright yellow pattern, the plastron also turns yellow, and with age, the brown-brown shell becomes dark olive. The length of the carapace reaches 18–25 cm (depending on the subspecies), males are usually smaller than females. In nature they live up to 50 years.

Habitat

The European marsh turtle is common in temperate climates. Lives in Central and Southern Europe, America, North West Africa, Western Asia, Western Europe (Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania). In Russia, it is distributed in the warm temperate climate zone of the European part. The habitat extends from the Smolensk region along the border with Belarus and Ukraine to the south (Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Caspian Lowland), in the upper and lower reaches of the Don, on the middle Volga and the left bank of the Ural River. Lives in slow flowing rivers, ponds, lakes with muddy bottoms and gently sloping shores.

Security measures

The species is included in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (RL/nt), in the Red Book of the Republic of Bashkortostan, in Regulation II of the Berne Convention. The European marsh turtle population is endangered. Recent research shows that the European marsh turtle is beginning to be replaced by another related species- American marsh turtle.

The main factors in reducing the number of the species are the catching of turtles by fishermen, land reclamation, and urbanization. People find marsh turtles near bodies of water or away from them. Most often, these are females looking for a favorable place to lay eggs at the mouths of rivers, and moving away from their habitat several kilometers. People don't realize how much harm they cause to nature by taking a turtle home. Even the best conditions in captivity cannot replace natural conditions. And often aquatic turtles are kept in basins or even under a radiator, behind a cabinet, etc. In this case, the animal slowly dies over several years. Irreversible pathological processes occur in the turtle's body. For example, the following: dehydration (the turtle dries out, the skin begins to adhere to the bones, as a result of which the skull bones stand out on the head), atrophy of the swimming membranes, drying out and death of the tip of the tail, overgrowth of the choanae, which can cause breathing problems, respiratory diseases, lack of heat leads to various kidney pathologies, serious gastrointestinal diseases.

Conditions in captivity. General information.

Equipped aquaterrarium with access to the shore. Water temperature 24–26°C (optimally 25°C). The temperature on the shore should be at least 28–30°C, and therefore an incandescent lamp is installed above the shore to maintain the required temperature. A ReptiGlo 10.0 UV lamp must be installed in the aquaterrarium. (Hagen) (10–12 hours per day) at a distance of 20–25 cm from the shore. The depth of the water is determined by the size and age of the turtles. For turtles under the age of one year - no more than 5 cm. After a year, the depth should be such that the turtle, standing upright on its hind legs, can breathe freely. For adult healthy turtles, the water depth can be 30–40 cm with an aquarium volume of at least 100 liters, as this helps strengthen muscles when swimming and brings them closer to natural living conditions. Large and medium-sized stones that the animal could not swallow can be used as soil. Sand cannot be used as a primer.(multithumb)

Important: It must be remembered that even the best home conditions cannot replace life in nature for turtles. The population of the European marsh turtle is constantly decreasing. Before you take responsibility and get a turtle, you should think about the fact that you are depriving the animal of a full life. Turtles found or caught in their habitat should be released into the wild near a body of water. Only sick or injured individuals require temporary care and are released after treatment.

Features of behavior.

The marsh turtle remains active during the daytime and sleeps at the bottom of the reservoir at night. Spends several hours on land under the rays of the sun. It can move several kilometers away from bodies of water. The marsh turtle swims quickly, burrowing into the mud at the slightest danger, and moves quite quickly on land. In captivity, turtles quickly adapt to new conditions: they swim or sit on the bottom, periodically emerging for a breath of air every 15-20 minutes. They can remain without air for up to 2 hours without harm to health. During the period of minimal activity, the anaerobic respiration mechanism is activated. For marsh turtles in an aquaterrarium, it is advisable to provide a place with darker lighting (under the shore, behind the grotto) where they could hide or sleep. Turtles love to bask and sunbathe on the shore with their hind legs stretched out.

