Hamilton's turtle, also known as the spotted pond turtle. The carapace has a length of 30-36cm and is an aquatic turtle that lives in streams, lakes and ponds. It has a lively temperament and is not afraid of people. Omnivorous, likes to eat fish shrimp, lean meat, and also eats plant-based feed. Under normal circumstances above 18 degrees Celsius, they will eat. When the temperature is 15 degrees Celsius, their activity will be significantly reduced, and they will gradually enter a state of hibernation. Reproduction is oviparous. Female turtles will lay 10-15 eggs at a time. And female turtles can keep the sperm of male turtles in their bodies for up to five years, so after they mate once, they don't need to mate again for several years, and they can also produce fertilized eggs. This characteristic makes Hamilton turtles. Not so easy to extinction.

      Hatchlings within three months of life are pitch black and covered with white spots, which is their greatest protective color in the wild. As they age, the white spots on their carapaces disappear quickly and gradually turn into sparse and less pronounced white stripes, with only the stripes on the edges of the carapace still conspicuous. There are also three prominent ridges on the carapace, similar to snapping turtles. Although it belongs to the category of aquatic turtles, the swimming skills of Hamilton's turtles are not very good, so the depth of the water can be as long as the carapace when rearing, and it does not need to be too deep. The distinction between males and females is not easy at the young turtle stage, but it can be distinguished by the difference in appearance. Male turtles generally have long and narrow tortoise shells, with thin ends. The turtle angle is smaller, the female turtle angle is larger. The serrations on the edges of the carapace of male turtles are more prominent, and the ridges on the carapace are also more prominent, while the female turtles are more rounded and gentle. Adult turtles can be identified by the difference in size of the tail.

       Hamilton's tortoises are ectothermic animals, their breathing, heart rate, blood The flow rate and body temperature change with the change of the outside temperature, so the metabolism and growth rate of Hamilton's turtle also change with the change of temperature. When the temperature is below 15 degrees, the metabolism of Hamilton's turtle drops sharply and enters semi-hibernation. But the turtle's hibernation really begins when the temperature is below 12 degrees. Most of Hamilton's turtles hibernate ashore, often several turtles gather together, hide in the sand, caves or haystacks, do not eat, do not eat, breathe, slow heart rate, limbs and head retracted into the shell, completely Sustain life with nutrients in the body. When the turtle is diving, in addition to using the oxygen stored in the lungs, the oropharyngeal cavity (with abundant capillaries) and the accessory bladder in the cloaca can also use dissolved oxygen in the water for non-pulmonary respiration. During hibernation, Hamilton's tortoises rely on non-pulmonary respiration. It has strong hypoxia tolerance.

       Underwater, anaerobic metabolism (comparable to lactation) Different animals, Hamilton's turtle is a systemic participation), its body fluid has a high buffer capacity, can tolerate a large amount of lactic acid accumulation and PH value reduction. And to a large extent can endure changes in body fluid ion concentration and increase in osmotic pressure. Weight loss during hibernation, although somewhat, was not significant. Cold tolerance is higher than other reptiles. It is not easy to cause death, and the hibernation of Hamilton's turtle is intermittent. Once the temperature rises and the weather is fine, it can still come out to move, but it does not eat.

       It is recommended to use a fish tank, and the environment in the tank is arranged in a semi-water and semi-terrestrial environment The amphibious environment is beneficial for Hamilton's turtles to go ashore to rest and sunbathe, and there is no need to worry about always soaking in water to induce diseases such as saprolegnia and skin rot. The food of Hamilton's turtle should be mainly high-quality granular turtle food, supplemented by molting mealworms, shelled and chopped live shrimp, and chopped live fish. The purpose of chopping is to help the spotted pond turtle better of eating. I feed twice a day, morning and evening. The food is put into the water for its consumption. It is best to change the water every day (use soda water or overnight water) if you have the conditions and are not too troublesome. You can also use a filter, but you must change the water thoroughly every two or three days. Appropriate light can enhance the disease resistance of Hamilton's turtles, prevent moss and white spots on the turtle's back, and can produce vitamin D, which can promote the absorption of calcium by the turtle's body, which is beneficial to their growth. Sunlight is the best, if you have no conditions to enjoy sunbathing, use UVB lamps. Hibernation problem: Don't let Hamilton's turtles hibernate for the first two years, and the big ones can hibernate naturally. The solution to food refusal: Healthy Hamilton's turtles occasionally have food refusal. In this case, the solution is to move it to a quiet place and feed it for a few more days. It seems cruel, but in fact Effective, generally eat quickly.

       Hamilton's turtle is the smallest sexually mature, in terms of body weight, average A minimum of 1250 grams for females and 500 grams for males reaches sexual maturity. However, due to the influence of environmental conditions and different breeding methods (natural breeding and heating breeding) in different regions, the minimum size of their sexual maturity is very different. The sexual maturity of Hamilton's tortoise is not based on body weight, but on the basis of age. Female turtles mature at 7 years and male turtles are about 4 to 5 years old. The ovaries of female turtles are about 8% of their body weight, which is proportional to their body weight. In the first sexual cycle, the growth and development of egg cells can be divided into the oogonia stage, the initial egg cell stage, the growing egg cell stage and the mature egg cell stage. In sexually mature ovaries, mature oocytes of different grades coexist with primary oocytes of different developmental stages, which provides the basis for the batch laying of eggs in Hamilton's turtles. The developmental program of sperm cells can be completed automatically by spermatogonia, the spermatogonia that complete the metamorphosis. Sexually mature males must mate with females for internal fertilization.