The red-eared turtle is the most common species of aquatic turtle found in home aquariums. A distinctive feature of red-eared turtles is a pair of red stripes behind the eyes, which are located on the sides of the head near the ears.

The hard shell of turtles consists of bony plates that are fused with the ribs. The shell of red-eared turtles reaches a length of up to 28 cm. The dorsal shell, which is called a carapace, is oval in shape and slightly flattened on top, the main background is green, the shields are decorated with a pattern in the form of rings of dark or light green color.

On the yellow abdominal shell, which is called the plastron, there is a characteristic dark pattern, which is different for each turtle, like fingerprints for people. The head, neck, limbs and tail have yellow stripes and spots. Despite the fact that red-eared turtles are aquatic, they not only swim a lot, but also spend quite a long time on land.

Special conditions were created for turtles to live at home. Closed horizontal aquarium with a volume of 40 liters with lighting and heating. The water temperature in the aquarium is maintained from 22 to 24°. There is no night lighting. At the bottom of the aquarium, soil about 2 cm thick is poured. The aquarium is equipped with a filter. The water in the aquarium is changed on average once a week, depending on contamination, the volume filled is 10-12 liters. In the center of the aquarium there is an artificial slide on which the turtles dry off. The slide is hollow, which allows turtles to climb inside it.

Observations were carried out over a month and a half (December - the first half of January). Every two weeks, weight (on a laboratory scale) and shell size (with a centimeter) were measured. Video and photography were carried out. All parameters were recorded in an observation diary.

On November 30, 2009, I began observing turtles, which live with me for no more than ten days.

The turtles are about four years old, which was revealed when examining the plates on the carapace. Turtles of different sizes. The larger turtle (I call her Masha) is initially slower, timid, and spends more time hiding. At the initial weighing, Masha weighed a little more than 15 grams, the length of the shell was 3.5 cm. The second smaller turtle (I call her Pasha) weighed 11.5 grams, the length of the shell was a little more than 3 cm. Unlike Masha, Pavel was initially more nimble, I got used to the new habitat faster and was generally more active in everything.

I noticed that turtles, when they want to eat, often swim to the front wall of the aquarium, as if they are waiting for something or asking for something.

Initially, I fed them special dry food consisting of gammarus, tubifex, bloodworms and seaweed. Turtles readily eat it and, apparently, they were fed similar food before they came to me. After feeding, turtles are less active: they swim calmly and look for a secluded place.

At the next feeding, I give the turtles new food - pieces of fresh beef heart. This time Masha was bolder, she was the first to try the new food. Pavel decided to try the heart only at another feeding, but gave preference to dry gammarus.

At the next feeding I again give him new food - gammarus, but not dry, but fresh, only frozen. The turtles willingly ate it.

As you know, turtles need to be fed not only animal, but also plant food. Therefore, I decided to treat the turtles with grated carrots and parsley, but the turtles were reluctant to try the new food and practically did not touch it. However, when Vallisneria algae was placed in the aquarium, Masha actively nibbled its leaves.

I learned from books that aquatic turtles are predators and they benefit from live small fish as live food for the full development of their skeleton and shell. We placed a couple of small guppies in the aquarium. The turtles only initially became interested in them, making several circles and trying to catch up with them. But, having never caught any fish, they still live peacefully together.

Throughout almost the entire month of December, Pavel mostly spent his time in hibernation, eating much less frequently and less than Maria. As is typical for turtles, in winter many of them hibernate or lead an inactive lifestyle, which could be seen in the example of Pasha.

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