Swamp turtles can defend their territory. So, for example, if 2-3 turtles are sitting on the shore under a lamp, they somehow share the territory among themselves. When attempting to encroach on someone else's place, the turtle begins to defend its territory. It is expressed this way: the turtle opens its mouth and stretches its head towards the offender, showing by its behavior “My place! Do you want to dispute? Usually, conflicts do not arise between females; they get along quite peacefully together. Two males can be quite aggressive towards each other. However, it should be borne in mind that the behavior of each individual depends on individual characteristics. There are completely calm turtles that are friendly to neighboring turtles and people. Over time, they become practically tame, do not hide in their shell at all, are not afraid of people, stretch their heads when the owner-breadwinner approaches, and respond to their name. However, there are also quite aggressive individuals whose behavior is difficult to predict.

Determination of age.

The age of swamp turtles, like other species, is determined by the number of growth rings on the carapace. It should be taken into account that in the first year or two of life, 1 ring appears within 3-6 months. After 2 years, 1 ring is equivalent to 1 year of life. Thus, if a turtle has 5-6 rings, it is about 2-3 years old, 6-7 rings - 3-4 years old, etc.

In nature, growth occurs much faster than when kept at home. Therefore, by the thickness of the last (outer) rings it is easy to determine how many years the turtle spent in captivity. In adult turtles (after 15-20 years), with a shell size of at least 15 cm, the growth rings are smoothed out, the carapace and plastron become smooth.

Determination of gender

Female:

1) smooth, flat plastron;

2) the iris of the eyes is yellow, decorated with symmetrical black triangles diverging from the pupil in three directions;

3) the tail is thinner than that of the male at the base, the cloaca opening is located close to the shell;

Male:

1) concave plastron;

2) the iris of the eyes is dark yellow or brown, the pupil is not surrounded by a pattern;

3) a tail thick at the base with an anus located 2-3 cm from the shell.

4) the upper “lip” is whitish (it does not always appear; there are completely black individuals, slightly decorated with yellow spots);

Sexual behavior

Turtles become sexually mature at 6-8 years old with a shell length of 10-12 cm. Males actively flirt with females, sniff their paws, tail, and stretch their nose to their muzzle. Often males are quite aggressive, on land they run after females, in water they sit on top of the females’ shell, tightly grasping the edges of the carapace with their paws and begin to knock on the female’s head with their noses. Such turtle games often end in mating. Eggs are laid after 1-2 months. During pregnancy, females need enhanced nutrition, enriched with protein, vitamins and calcium (calcium is required 2-3 times more than with normal nutrition). Since 2-3 months before laying the turtle stops eating (which is the main sign of future laying), until this time the female needs daily nutrition and a higher temperature (2-3 degrees higher) of water and air for its digestion and assimilation useful substances. Particular attention should be paid to the ultraviolet lighting regime, without which the synthesis of vitamin D3 and the absorption of calcium is impossible. During pregnancy, it is advisable to keep the female separately from the male.

In nature, females lay 5-12 eggs from May to July. During the season, the female makes 1-3 clutches (usually in May, June and July). The eggs of swamp turtles are oval, covered with a hard shell, 28-33 mm long and 18-20 mm wide, weighing about 8 g. Female eggs are laid at night in pre-dug holes 10-12 cm deep. Small turtles about 15 mm long hatch after 2- 3 months from August to October. Young turtles spend their first winter in the ground, feeding from the yolk sac located on the ventral scutes of the plastron. They usually appear from the ground only by next spring, when the air temperature reaches 15-20? C.

At home, European marsh turtles can also breed. A few days before laying, the females become restless, try to get out of the aquarium, often sit on the shore and dig the soil. At this time, care must be taken to create conditions for masonry. On the shore, you can place a ditch with moistened sand, sphagnum or vermiculite (you can use a mixture of sand and vermiculite), where the turtle could lay its eggs. If the shore is small, you can place the female overnight in a separate box with a 12-15 centimeter layer of soil. After laying eggs, they should be carefully placed in the incubator without turning them over. Incubation temperature is 28-30? C with an optimal humidity of 80%. The duration of incubation depends on the temperature and is 2-3 months.

