Types of turtles and their care

Turtles belong to the class Reptiles and are included in one of the four orders of reptiles. These seemingly clumsy and unsightly creatures are fraught with many mysteries.

There are many legends associated with turtles. One of the most famous is the legend that the Earth rests on three elephants, located on the back of a huge turtle. It symbolizes the universe. Her dome-shaped shell represents the firmament, her belly the earth floating among the waters, and her famous longevity leads to belief in her as eternal. The turtle is one of the four celestial animals of feng shui. It is considered a symbol of support and protection, as well as wisdom and longevity. Those who want to live a long, healthy life keep turtles in their homes. She is such a powerful symbol that families who have any type of this sacred animal often find that their family income increases steadily over the years. The turtle brings smooth and stable improvement and increases the standard of living. The presence of any turtle symbolizes the presence of this heavenly creature in the house, which at the same time promises both success and great luck. When we learned about this, we were very happy, because we have this wonderful animal.

Most people associate the turtle with clumsiness and slowness. For many peoples, these turtle qualities have entered into oral folk art. Turning to literature, I found several proverbs and sayings about turtles.

On the streets of London you can see posters depicting a tortoise and a hare, which warn pedestrians: “Don’t gallop like a hare and don’t crawl like a tortoise.” But on the Fiji islands, the turtle is considered a symbol of speed and superior navigational abilities. She is depicted on the official letterhead of the Marine Department.

An ancient Indian legend tells a sad and slightly sad story about the appearance of turtles. Once upon a time, young daring giants lived on Earth who considered themselves superior to the gods. The gods were angry with the giants, and a terrible battle broke out. It lasted a long time

But finally the giants could not stand it and ran away in panic. Only shields remained on the battlefield. To show the giants their power, the gods breathed life into their shields. And so the shields also spread out in different directions, and then their heads and paws grew, and they turned into turtles.

Since ancient times, people have endowed turtles with magical and mystical properties. For many peoples, they are a symbol of ancestral and family ties.

Ancient turtles

It is quite possible that turtles are the longest living animals on Earth. It is well established that some individuals lived for a century and a half. The first turtles appeared at the end of the Triassic period, more than 200 million years ago. Even then their body was protected by a strong shell. Probably, the oldest turtles were almost no different from modern ones. Many of them could also retract their heads and limbs under their shells to protect them from enemies. The dorsal shield of the shell consisted of bone plates covered with a smooth horny layer. The belly was also protected by bone plates. Most species of modern turtles, like their ancient ancestors, do not have teeth and tear off leaves and stems of plants using a hard, horny beak.

Proganochelis is one of the oldest sea turtles known to science. She had a wide, domed dorsal shield, and her soft abdomen was protected by bony plates. In addition, along the edges of the shell there were additional plates covering the limbs. Unlike modern turtles, Proganochelis had teeth, but also had a horny beak, which is common for turtles.

The giant archelon sea turtle, unlike most of its land and freshwater relatives, did not have a massive shell. The archelon's body was protected by a bone frame, apparently covered with a thick layer of skin. The archelon moved, scooping up water with large and strong paddle-shaped limbs. Like modern leatherback turtles, Archelon probably fed on jellyfish.

The Atlas turtle is the largest land turtle known to us. It is believed that it weighed about four tons, and its length exceeded the length of modern giant tortoises. She ate plants. If she was attacked, she pulled her head and limbs under her massive shell. The oldest turtle was discovered in northeastern Brazil. The twenty-centimeter sea turtle lived about 110 million years ago - ten million years older than all previously known representatives of this group.

Turtles are living fossils of our planet.

Types of turtles

Thanks to its shell, a turtle cannot be confused with any other animal. But not all turtles are the same. Some turtles are terrestrial and live exclusively on land, while others have a life closely connected with water. Among these turtles there are, in turn, freshwater and sea turtles. Many of them are excellent swimmers, very fast and agile in the water, although on land turtles are usually clumsy and slow. There are small turtles, and there are giants - elephant turtles, sometimes reaching 400 kg in weight. About 250 species of turtles are now known. All of them, with a few exceptions, are herbivorous, all thermophilic. The order of turtles includes many species, and they can be found in salt and fresh water, in forests, and even on dry land, closer to deserts. In sea turtles, due to their constant life in water, their legs have turned into flippers. Freshwater animals have a flattened, streamlined shell, legs with long sharp claws for tearing prey, and membranes have formed between their toes. Land creatures are usually powerfully built, their thick legs have short, blunt claws. Some aquatic turtles have switched to life on land for the second time, but do not break their connection with water.

I love animals very much. At my house there live aquarium fish, a white rat, Marusya, and a red-eared turtle named Vitya. We purchased the turtle in 2005 and immediately began to study the literature on the care and maintenance of red-eared turtles. That’s when my many years of research began.

Why was the red-eared turtle called that

Red-eared turtles are freshwater turtles; they spend most of their lives both in water and on land. It is difficult to say why the turtle was called the red-eared turtle. Neither she nor any other turtles have what we call ears. These reptiles are not endowed with either an auricle or even an external auditory canal. The turtle got its name from the two elongated bright red spots behind its eyes. This decal may be bright yellow with a zigzag lightning bolt.

