Pig-nosed turtle is also called Pig-nosed soft-shelled turtle is a turtle-like animal without a hard shell on its carapace. It is highly aquatic and usually does not sunbathe its back. However, it has relatively high requirements on water quality, and is very prone to rot skin and armor. It is difficult to raise. Relatively high and moderately priced.

Chinese name: Pig-nosed turtle

Alternative names: Oceania pig-nosed turtle, flying river turtle, pig-nosed turtle, etc.

Latin name: Carettochelys insculpta

English name: the Fly River turtle, the Pig-nosed turtle

Kingdom: Animalia

Domain: Chordate

Class: Reptile

Order: Turtles

Suborder : Turtles

Family: Turtles

Genus: Two-clawed Turtle

Species: Pig-nosed turtle

Distribution area: northern Australia, southern Irian Jaya and southern New Guinea.

Appearance characteristics: The carapace is round, dark gray, olive gray or brownish gray, with a row of white spots near the edge.

Habits: Typical habitats include rivers, estuaries, lagoons, lakes, swamps and ponds.

Habitat: Aquatic.

Breeding habits: In the origin, the dry season between July and October is the breeding season for pig-nosed turtles. Adult female turtles climb up the sand dunes on the shore at night, and then dig out about 20cm deep. In the hole, 7-19 eggs are laid in each litter, and the eggs are round and shaped like ping-pong balls.

Diet: Pig nose is an omnivorous turtle that mainly eats plant food. They mainly eat fruits, leaves, flowers and various aquatic plants that fall in the river; they also eat animal food such as mollusks , insect larvae, crustaceans, fish and mammal carcasses, etc. .

Pig-nosed turtle is more like a turtle, because the carapace of pig-nosed turtle has no hard shell. The nose is the biggest attraction. The nose of the pig-nosed turtle is like a pig's nose. It has a lively personality and lives in the water like a strange fish, so there are many people who keep them.

The pig-nosed turtle is one of the most peculiar looking freshwater turtles. There is a grey stripe behind the eye. The limbs are specialized in fins for aquatic life and cannot be retracted into the shell. It is also characteristic of the presence of two prominent claws at the near midpoint of each forelimb. The tail is short and the back is covered with a row of crescent-shaped scales that taper from the base to the tip of the tail. There are distinct folds of skin on the sides below the tail, extending from the base of the thigh to the hindquarters. The tail of the adult male turtle is longer, and the position of the cloaca is relatively backward; while the tail of the female turtle is shorter and smaller.

The length of the carapace of the pig-nosed turtle is generally 46~51cm, and the weight is generally 18~22Kg. reached 22.5 Kg. The carapace is round, dark grey, olive grey or brownish grey with a row of white spots near the edge. The edge is slightly serrated, and there is no skirt like the turtle because of the well-developed outer skeleton and complete structure. There is also no scutellum, instead a continuous, slightly wrinkled skin. There is a row of spiny crests in the middle of the carapace. The body plastron is light in color, white, creamy white or pale yellow, slightly cross-shaped. The head is of moderate size and cannot be retracted into the shell.

Pig-nosed turtles like to live in rivers with low water levels. Under normal circumstances, they will hide in the water. In the low sand, newly raised turtles will generally hide themselves in the sand, but they will get used to interacting with their owners after a long time, which is very cute.

The pig-nosed turtle is distributed in northern Australia, southern Irian Jaya and southern New Guinea, with a narrow distribution and remote location. Typical habitats include rivers, estuaries, lagoons, lakes, swamps and ponds. Most pig-nosed turtles are found in sandy and gritty bottoms, silt-covered freshwater waters more than six feet deep, and these waters are bordered by lush forest. Rarely, pig-nosed turtles are also found in lagoons.

The first thing you should know when raising pig-nosed turtles is that the adult pig-nosed conspecifics are more aggressive, and they will fight and bite because they compete for hiding places. Therefore, when raising, the density should not be too large, and sufficient hiding space should be prepared. Give each pig-nosed turtle a place to hide and avoid fighting with each other.

Pig-nosed turtles are highly aquatic freshwater turtles, so the aquarium used for raising should be higher, generally about 60-80 cm long in their infancy, and when the pig's nose grows to more than 25 cm , you will need a larger aquarium. In addition, pig-nosed turtles are mostly lateral activities, so the selected aquarium should be wide enough.

The pig-nosed turtle not only has the habit of hiding, but also has digging behavior. Therefore, it is best not to use bottom filtering in the selection of filtering methods. The upper filtering method is the best filtering method. At the same time, in order to meet the digging habits of pig-nosed turtles, fine coral sand is the most suitable bottom sand. This kind of bottom sand is convenient for pig nose digging, the surface is smooth, and it is not easy to contusion the epidermis of the pig nose, and it can also adjust the water quality to weak alkaline, providing a more suitable water quality living environment for the pig-nosed turtle.

The pig-nosed turtle usually likes to eat some vegetarian food, and it can also be well adapted to the provision of human beings It can also provide a variety of meat in some special periods, which means that this is a turtle that is not picky and easy to raise.

1. The diet of pig-nosed turtles

The diet of pig-nosed turtles is mixed, and adult turtles eat a lot. Since they are naturally lazy, they do not actively hunt for food. The pig-nosed turtle's dietary principle is to wait for the rabbit, eat whatever it encounters, and will not be picky. Therefore, celery, fungus, cabbage, rice amaranth, green vegetables, apples, pears, tomatoes, lettuce, watermelon, grapes, cucumbers, etc., beef, shrimp, animal offal, mealworms, crickets (details), red blood worms, etc. Anything can be their food, pig-nosed turtles will never be picky about anorexia, or refuse to eat.

Second, the pig-nosed turtle starts eating

The newly bought pig-nose does not need to be fed in a hurry, only when it adapts to the new water quality environment, it will slow down Eat slowly. So you need to keep the environment quiet and stable, and this process usually lasts about three or four days. After this, if the environment is suitable, a healthy pig nose will start eating smoothly. For the first feeding, it is best to choose fruits with special aromas (such as bananas, grapes, etc.), which can easily stimulate the interest and appetite of the pig's nose. The amount of feeding should not be too much, because the main purpose is to start eating, and at the same time let the stomach and intestines work once in the new water quality environment. After a smooth start of food and a smooth excretion, normal feeding can be carried out.