Nutrition

In nature, food sources include fish, shellfish, frogs, insect larvae, woodlice, worms, aquatic and coastal plants.

In captivity, the main types of food are lean fish, shrimp, squid, and earthworms. From plant foods, turtles can be offered lettuce, cabbage, dandelions, and duckweed. Only adult turtles eat plant foods.

As a source of vitamins, turtles are given fresh raw beef liver no more than once a week.

Sources of calcium in the natural diet include fish with small bones and snails.

Supplements containing vitamins and calcium, developed specifically for reptiles, are used as supplements. (Wardley Reptile Calcium and Wardley Reptile Multi-vitamins (Hartz), Reptocal, Reptosol (Tetra), Reptilife powder).

Of the dry foods, only Nutrafin (Hagen) or Reptomin (Tetra) can be given to aquatic turtles, which are the most balanced foods, enriched with substances necessary for growth and development. Constant feeding of dry food is not recommended.

The bog turtle can only eat in water. When feeding, it is recommended to place the turtles in a separate bowl of water (the water temperature for better digestion of food should be slightly higher, about 32-34 C). When feeding in an aquarium, the water quickly becomes dirty and spoils.

Victoria Shuster.

© The article used photographic materials from Valentina Retskaya, Sergei Lipnik, Tatyana Zaitseva, Klimenty Semyon, Victoria Shuster.

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External differences of the European marsh turtle

• The shell of this turtle is smooth, covered with small yellow dots and spots. The back is brown with small yellow spots. Larger yellow spots are located on the abdomen. They may also cover the head and legs. But sometimes this pronounced sign is absent;
• The skin is black, has numerous yellow spots different sizes, sometimes merging with each other. Sometimes the skin becomes completely yellow. The arrangement of these yellow spots is irregular, completely different for each animal, just like human fingerprints;
• Eyes - the iris in females is pale yellow, and in males it has an orange or almost reddish tint;
• Sizes – there are gender differences in size associated with the physiology of reproduction, males are slightly smaller than females and have a concave lower part of the body (plastron), while in females it is quite flat. There are also differences in tail size between females and males. Males have a much longer and more massive tail. Upper part The shell shell of both sexes is very similar, slightly convex, often abundantly covered with algae. A typical representative of this species has a carapace length of about 20 cm in females and 17 cm in males.

The eyelids are opaque and flexible. The tail is 1/3 of the length of the shell. The head can be retracted and hidden in the shell.

Lifestyle and behavior

The European marsh turtle can live more than 120 years in the wild. These species of turtles spend most of their lives in close proximity to bodies of water, from which only females come onto land to lay eggs. The turtle hunts in water; it lives mainly in this environment. In the water it moves smoothly, awkwardly and slowly.

Active during the day, lives in stagnant or slowly moving bodies of water with a muddy bottom (small, overgrown lakes, forest ponds, swamps, densely overgrown and inaccessible ponds, large rivers with dense vegetation).

She spends most of her time in water, but breathes atmospheric air. Can stay under water for up to one hour. The animal is very shy and cautious, so it is difficult to meet. In quiet places it likes to get out of the water and soak up the sun. The European turtle with yellow spots on its body overwinters deep in the mud, at the bottom of reservoirs, for about 6-7 months (usually from October to March).

Males are very aggressive towards each other, especially during mating season.

This species easily tolerates drought and is resistant to low temperatures; it loses locomotor activity only at temperatures of 2-3° C.

It feeds on insects, snails, tadpoles, and sometimes eats amphibians and fish. The main food for turtles is the larvae of insects, invertebrates and various amphibians, fish fry, and sometimes they feed on carrion.

These animals feed around the clock, however, they are especially active at dusk and sometimes at night. They capture their prey with their jaws and tear them with their claws. During the day on clear days they rest and bask in the sun.

How do representatives of this species reproduce?

Turtles wake up from hibernation early spring and become active in late March or early April, depending on the weather. The mating period takes place in water and begins in April, as the animals are very resistant to low temperatures.