Natural habitats of the red-eared turtle

The red-eared slider's habitat ranges from the southeastern and southern United States to Lake Michigan and Washington, and is also found in northeastern Mexico. The red-eared relatives populated not only Central America, but also Uruguay and northeastern Argentina. They live in shallow lakes and ponds with low, swampy shores, preferring quiet waters, muddy bottoms and abundant vegetation. Turtles spend most of their time in the water and appear on the shore only to bask in the sun or lay eggs. But they even prefer to take sunbathing from snags protruding from the water or from clumps of algae, rather than on the “beaches,” so that in case of real or imaginary danger they can quickly jump into the water.

Appearance and size of red-eared turtles

Obviously, nature created a very practical form for turtles, since they existed for many thousands of years and changed little. Now they look almost the same as when they roamed in abundance among the dinosaurs.

An unmistakable sign of turtles (not only red-eared turtles) is their shell, a means of passive protection. The shape of the shell is associated with the way of life of turtles: in freshwater turtles, which includes the red-eared turtle, it is low, flattened and smooth. The head, neck and limbs are painted with white and light green stripes. In general, the colors of these turtles are extremely diverse, and in addition, they change greatly with age. Old animals can even become completely black.

The most beautiful and vibrant coloring is found in young (up to six months old) turtles. It can be from yellowish-light green to emerald green. By about a year, the color of the shell becomes the same color as that of adult turtles.

The length of turtles is from 3 to 28 cm. During the first 1.5 years of life they are able to grow up to 7.5 cm, then growth slows down and the turtle grows 1-1.25 cm per year.

How many years do red-eared turtles live

There are amazing, completely reliable records of longevity of some species of aquatic turtles: for example, the box turtle was up to 123 years old, the marsh turtle was up to 120 years old, and the vulture turtle lived in the Philadelphia Zoo for 58 years and died for an accidental reason.

The famous tortoise specialist Gerhard Müller kept many small tortoises for 25-30 years. According to his testimony, the life limit of the red-eared turtle is 40 years.

The longevity of turtles is associated with a slow metabolism compared to birds and mammals.

The structure of my turtle

Having received a small pet as a gift, I immediately began to study it and conduct my own research. Initially, I became familiar with the structure of my turtle. Its body consists of a head, neck, torso, limbs, shell and tail. Later, while studying my turtle, I turned for scientific advice to biology teacher Tatyana Arkadyevna Kamalova.

I learned that a turtle is a bilaterally symmetrical animal that belongs to the phylum Chordata, a class of reptiles. The shell of a turtle consists of bone; its scutes are covered with horny plates on top. It consists of a dorsal shield - the carapace and an abdominal shield - the plastron. The carapace consists of bone plates of skin origin, with which the ribs and processes of the vertebrae are fused. The appearance of the shells depends on the environment. In aquatic animals they are flat and flattened, in land animals they are denser and thicker. The same type of turtle in different conditions may have different shell structures. It can be massive, low, light, narrow, miniature, saddle-shaped. Their shape depends on the environment - the result of adaptation.

The turtle shell is the most important distinguishing feature of all turtles. It protects the turtle from injury, serves as protection from enemies, retains body heat, and gives strength to the turtle skeleton.

Turtles are oviparous, like many reptiles. Their eggs are covered with a hard shell. After laying eggs in the sand and rotting leaves, the turtles leave, exposing them to the sun. After some time, small turtles hatch. They pierce the shell with the help of a pointed growth on the snout, which soon falls off. From birth they must take care of themselves. And from birth they look the same as adults; they do not have a larval stage of development.

Captivity

Having studied special literature, we purchased everything necessary for our turtle. At home, red-eared turtles live in aquaterrariums. This artificial housing should be well lit, drafts and direct sunlight should be avoided. The inside of the aquarium should be arranged so that the turtle has the opportunity to both swim and sit on land. An aquatic turtle is not a fish, it should not swim constantly, it is harmful to its health. This turtle needs approximately 15-20 liters of water. We equipped the aquaterrarium with an island, which allowed the turtle to be both on land and in shallow water, so that it could easily raise its head and breathe.

The temperature should not be lower than 25-28°C. We carry out a complete replacement of water in the aquaterrarium as needed; the water must be left standing for 2-3 days. We installed an electric lamp above the aquaterrium, under which Vitya loves to bask as if in the sun. Beautiful pebbles were placed at the bottom.

Feeding red-eared turtles

Having decided to get this animal, you should remember the responsibility for this animal. The turtle will have to devote time, provide it with a place and the necessary food ration. Feeding turtles is not difficult, the main thing is to include a variety of components in their diet. They should use special vitamins for turtles as mineral supplements. The diet of young turtles requires special attention. In general, red-eared turtles are unpretentious: in the absence of algae, they willingly eat cabbage, carrot tops, and raw meat. It is advisable to feed aquatic turtles with shrimp. Once a week I give them small fish. Depending on the season, dandelion leaves, lettuce, spinach, banana slices and other fruits. Additionally, everything that can be collected in the field and on the river is given: caterpillars, fly larvae, earthworms, land and freshwater snails, all kinds of insects, as well as freshwater fish. The diet of young turtles requires special attention.