Money turtle, a species of turtle, likes to choose a shaded place to live and has the habit of living in groups , hibernates every winter. Wild money turtles are extremely rare, and they are very popular in the international and domestic markets. Because of its wide food habit, strong disease resistance and hunger resistance, and strong vitality, it is convenient for artificial feeding and has considerable economic value. In addition, the tortoise has extremely high medicinal value. It is a traditional Chinese medicinal material and one of the traditional export commodities of China.

Chinese name: money turtle

Chinese name: three-line closed-shell turtle

binary method: Cuora trifasciata

Chinese alias: red Border turtle, golden-headed turtle, red-bellied turtle

Kingdom: Animalia

phylum: Chordate

Subphylum: Vertebrate subphylum

Class: Reptiles

Order: Turtles

Suborder: Suborder Turtles

Family: Turtles

Subfamily: freshwater turtle subfamily

genus: genus: box turtle

Distribution area: in China, mainly distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau and other places; in foreign countries, it is mainly distributed in subtropical countries and regions such as Vietnam.

Life habit: The money turtle likes to choose a shaded place to live and has the habit of living in groups.

Diet: The money turtle is omnivorous. In nature, it mainly preys on snails, fish, shrimp, tadpoles, etc. Aquatic animals, but also eat young mice, frogs, scarabs, snails and fly maggots, and sometimes eat pumpkins, bananas and plant stems and leaves.

Protection level: China's national second-level key protected animal; listed as a protected animal by the Hong Kong Agriculture and Fisheries Department in 2004Variety; is listed as a second-class protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; a critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The head is smooth without scales, the tympanic membrane is obvious and round; the neck angle plate is narrow and long, the vertebral angle plate The first piece is pentagon, the fifth piece is fan-shaped, the remaining 3 pieces are triangular, 4 pieces on each side of the rib corner plate, 11 pieces on each side of the edge corner plate; the carapace is brown, with three prominent black longitudinal lines, with the middle A bulge is the most obvious and longest, so it is also called Chuanzi back turtle; the plastron is black, and its edge is yellow; The thoracic and abdominal angle plates are also connected by transverse ligaments, so they are also called broken plate turtles; there are webs between the fingers and toes; the tail is short and pointed. The hard skin around the edge of the carapace is kumquat yellow, so it is also called the red edged turtle.

The female's carapace is wider, the tail is thin and short, the base of the tail is thin, the anus is closer to the rear edge of the plastron, and the notch formed by the two anal shields of the plastron is shallow. Usually individuals will be larger than males. The male turtle carapace is narrow, the tail is thick and long, the base of the tail is thick, the anus is far from the rear edge of the plastron, and the notch formed by the two anal shields of the plastron is deep.

There are clear, dense concentric rings on each scutellum of the wild golden tortoise carapace, called growth rings. Each ring represents a year. On the other hand, the concentric rings of captive-bred turtles are blurred and sparse, and the distance between each ring is larger.

The head is slender, the back of the head is sallow, the top is smooth without scales, the snout is blunt, the upper rafters are slightly curved, the throat and neck are light orange red, and there are prismatic brown patches behind the eyes on the side of the head. The carapace is reddish-brown, with 3 black longitudinal stripes, the central one is longer (not in larvae), and the front and rear edges are smooth and not serrated. The plastron is black with a yellow edge. The dorsal plastron, the chest shield and the ventral shield are connected by ligaments, and the turtle shell can be completely closed. The skin of the armpits, limbs, and tail is orange-red, with webs between the fingers and toes.

The   money turtle is omnivorous. They like to live in granite caves or mud caves near the water, dive into the bottom of the water after being frightened, and often go to mountain streams or wet places to feed on various aquatic animals. In nature, it mainly preys on snails, fish, shrimp, tadpoles, etc. Aquatic animals also eat young mice, small fish, shrimp, snails, young frogs, scarabs, earthworms, snails and fly maggots, and sometimes pumpkins, bananas, and plant stems, leaves and seeds. Under artificial feeding conditions, they like to eat animal offal, earthworms, lean meat, small fish and mixed feed.