Soon after waking up, individuals walk in shallow parts of lakes and reservoirs. Mating occurs very expressively and actively. There have been cases of mutilation during mating games.

After the mating season is over, the males remain in their previous areas, and the females, in late May and early June, go on a hike to the nesting sites, where they will remain for many years. Reservoirs located a short distance from nesting sites are an excellent refuge for newly hatched cubs.

After completing their journey from breeding site to nesting site, females lay eggs. The female lays her eggs in July in a hole in the ground, which she digs with her hind legs. The eggs have thin shells, their dimensions reach 2x3 cm. One female has on average from 6 to 16 eggs (sometimes their number reaches 20).

Eggs don't stay straight sun rays, but burrow into the ground to a depth of several centimeters, where in favorable temperature conditions incubated for approximately 100 days.

The most important for the proper development of the embryo are high temperatures in June and July. Turtles in eggs, like other reptiles, undergo a thermal sex determination process. So, on warm summer days, more females hatch, and on cold days, males.

When temperatures are low, turtles are able to overwinter in eggs until spring. If the summer is cool, then turtles do not hatch; this happens more often at the northern borders of the natural range of this species.

IN normal conditions at the end of autumn, small turtles 2.5 cm long, which have a soft shell, hatch from the eggs. They emerge from their earthen burrows only in the spring.

After the young turtles leave the nest, they head into the water. During this trek, the cubs are vulnerable to attacks from any terrestrial predators. Only after 10 years of life do their shells become so large and strong that turtles can feel relatively safe. Juveniles reach sexual maturity after about 7 years.

Depending on weather conditions, the spotted turtle leads an active lifestyle from March or April until October. In the fall, turtles go into hibernation.

Bog turtles throughout Europe are under state protection and have absolute protection status. Catching and hunting them is strictly prohibited.

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Appearance and description

The European marsh turtle has an oval, low and slightly convex carapace with a smooth surface and a movable connection with the lower shell. Juveniles of this species are characterized by a rounded carapace with a weak median keel on the posterior rounded part.

There are long and fairly sharp claws on the limbs, and small membranes between the fingers. The tail part is very long. An adult turtle has a tail up to a quarter of a meter long. It is the tail part that plays an important role when swimming, and serves, along with the hind limbs, as a kind of additional steering. The average length of an adult can vary between 12-38 cm with a body weight of one and a half kilograms.

The coloring of the shell of an adult turtle is usually dark olive, brownish brown or dark brown, almost black with small spots, streaks or dots of yellow. The plastron is dark brown or yellowish in color with blurry dark spots. The area of ​​the head, neck, legs and tail is also dark in color, with a large number of yellow spots. The eyes have a very characteristic yellow, orange or reddish iris. The specific feature is the smooth edges of the jaws and the complete absence of a “beak”.

The turtle is one of the ancient animals on the plane from the class of reptiles. Representatives of these reptiles are divided into two large orders: terrestrial and marine. At the same time, terrestrial ones are also divided into freshwater and land ones. Reptiles are tied to their living conditions because the mechanisms in their bodies that maintain a constant temperature do not work as well as those of mammals and birds. Where do turtles live in the conditions wildlife? Their range is practically throughout the entire Earth, on land and under water, in temperate and tropical climate zones.

Turtles and nature

Sea turtles live in warm waters of seas and oceans, very rarely swimming to cold currents.

This suborder includes two families: Dermochelyide (consisting of only one leatherback turtle) and Cheloniidae (containing five species). Common sea turtles include:

• The olive turtle lives in the waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans off the coast of Africa, India, Australia, Japan, all the way to Brazil and Venezuela;
• The Atlantic Ridley prefers shallow water up to fifty meters with a silty or sandy bottom in the Gulf of Mexico, the English Channel, and on the European Atlantic coast;
• The loggerhead is distributed in the warm parts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, swimming into the Mediterranean Sea;
• The hawksbill is found in southern Africa, the Great Britain region, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of ​​Japan;
• The green turtle is found in the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

The leatherback turtle's range coincides with the Loggerhead turtle, but in the areas of Sri Lanka and the southern coast of India, this reptile has received almost no scientific study.

