Egg turtles are an increasingly popular pet The turtle variety, but the egg turtle comes accurately It is not a species, but a general term for many species. In biological classification, there are four genera of egg turtle species, and these four genera contain many kinds of turtles, each of which is different. Not easy to judge.

“Egg Turtle” got its name because it looks like an egg. The scientific name corresponding to such a common name is “kinetoridae”, which is famous for its movable and closed plastron on its abdomen, and this family involves 2 subfamilies and 4 genera, including subspecies subdivided by some species. Among them, musk turtles and mud turtles are inevitably mentioned. The musk turtles are named for such a characteristic by the discovered scholars because of the musk smell they can emit when they are threatened. Because of its unique habit, the mud turtle likes to hide in the mud for aestivation or hibernation. Since then, it has the name of “mud turtle”.

Chinese name: egg turtle

Kingdom: Animal Kingdom

Door: Chordate

Class: Reptiles

Order: Turtles

Family: Turtle family

Species: egg turtle

Two subfamilies:

Subfamily Staurotypinae: includes the genus Staurotypinae and the genera Staurotypinae

Kinosterninae: includes musk turtles and kinosterninae

Four genera:

1. Box turtle: Narrow bridge musk turtle

2. Musca grandis: Central American tortoise, Mexican tortoise (three-stringed tortoise)

3. Musk turtle: common musk turtle, knife-backed musk turtle, flat-backed musk turtle, giant musk, giant musk turtle, strip-necked musk turtle

4. Turtles: Nutshell Mud Turtle, Harrera Mud Turtle, Striped Mud Turtle, Mexican Mud Turtle, Oaxaca Mud Turtle, Alamo Mud Turtle, Narrow Bridge Mud Turtle, Ruffled Mud Turtle, Jalisco Mud Turtle, Columbia Mud Turtle, Eastern Mud Turtle, Mississippi Mud Turtle, Florida Mud Turtle, Yellow Mud Turtle, Arizona Yellow Mud Turtle, Duzhou Mud Turtle, Northern White Mud Turtle Mud turtles, southern white-lipped mud turtles, Sorola mud turtles, Amazon mud turtles, Cha, Central Sri Lanka mud turtles, white-throated mud turtles, red-faced mud turtles, and Mexican fur-footed mud turtles.

The morphological characteristics of egg turtles cannot be generalized, because egg turtles are a general term for a class of turtles, not a specific species of turtles, but we can Starting from its characteristics, describe its general appearance.

Generally, mud turtles are not large in size, usually between 10 and 16 cm in length. Most of them have a hemispherical shell and a vertebral keel. However, the turtles of the genus Musquitos have a larger body size, and their body length can reach 25~40CM. Females are often larger than males. The same is that their carapaces have three eye-catching and relatively well-developed vertebral keels. . It has a cross-shaped plastron, which is easy to distinguish. The smallest non-musk turtle is none other than the musk turtle, which is generally no more than 6 inches in length. The color of the carapace is mostly yellow and orange, and the plastron is mostly orange or red. They are usually distributed in North America, and obviously, the United States is still their main birthplace and habitat.

What exactly is an egg turtle, and which turtles belong to the category of egg turtles? In fact, egg turtles are not the name of a turtle, but involve several families and genera. The turtles of these families have a common feature, that is, the carapace is oval and smooth, looking like a big egg from top to bottom, over time, friends who love them will give them A friendly name was given: “egg turtle”, and an “egg” character was added after the names of different species of turtles, such as: Salvin Dome, Mexican dome, red-faced egg, white-lipped egg, and more. To understand egg turtles, you can start with their families and scientific names. Egg turtles are basically involved: box turtles, musk turtles, musk turtles, and kinesias.

The living environment of egg turtles varies by species, but in general they prefer slow-moving or still waters. These areas usually have soft riverbeds covered with sand and silt, with abundant aquatic plants growing. Special living environments can lead to complex interactions, even among some special species and subspecies. The essential contents include the type of subsoil, the presence of vegetation, and the flow of water bodies, which in turn interact with the following factors, such as the number of predators, changes in the living environment (natural factors or human interference) ), and changes in local climatic conditions (eg Webster, 1986, Christiansen et al., 1989, and Stone et al., 1993). A basking site is not an essential element, but some species make good use of the terrain when they need it. The common musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus, or Mississippi musk turtle) has been reported to climb trees and slowly climb branches several meters above the water, falling into the water if disturbed. The giant musk turtle (S. m. minor) has a similar tendency. (Pritchard, 1979) and some species, especially in arid regions, live in temporary waters. During the dry season, they hibernate in the mud to wait for the rain to rehydrate.

In the breeding of egg turtles, we must first pay attention to the control of water quality. Egg turtles are turtles with high aquatic habitat, so the control of water quality is very important; the second is the control of light. The light requirements of egg turtles are similar to those of other turtles. The last is the choice of food, which is related to the health of egg turtles.

1. Control of water quality

It is recommended to use filtration for egg turtle tanks, especially the upper filter effect is the best, which can keep the water quality stable for a long time, but it is still necessary to cultivate if you see large pieces in the tank The habit of removing feces and feed residues immediately will prevent the water from deteriorating and thus affecting the turtle's health. Since I keep it at a constant temperature all year round, I basically add 1/3 of the water every week to make up for the evaporated water and keep the water fresh and clean.

Turtles use lungs to breathe. As long as the filtration system is in place, it doesn't matter if the entire tank of water is not replaced all year round.

Second, the choice of food

Next, let's talk about the food of egg turtles. You can always prefer to feed turtle food, and occasionally feed some shrimp pieces, etc., you can also add feed in the recipe Fish and mysis as staple food. (Forage fish can be fed after being frozen for more than 48 hours after thawing.) After a period of practice, it can be found that this will indeed make egg turtles stronger, so this is completely feasible. In addition, it can be eaten with egg turtles when the calcium tablets that are broken into small pieces are stuffed into the fish, which is indeed a feasible calcium supplement method.

3. Lighting requirements

Egg turtles still need sunlight very much. If the sunlight conditions are not very good, they can be irradiated with UVB, and they can also get up every hour in the morning and evening. to the effect. Also remember to try not to let the egg turtle get dehydrated in the sun. So as not to forget the time and cause unnecessary tragedy.