Unique Turtle Species

I am very glad that Mrs has been very active for a while. She ate three feeder fish last week with fairly amount of turtle food every morning. I am really surprised about her appetite, and it's really hard to believe she can swim quickly enough to chase the fish! Anyway, I am happy she is healthy and seems really enjoy her big acqurium.

Today I wanted to share some unique turtle spcecies. Some of them look really funny and weird. :)

Chinese Softshelled Turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis)

Argentine Snake-necked Turtle (Hydromedusa tectifera)

Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii)

Rote Island Snake-necked Turtle (Chelodina mccordi)

Mata mata (Chelus fimbriatus)

Eastern Long-neck Turtle (Chelodina longicollis)

Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)

Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera)

Pig-nosed Turtle (Carettochelys insculpta)

Big-headed Turtle (Platysternon megacephalum)

Picture sources:http://www.bukisa.com/articles/43212_bizarre-and-exotic-pets

See all species of turtles: http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-species/turtles-and-tortoises_all_landing.aspx

Mrs doesn't like to Take Pictures! ;)

Sex of Turtles?

    

Good news! Mrs. and Mr. are getting much better this week. I don't see them stretch their neck breathing often and Mrs. swam a lot in the water too. Though they are still not as active as before, I am sure they will be recover very soon!

Today I want to talk about how to decide the sex of your turtles. This first thing is to wait for your turtles grow up to adults. lol....that means even if I know everything about how to decide the sex, I still can't tell Mr. and Mrs.' gender, or if their are a couple or not...

Steps to tell if a turtle is Male or Female:

STEP 1 -Be prepared to combine the signs to reach a conclusion. Turtles from different species may have specific clues to their gender and it is important to know about these possibilities. The best approach to sexing a turtle is to use a combination of the following suggested steps to come up with the most likely gender for the turtle. Bear in mind that some methods are less reliable than others in determining the gender of your turtle. Yet, if all the signs point in one direction, then it's more likely than not that you've found out the gender accurately. However, if the signs are mixed, you may wish to take your turtle to a vet to be certain.

Wait until the turtle is an adult because it is extremely difficult to sex a baby turtle.Be aware that you might have to wait years as they grow, and that turtles are considered to be juveniles until after 5 years of age.

STEP 2 - Hold your turtle with care when determining its gender. Flipping over your turtle can hurt him (or her!). Be careful to hold your turtle with a gentle grip and to turn him or her with care and a gradual movement.

STEP 3 - Look at the turtle's tail. Turtles have a hole or vent which is called the "cloaca" located on their tail. Male turtles have the cloaca located farther away from the body, about half to two thirds the distance from the shell and more toward to the tip of the tail. Female turtles have the cloaca closer to the body, almost under the overlap of the shell.

Examine the thickness and length of the tail. Male turtles often have fatter and longer tails than the female.

STEP 4 - Look at the bottom or underbelly of the turtle's shell. If the plastron (bottom shell) is convex, goes out, it's probably a female. If its bottom shell is concave (rounded) or goes in toward the inside of the body, then the turtle is most likely a male.The reasoning behind this is that the female's convex plastron provides more room for eggs, while the male's concave plastron fits better over the female's when mating.

STEP 5 - Look at the turtle's front or fore claws. Most male turtles have very long front claws.Males use these claws in courtship. Note that the backclaws are usually the same for both genders and that claw size doesn't hold for all species of turtles.

However, if a male is a "late bloomer" or has been kept in inadequate conditions, the claws may not be noticeably longer.

STEP 6 - Check the turtle's size. If you have more than one turtle, you can compare the sizes. In most species, the female turtle is larger.But the difference is usually very small, and you need to keep in mind that there are size variations within a gender too, so only use this sign along with many others.

STEP 7 - Look for species specific clues. Depending on the species of your turtle, there may be other clues. For example:

Red-eared Slider: The male's front claws are longer than on the female's.

American box turtle: 90 percent of the time, male box turtles have red or orange irises while the female has brown or yellow ones. Also, the female has a tendency to have a higher-domed, rounder upper-shell, while the male has a lower shell with more of an oval or oblong appearance.