Where do land turtles live? Most often these are open spaces, but some species also live in tropical forests. The most suitable climate for representatives of this family is Southern Europe, the New World, Africa, and Asia.

Freshwater turtles are a large family of this class. They are distributed on almost all continents, with the exception of Australia, Antarctica and northern Eurasia. Such reptiles live in various bodies of water, often not frozen for the winter and with weak currents.

Representatives of each species of freshwater reptiles, as a rule, have their own area of ​​residence. For example, roofing turtles prefer Pakistan and India. Batagur occurs on the Indochina Peninsula, as well as in Sumatra. In the basins of the Brahmaputra, Indus and Ganges, the diadem tortoise can be found. There are magnificent turtle sightings from southeastern Mexico to Ecuador. From Southern Canada to Florida, home of the painted Testudines.

Where do they live in nature? This quite common species lives in northeastern Mexico and the eastern states of the United States. The genus Graptemys is distributed in approximately the same area. But Western Europe, Türkiye, North-West Africa, Iran and the Caucasus are home to Emys orbicularis.

As can be seen only in individual examples, the answer to the question “where do turtles live in nature” will be “in the waters of the world’s oceans, fresh warm lakes, ponds and creeks, steppes and forests in a tropical climate.”

Testudines in captivity

Where do turtles live at home? The main container is an aquarium, aquaterrarium or terrarium.

It is very important to choose the right ratio of air temperature, humidity, volume of water and amount of land depending on the type of reptile. Otherwise, the slider will wither without liquid, and the Central Asian turtle will freeze without good heating.

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Turtles (lat. Testudines) are representatives of one of the four orders of modern reptiles belonging to the phylum Chordata. The age of fossil remains of turtles is 200-220 million years. is 200-220 million years.

Description of the turtle

According to most scientists, during the last 150 million years appearance and the structure of the turtles has remained virtually unchanged.

Appearance

The main distinguishing feature of a turtle is the presence of a shell, represented by a very complex bone-leathery formation that covers the reptile’s body from all sides and protects the animal from the attacks of numerous predators. The inner part of the shell is characterized by the presence of bone plates, and the outer part is characterized by leathery scutes. This shell has a dorsal and abdominal part. The first part, called the carapace, is distinguished by a convex shape, and the plastron, or abdominal part, is always flat.

This is interesting! The turtle body has a strong fusion with the shell part, from which the head, tail and limbs protrude between the plastron and carapace. When any danger arises, turtles are able to completely hide inside their shell.

The turtle has no teeth, but has a beak, pointed at the edges and quite strong, allowing the animal to easily bite off pieces of food. Turtles, along with some snakes and crocodiles, lay leathery eggs, but the reptiles most often do not care for their hatched offspring, so they almost immediately leave the laying site.

Turtles of different species differ greatly in their size and weight. For example, the length of a land spider turtle does not exceed 100 mm with a weight in the range of 90-100 g, and the size of an adult sea leatherback turtle reaches 250 cm and weighs more than half a ton. Among the currently known land tortoises, the category of giants includes the Galapagos elephant tortoises, whose shell length exceeds a meter and can weigh four hundredweight.

The color of turtles, as a rule, is very modest, allowing the reptile to camouflage itself quite easily as objects. environment. However, there are also several types that are distinguished by a very bright and contrasting pattern. For example, the radiated tortoise in the central part of the shells has a characteristic dark background with bright yellow spots and numerous outgoing rays located on it. The head and neck area of ​​the red-eared slider is decorated with a pattern of wavy lines and stripes, and behind the eyes there are spots of bright red color.

Character and lifestyle

Even despite the insufficient level of brain development, as a result of testing it was possible to determine that the turtle’s intelligence shows fairly high results. It should be noted that not only land turtles, but also many freshwater species of turtles, including European marsh and Caspian turtles, took part in such experiments.

