Pig-nosed turtle
When raising pig-nosed turtles, each owner's method of raising them is more or less different. Today, the author shares his own feeding experience to share the experience. I hope that all the masters will gather together to discuss their feeding experiences.
1. Selection
Pig-nosed turtles are relatively quiet and spend most of their time hiding in the corners at the bottom of the tank. It is generally difficult to observe the behavior of the turtles. You can use a fishing net to poke around and take a closer look. The look of water. If you see a turtle swimming around in the fish tank when you want to buy it, it means that the turtle is well-behaved and active. Don't buy turtles that have been wandering on the water. This is completely inconsistent with the customs of pig-nosed turtles and is generally problematic.
Hold it in your hand and look at the shape of the turtle. The small turtle is generally close to a round shape, with a bright carapace and regular white edges on the edges of the carapace. As the turtle grows, it will gradually form the color of the back and a normal carapace design. Symmetry, with a slight arch in the center and a smooth transition to the tail. Do not buy a turtle with a carapace that is too arched or has a concave, as this is generally a bit abnormal. The head and four legs should be even in size, especially the glans should not be too small or too big. Don’t buy a turtle that has imbalanced proportions at first glance. In addition, be careful to see if the webbing between the four paws is broken. The color of the plastron of a small tortoise should be close to pink or lighter, so that the tortoise will be healthier.
2. Water quality
Never use tap water directly. I have experienced raising turtles for many years. The chlorine in tap water will cause the turtles to go blind. I basically use water that has been left for 2 days. Generally, if newly arrived turtles get used to the new water quality and no problems occur after one month, then your future water source will be fine. However, if you have friends who live in high-rise buildings, it is best not to change the water for the turtle within 2 days after encountering the cleaning water tank.
Don’t put the newly arrived turtle into the prepared tank immediately. You may as well scoop some water from the tank and put it in another container. The water will not cover the carapace. Wait for half an hour after the temperature has reached the actual temperature. Can be placed in a jar.
It is recommended to use a small filter. For those with small tanks, it is cheap and does not take up much space. It only costs more than 20 TB, which is an extra design for the price of a turtle. It should be acceptable, but it can avoid frequent replacement. Regarding water, I basically change the water once every three months. If the water level is low, add some water.
3. Feeding
Use turtle food and small fish and shrimp instead, basically 2-3 times of turtle food and 1 time of fish and shrimp. After buying live fish and shrimps, wash them repeatedly like washing rice to remove impurities and unpleasant-looking items, then refrigerate them. Before feeding, scoop out some water in the tank and soak them to thaw before feeding.
Pig-nosed turtles are nothing short of opportunists. Omnivore, I eat vegetables such as cucumbers and tomatoes, fruits such as watermelon, grapes, and cantaloupe, and the protein of hard-boiled eggs. Sometimes I will feed them when I eat them. It is always good to supplement some nutrition. However, two points should be noted. The size should be about the same as the turtle food that is usually eaten. Because pig-nosed turtles eat food, they will not bite the food and then tear it with their front paws like some turtles. If you don’t want to eat the rest, please do it as soon as possible. Take it out to avoid affecting water quality.
The key point is the number of days between feedings. It is difficult to starve a turtle to death, but it is really easy to make a turtle grow quickly, so now I basically feed it once every two days, usually 5-6 grains of soybean-sized turtle food or about 2cm of fish and shrimp 6- 8, so that the turtle will not grow too fast.
4. Bottom sand and filtration
The native ecological environment of the pig nose is in waters with sediment at the bottom. It is weak and afraid of fright. It likes to avoid the sand after removing the sand.
The purpose of raising pig noses in a bare tank is to facilitate the cleaning of garbage at the bottom of the tank, but considering the habits of turtles, I use bottom sand to raise pig noses. She would often push sand at the bottom of the tank, cover her back with sand, and then hide her entire body in the sand. The conditions after being raised for a long time are that when someone gets close or feeds into the water, she will float to the surface like a submarine, with some sand on her back and a very cute way of pointing her little pig nose at you.
