Taking care of turtles in captivity is quite difficult, and it is even more difficult to breed them. However, if you are a fan of these animals, you can try it. Breeding turtles will take some effort on your part.
Selection of turtles
You will need females and males to breed turtles, make sure you have both sexes. Males, as a rule, have a brighter color than females, in addition, they are more willing to make contact with humans. You can also distinguish them by the lower part of the shell. In males, it is usually slightly concave inward, in females, it is curved outward. Another feature of aquatic turtles is that their males are smaller than females, and they also have long claws on their front legs. Make sure the turtles are sexually mature or they will not breed. Males of aquatic turtles reach this age by 3 years, females by 5 years. Do not try to breed turtles immediately after purchasing them, you can do this no earlier than a year later.
Cooling
To successfully breed aquatic turtles, you need to create the most natural environment for them. To do this, it is necessary to organize a cooling period for them. Aquatic turtles lay their eggs from March to June, so the cooling period should be in January to February. During this period (6-8 weeks) keep the turtles at a temperature of 10-15 degrees Celsius. At this time, the turtles eat very little, you need to leave them alone.
Feeding
During the breeding season, it is especially important to monitor the diet of aquatic turtles. In addition to normal food, the female intake of vitamin D3 and calcium should be increased. The most healthy diet for an aquatic turtle might include, for example, earthworms, snails, melon, lettuce, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, peas, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, dandelion flowers and mulberry trees.
Space and place for laying eggs
To get the turtles to breed, you just need to arrange a suitable space for them, nature will do the rest. It is important that turtles have freedom of movement. In addition, a place should be organized where the females will lay their eggs. To do this, it is necessary to build a platform covered with soft moist soil or sand 20-50 cm thick. All kinds of stones and logs must be placed here so that the female can hide in them. Aquatic turtles make several clutches, each of which can contain from 2 to 10 eggs. The egg-laying period can take several weeks.
Egg care
Turtle eggs should be kept at normal room temperature. On particularly hot days, move them to a cool place, keep them slightly damp, and do not overheat in the sun. For the convenience of keeping eggs, use an incubator, having previously built a nest in it. To make such a nest, you will need any spacious container. Make several holes in the lid for air circulation. Mix vermiculite, peat and sphagnum moss in equal proportions, soak this mixture, squeeze out excess water and place in a container. Make small indentations and place the eggs in them, never turning them over. Close the lid and do not remove it, keep the temperature around 24 - 30 degrees Celsius.
Hatching
Depending on the ambient temperature, the turtles begin to hatch after 50-120 days. As soon as this begins to occur, remove the remaining shells from the nest so that it does not interfere with the rest of the eggs. The hatched turtle can remain in the shell of the egg for several more days, while it continues to feed on the remains of the egg yolk. After that, it can be released into a container of water. Feed them daily both animal and plant foods, it is only important not to overdo it with protein in their diet, this can lead to health problems.