Turtles are reptiles that lead a solitary lifestyle, but such animals need the company of their own kind with the onset of mating season. Sometimes turtles gather for the wintering period in not too numerous groups. Some freshwater species, including toad-headed turtles (Phrynops geoffroanus), are characterized by an aggressive reaction to the presence of their relatives, even outside the mating season.

How long do turtles live?

Almost all existing species of turtles deservedly belong to the category of long-lived record holders among numerous vertebrates.

This is interesting! The well-known Radiant Tortoise of Madagascar, named Tui Malila, managed to live for almost two hundred years.

The age of such a reptile often exceeds a century. According to scientists, a turtle can live even two hundred years or more.

turtle shell

The turtle's carapace is distinguished by a convex shape, represented by a bone base and a horny covering. The bony base of the carapace consists of eight presacral vertebrae, as well as the dorsal costal sections. Typical turtles have fifty plates of mixed origin.

The shape and number of such scutes are a very important feature that allows us to determine the species of a turtle:

• land species They usually have a high, convex and very thick upper armored shield, which is associated with general intestinal volume indicators. The dome-shaped shape provides significant internal space, facilitating the digestion of plant roughage;
• burrowing land species have a more flattened, elongated carapace, which helps the reptile easily move inside the burrow;
• Various freshwater and sea turtles are most often characterized by the presence of a flattened, smooth and streamlined carapace, which has an oval, ovoid or teardrop shape, but the bone base may well be reduced;
• soft-bodied species of turtles are distinguished by a very flat carapace, the bone base of which is always quite strongly reduced in the absence of horny scutes and the presence of a leathery covering on the shell;
• The carapace in leatherback turtles does not have any fusion with the axial part of the skeleton, therefore it is formed by a mosaic of small bones united with each other, which are covered by the skin;
• some turtles are distinguished by their carapace in the presence of a well-formed semi-movable joint of the synarthrosis type with cartilage tissues at plate connections.

The border of the armored horny scutes can be imprinted on the superficial part of the bony carapace, and the horny carapace, or horny type scutes, have names similar to the located bony plates.

Types of turtles

Currently, more than three hundred species of turtles belonging to fourteen families are known. Some of these peculiar reptiles lead an exclusively land-based lifestyle, while another part is characterized by excellent adaptation to the aquatic environment.

The following species live in our country:

• loggerhead turtles, or carriage turtles, or (lat. Caretta caretta) – reaching a length of 75-95 cm at average weight within 80-200 kg. The species has a heart-shaped carapace, brownish, red-brown or olive in color. The plastron and bony bridge may be cream or yellowish in color. There are ten costal scutes in the back area, and large scutes also cover the massive head. The front flippers are equipped with a pair of claws;
• leatherback turtles, or loot(lat. Dermoshelys coriacea) is the only modern species belonging to the family Leatherback turtles (Dermoshelyidae). Representatives are the largest modern turtles, having a body length of 260 cm with a front flipper span of 250 cm and a body weight of up to 890-915 kg;
• Far Eastern turtles, or Chinese Trionics(lat. Pelodiscus sinensis) - freshwater turtles, which are a representative of the family Three-clawed soft-bodied turtles. In Asian countries, meat is widely consumed as food, so the reptile is considered an object for industrial breeding. The length of the carapace of an adult individual, as a rule, does not exceed a quarter of a meter, and the average weight is 4.0-4.5 kg;
• European marsh turtles(lat. Emys orbiсularis) - freshwater turtles with an oval, low and slightly convex, smooth carapace, which has a movable connection with the plastron through a narrow and elastic ligament. The length of an adult individual of this species is 12-35 cm with a body weight of about one and a half kilograms;
• Caspian turtles(lat. Mauremys caspica) – reptiles belonging to the genus Aquatic turtles and the family of Asian freshwater turtles. The species is represented by three subspecies. An adult specimen is characterized by a length of 28-30 cm and an oval-shaped carapace. Juveniles of this species are distinguished by a keeled carapace. Adult males have an elongated carapace with a slightly concave plastron;
• Mediterranean, or Greek, or Caucasian tortoise(lat. Testudo græsa) is a species that has a tall and oval, slightly jagged carapace, 33-35 cm long, light olive or yellowish-brown in color with black spots. The front feet have four or five claws. The back of the thighs is equipped with a horny tubercle. Often a turtle of this species has an unpaired supra-tail shield, the plastron of which is light in color and has dark spots.