Money turtles are ectothermic animals, the growth temperature is between 24-32°C, when the water temperature is 28°C, it takes about 20 minutes to float in the water to breathe once; when the water temperature is 25:00, it takes about 26 minutes to float up Take one breath; if the water temperature is below 12, it will enter the hibernation state.

The temperature gradually rises in April every year, and activities begin; the temperature rises from May to October, the scope of activities expands, and the food intake increases, especially from July to September, when the weight gain is the fastest, and after November, when the temperature drops When the temperature is below 15°C, the activity decreases, and it gradually enters the hibernation state, living in the cave, without eating and moving, until March of the following year.

Living environment:

The suitable temperature range for the tortoise is between 24 and 32°C. When the temperature drops to 12°C, it will begin to hibernate. , The money turtle has a relatively low temperature requirement and a relatively large range of adaptation, so it will not be particularly troublesome to breed.

The pool is built according to the characteristics of the money turtle, such as being warm, water-loving, mild-mannered, timid, capable of burrowing, and easy to escape. Choose a place with soft sand, leeward sun, sufficient water source, not easy to be polluted, secluded and shaded, and build a pond with cement. The size of the breeding pond can be determined according to the size of the site and the number of turtles raised.

A wall of 50 cm high must be built with stones or bricks around 1~2 meters away from the pool. The wall foundation is 70~80 cm deep. Set up barbed wire to prevent turtles from escaping. A small island of 6-7 square meters is built in the center of the pond for tortoise activities. The open space between the fence and the rearing pond and the place where the island extends to the pond must have a certain slope (above 1:2) to facilitate the turtles to go ashore and go to the island.

The depth of water storage in the rearing pond is generally about 1.5 meters. The bottom of the pond should be covered with 20-40 cm thick sand, and the open space between the fence and the pond should also be covered with about 60 cm thick slightly damp of sand. In addition, some flowers, grasses and small shrubs can be appropriately planted in the open space around the pond and on the small island for the turtles to shade and perch. Some electric lights can also be installed, which is convenient for the staff to observe the activities of the turtles at night, and some farmers raise the turtles indoors. Indoor adult turtle ponds are constructed in much the same way as indoor hatchling ponds, but with a correspondingly larger area.

The growth rate of the turtle in the growing period is very fast, can it be provided enough during the growing period? It is the key to the success of breeding turtles to ensure their normal development, so we must provide corresponding food according to the eating habits of turtles to ensure a balanced nutrition.

Money turtles mostly live in hilly and mountainous areas, inhabiting wet and quiet places such as grasses and streams, where they live with snails, earthworms, small fish, shrimp, snails, scarabs, and young leaves and seeds of plants. Under artificial feeding conditions, they like to eat animal offal, earthworms, lean meat, small fish and mixed feed.

Nutritional conditions are one of the factors that have a great influence on the artificial breeding of the turtle. Turtles have a wide range of diets. In artificial breeding, animal feeds such as small fish, shrimps, minced shellfish, snails, earthworms, and cooked and chopped animal offal should be the main ones, while plant feeds such as rice and vegetables should be used. auxiliary.

Every year from May to November is the active eating period of the turtle, and it is also its weight gain period. Among them, the weight gain is the fastest from July to September. Therefore, sufficient nutrients should be supplied for 3 months. Let it eat more and grow faster. However, if the amount of feed is too high, the turtle cannot be digested and absorbed completely, which will cause feed costs and increase the cost of breeding. The amount of feed to be fed empirically for economical and efficient use of feed. In addition, a variety of vitamins, trace elements and calcium can be appropriately added to the feed to ensure that the nutrients in the feed are comprehensive and to avoid poor growth and development of the tortoise, or anorexia.