I also raised them in bare tanks at first. Later, after checking the situation of pig snouts on the Internet, I decisively chose the bottom sand. The bottom sand is coral sand, which is less than 2 mm and has a thickness of about 4 cm. The purpose is: Coral sand is weakly alkaline and can adjust the pH value of water to a certain extent to meet the ideal water quality of pig nose. On the other hand, Pig Nose's skin is soft, and the small coral sand does not have as many edges and corners as the large particles or other bottom sand, so it will not scratch her skin when she pulls the sand.
5. Cleaning
Naturally, it is more difficult to change the water and clean up the waste after the bottom sand is provided. But based on my experience of raising pig noses for more than 4 years, there is no need to worry, it can be said that it is easier. As mentioned earlier, Pig Nose likes to remove the sand. When she removes the sand, the garbage in the sand will naturally be exposed to the water. Don’t worry about the waste hiding in the sand forever, affecting the water quality or being difficult to clean. The turtle will help you clean it up. Let’s work together. The efficiency of the filter (please pass by if you don't use a filter) is absolutely ok. At the same time, there is a certain amount of waste in the water and sand that can breed digestive bacteria.
My current water change strategy for lazy people is: wait for 2-3 months until algae grows on the tank wall before completely changing the water and washing the sand (note: from December last year when I used the heating rod to March 15th today) The water has not been changed yet), the water has always been very clear, but after the water naturally evaporates, some new water is added to finish. Once again, I have to make up for it; I don’t feed the turtle every day. I believe that the turtle cannot eat a big meal every day under natural circumstances. Sometimes being hungry is beneficial to the growth of the turtle (please pass by the Turtle Protection Association). The reason is that everyone Everyone knows that the more you eat, the more you eat.
6. Polyculture
Pig-nosed turtles are lower-water turtles and are often mixed with upper-water fish such as arowana, not to mention other more violent water turtles. Only others bully her. It can be said that like turtles, they can only land when they lay eggs, so the deeper the water level, the better. There is no need for a terrace. They can be mixed with small fish and shrimps. Don’t worry. As long as the density is not too high and the space is too small, under normal circumstances, they will It is impossible to catch live fish and shrimps, which is one of the reasons why pig-nosed turtles are so cute and cute.
It is not recommended to raise it in a grass tank during mixed breeding, because one night you will find that all the aquatic plants you worked so hard to grow have gone to the ground or been swallowed by her.
7. Water temperature
In fact, the water temperature is very simple. It should not be lower than 18 degrees. For turtles that have not been through the winter before, the water temperature should not be lower than 20 degrees. When it is cold, use a heating rod to adjust it. It's fine if it's above 20 degrees. Pig-nosed turtles do not hibernate, so never try water temperatures lower than 18 degrees.
8. Treatment
Regarding treatment, I should not say anything completely, because my turtle has never been sick. If a turtle friend's pig nose develops nail rot, rotten skin, etc., first consider the water quality and water temperature, and then solve the problem based on the information in the forum.
9. Disease prevention
The best way to prevent disease is to give the tortoise a good order. When many turtles got sick, it was originally because their owners were too curious, so they took them out to crawl around, sometimes touching their heads, and sometimes pulling their feet. The turtles all became sick after being tortured. I would also like to encourage some turtle friends: Love Turtles have a healthy living habit.
But here we must pay attention: the simplest way to see whether a pig-nosed turtle is healthy is to check the color of the plastron. Usually the color is pink and a little redder. Newly returned turtles may wish to check the color of the plastron within two days. Can there be any major changes? Also, regularly use a soft-bristled toothbrush to clean away the debris on the carapace to keep it clean (I clean it slightly every 3 months).
This is just my personal feeding experience, and may not completely match yours. It can only be regarded as a reference, and the one that matches is the best.
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