On the territory of Kazakhstan and the countries of Central Asia, the Central Asian or steppe tortoise(Agrionemys horsfielddii). The species is characterized by a low, round, yellowish-brown carapace with vague, dark-colored spots. The carapace is divided by thirteen horny scutes, and the plastron is divided into sixteen scutes. The grooves present on the scutes make it easy to determine the number of years the turtle has lived. The average length of a turtle does not exceed 15-20 cm, and females of this species, as a rule, are noticeably larger than males.

Range, habitats

The range and habitats of different species of turtles are very diverse:

• Elephant turtle (Сhelonoidis elephantorus) – Galapagos Islands;
• Egyptian tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni) – northern part of Africa and the Middle East;
• (Testudo (Agrionemys) horsfielddii) – Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as Tajikistan and Afghanistan, Lebanon and Syria, northeastern Iran, northwestern India and Pakistan;
• or ( Geochelone pardalis) – African countries;
• Speckled cape tortoise (Homophorus Signatus) – South Africa and the southern part of Namibia;
• Painted or decorated turtle (Сhrysemys pista) – Canada and USA;
• (Emys orbiсularis) – countries of Europe and Asia, the territory of the Caucasus;
• or ( Trachemys scripta) – USA and Canada, northwestern South America, including northern Colombia and Venezuela;
• (Сhelydra serpentina) – USA and southeastern Canada.

The inhabitants of the seas and oceans include Real carriage (Eretmoshelys imbricata), (Dermoshelys coriacea), Green soup turtle (Сhelonia mydas). Freshwater reptiles live in rivers, lakes and swamps of the temperate Eurasian zone, and also inhabit reservoirs in Africa, South America, Europe and Asia.

Turtle diet

The food preferences of turtles directly depend on the species characteristics and habitat of such a reptile. The basis of nutrition for land turtles is represented by plant foods, including young branches different trees, vegetable and fruit crops, grass and mushrooms, and to replenish the amount of protein, such animals eat snails, slugs or worms. The need for water is often satisfied by eating the succulent parts of plants.

Freshwater and sea turtles can be classified as typical predators, feeding on small fish, frogs, snails and crustaceans, bird eggs, insects, various mollusks and arthropods. Plant foods are eaten in small quantities. Herbivorous individuals are also characterized by eating animal food. There are also species of freshwater turtles that switch to eating plant foods as they grow older. Omnivorous sea turtles have also been well studied.

Reproduction and offspring

With the onset of the mating season, adult male turtles organize traditional tournament fights and fights among themselves for the right to mate with the female. At such times, land turtles chase their opponent and try to turn him over by biting or hitting him with the front part of his shell. In fights, aquatic species prefer biting and chasing their opponents. Subsequent courtship allows the female to take the most comfortable position for mating.

Males belonging to some species are capable of making rather primitive sounds during the mating process. All known species modern turtles are oviparous animals, so females lay eggs inside a pitcher-shaped hole dug with their hind legs and moistened with liquid secreted by the cloaca.

The hole with white spherical or elliptical eggs is filled up, and the soil is compacted using plastron blows. Sea turtles and some side-necked turtles lay eggs covered with a soft, leathery shell. The number of eggs varies among representatives of different species and can range from 1 to 200 pieces.

This is interesting! Giant tortoises (Megaloshelys gigantea) have behavioral mechanisms that regulate population size by the number of eggs laid annually.

Many turtles lay several clutches during one season, and the incubation period, as a rule, lasts from two months to six months. An exception that takes care of its offspring is the brown turtle (Manouria emys), the females of which guard the nest with oviposition until the babies are born. Also interesting is the behavior of the Bahamian ornamented turtle (Pseudemys malonei), which digs up the oviposition and facilitates the release of the young.