Harmless and meek, dragging on a heavy house, choosing their own way, the turtle manages to adapt to a variety of habitats. But it only seems at first glance clumsy. In fact, in a special period of tournament fights, it shows the quality of lightness and dynamism. It is also worthy of respect because the tortoise is a long-liver and some individuals survived to one hundred and fifty years. Therefore, interest to these long-livers from the side of mankind does not run out until now: the sacred tortoises turned from century to century into folklore images, into characters of legends and myths. For example, in India, a tortoise is an image that held an earthly solid on its shell. In Turkey, twenty-two years ago, during the excavations, a small fragment of limestone tiles was found, on which an archaic reptile is carved, the antiquity of which is beyond doubt. Scientists have established that the image is nine thousand years old. These awkward animals are depicted, as pets, on antique vases, frescoes and even tombs of Ancient Greece.
In the age of "enlightenment", researchers began to conduct experiments on the "guardians" of our planet, and the results of those scientific works give the impression that the tortoise can starve to five years and is able to survive in pure nitrogen until twelve o'clock. In comparison with other mammals that survive no more than five minutes. This is explained by the fact that the lungs and its tissues, in this situation, switch to anoxic breathing, the so-called anaerobic respiration. And so, after reading the laudatory introduction, you decided to acquire this calm, nothing asking of you, an animal, for your child. After all, as psychologists say, that the child should be taught to be responsible for our smaller brothers, from diapers, then later, becoming an adult, he will transfer love to his relatives. Having taken such a responsible step, you need to think in advance where the turtle will live - this is one of the important conditions for keeping your pet.
So, you go with the child to the pet store. It has a huge number of subspecies and you decide to take a land reptile. The child noticed one of the many crawling turtles. He stretches out his hand, saying, "I want this!" Take it in your hands so that its front legs rest between your forefinger and thumb, and it will keep them horizontally, without sagging, while instantly drawing in your head and limbs, without losing during a long stay in captivity, fear. It's in your hands!
The turtle should be relatively well-fed, since the individuals with light weight are considered weak, and it is unlikely that they will live long. Look into the eyes of the turtle you like. They should be clear, without tears and completely open. Touch the shell and examine it carefully. The "house" of the turtle is whole, without chips and cracks? Great! Density of the shell speaks of calcium abundance in the body. By the way, the tortoise shell is domed, like the parietal bone of the human skull. Hence the name of this animal is "turtle".
Well, your examination and acquaintance is over. Now how to look after. Requires a horizontal or, at least, a cubic terrarium or, in extreme cases, a box of plywood. What would be comfortable for your turtle, it is necessary to "house" the house with sawdust or bundles of hay. As a substrate - use a large sand mixed with peat, so that the pet could dig in if necessary in this mixture. A UV lamp at a height of thirty centimeters can illuminate the "housing". In addition, the house is desirable to put in a warm room, so as not to have drafts. The dimensions of the terrarium must be determined arbitrarily, but the standard room terrarium is calculated as follows: 100cm x 60cm x 60cm. It must have a water tank and another utensil for eating. Daily care is mandatory: replacing the soil, water in the drinking bowl and feeding. Weekly care is washing the terrarium. Now let us dwell on the question that arises immediately, as soon as the turtle was brought home from the store: "What to feed?"
If you examined it carefully in the store, you understood and noticed that she does not have teeth, but there are horny sharp plates ending with a beak. By these very plates she deftly sends food into her mouth, helping herself with her powerful, in form, language. Therefore, you need to know that the food needs to be minced before you spread it into a plate, otherwise, the turtle will simply remain hungry.
Unlike many terrarium animals, a reptile does not require live food like insects, malusks, mice, birds and even lizards. However, necessarily in the diet of our wards should get microelements and vitamins contained in a variety of feeds. But her omnivorous pleasure! You can feed with salad, clover, alfalfa, dandelion leaves and their flowers, thistle and mashed carrots and other vegetables. Beans, fruits of any sort, though, bones, if they exist, need to be removed. Also, as a delicacy, the turtle loves bananas.
The predilections of land tortoises are unpredictable: they can eat finely chopped liver and heart, sardines with heads and bones. And since the turtle grows very fast, requiring attention, it must be fed daily, saturating the diet with various additives. A cub, less than 6 cm in length, is fed with vitamins from the calculation of 0.2 g; more than 6 cm - 0.5 g. A mature individual (from 15-30 cm) - from 3-5 g.
In autumn, when the air temperature drops, the bug is very sensitive to the temperature balance. When she stops eating - this is the first sign of the departure of our pet in hibernation. But first, you need to immerse it in warm water, for about twenty minutes, that it would empty your digestive tract. Wipe dry with a paper towel - lay on the bottom of a suitable large box with a moistened thick layer of peat prepared for a sleep tortoise, falling asleep with dry leaves or hay. The box should be identified in the basement or room, with a temperature of at least +6 ° C, and try not to disturb until spring, until the turtle itself begins to stir and worry. The excitement is in vain if the spillage occurs a little before the scheduled time. Before you enter it into the terrarium, you must bathe in warm water. During the procedure, the sleeping beauty will begin to drink greedily! It means nothing else than - woke up, not otherwise!
I would like to say that your pupil sometimes needs to arrange "bathroom days". In the summer - with soiling with soap - no more than once a week, and a simple standing vodichkoj (without chlorine) - 2-3 times a week. Shampoos, shower gels, liquid soap - all these products are good for humans, because they have enveloping properties, which is not desirable for the animal. For our ward is suitable hypoallergenic soap or simple - baby. Just remember that the basin in which you bathe it, soap, sponge - all "bathroom equipment" should belong exclusively to your turtle, and therefore after bathing, take it to the highest shelf, until next time.
I want to emphasize the capacity: water pour so much to paws, it reached to the bottom. Do not forget that this species is overland, not waterfowl. Because it can drown! After bathing, you can grate the shell from the bottom and top with olive oil. This will strengthen its structure.
The turtle hears unhealthily, but it would be a mistake to believe that she is deaf at all. No! She simply perceives low frequency sounds. Apparently, the sounds in her life do not play the leading role, except in the mating season, when she makes a loud roar. But the sight of land tortoises is excellent, as is the sense of smell and "compassion". She is able to see the enemy at a considerable distance. Strangely enough, but her vision is colored: our turtbala distinguishes the bright petals of desert plants, to which she is a big "hunter". Like other reptiles, turtles moult, freeing from dead scales, but this process is not uniform and affects only the skin.
Approaching the logical conclusion of the story, I want to remind a children's song for your child:
"In a tortoise-shell Bone shirts, No stronger than a shirts, Though it's a hundred years old!"So, what would your pet be wearing that "shirt" a hundred years, try to create a pleasant life for him in your home! And then everyone will be happy and satisfied from communicating with each other! Now you know how to properly care for turtles at home.