STEP 8 - Breed, keep separate, or just keep loving your gender clarified turtle. After determining whether your turtle is male or female, you can decide on breeding from there. However, unless you have a rare species of aquatic turtle, breeding is notadvised. You will simply have more turtles to look after and that's a big task for most people.

Article source: http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-if-a-Turtle-Is-Male-or-Female

Here is another video shows how to decide the sex of turtles: http://www.ehow.com/video_4958497_determine-sex-turtle.html

How do turtles communicate?

I am very happy to say that Mr and Mrs is getting better everyday! :)
As Mr. gets more active, he always touches Mrs and try to wake her up. That's sooo cute!
Is he trying to communicate with Mrs? How do turtles communicate with each other?

About Turtles

• There are many different kinds of turtles, over 250 species in fact. You can find them almost anywhere. Many people confuse turtles and tortoises. What you call these shelled creatures of the order Chelonia, may just depend on where you live. In Australia, only sea turtles are considered turtles; everything else is a tortoise. However, there are no land turtles in Australia. In the United States, chelonians that spend most of the time in water are called turtles. Ones that spend most of their time on land are called tortoises. There is also a third type of chelonian: the terrapin. In North America, terrapins spend their time in water and on land. They often dwell in swampy, brackish water. All turtles are cold-blooded and have an outer protective shell. Some turtles are omnivores and will eat a variety of plant food, as well as small fish, insects and other small bugs and animals. Some turtles are herbivores and only eat plant food.

Behavior of Turtles

• Turtles brumate (a name for reptilian hibernation) during the winter. Some turtles, such as the box turtles, burrow into the ground to brumate. Water turtles will bury themselves under leaves or mud. When it is time to lay eggs, females will dig a nest in the ground for their eggs. After the female lays her eggs, she buries them with sand or vegetation. Most turtle species will not stay to take care of the eggs. A few species will guard the eggs from snakes or other predators for a short time. When a baby turtle hatches, it is on its own from birth.

How Turtles Communicate

• Turtles are mostly solitary creatures, so not much is known about how they communicate with each other. They do seem to use some type of communication when it is time to mate. Some species will travel together to nesting grounds to mate. Some turtles will use a variety of methods to try and attract a mate, including head bobbing, biting the female's legs, or use different leg movements while facing the female. Some turtle species can detect an enemy by sensing the vibrations in water. They also have excellent sight and sense of smell.

Read more: How Do Turtles Communicate? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4568277_turtles-communicate.html#ixzz1wgeK5GlD

Turtle Stops Eating?

Mr. and Mrs. have stopped eating for a week...:( I know the reason is because of their Pneumonia, but there are also other reasons for turtle stops eating such as temperature, water condition and deceases. If your turtle is an adult, you may try to force feeding... but if he is a baby like Mr. and Mrs, the best way is to wait for them being healed and start eating by themselves.

Below is an article I found about some common reasons for a turtle stops eating. I hope my Mr. and Mrs. will be fully healed very SOON!

Article sources: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071218171301AAQejs3

Some things that are pretty general and should be checked if the turtle recently changed its patterns:

Temperature--if too cold, turtles can't digest so they stop eating. Your turtle needs a heater if there isn't one already.

Pneumonia--turtles are pretty susceptible to respiratory infections. Look to see any bubbles coming out of the nose while it's on land. Listen to hear any wheezing noises (you pretty much shouldn't be able to hear strong breathing noises in any turtles). These can indicate a pneumonia which should be treated by a specialist. 

Clear eyes--the turtles eyes should not be weepy with fluid or pus or mucus. Check to make sure one isn't more difficult for the turtle to open. Make sure they are not swollen. All of these can be signs of eye or other infections. 

Shell--is the shell soft. Does the shell show "damaged" spots that look like a sore or erosion. Once you find pictures of your breed of turtle online, compare the shape of the shell of yours to healthy turtles shown online. Most turtles are pretty dome shaped and should not be slope-shelled, asymmetrical, show dented areas of shell, etc. Any of these can be signs of disease, nutritional deficiency, or a lack of light. (Tiny little flakes at the center of scutes or edges of the shell are probably just normal shell growth).

Fungus--look for white cottony like growths on the shell, mouth, or extremities. These can be fungal infection. In my experience this usually doesn't cause lethargy until seriously progressed. 

Diet--once you figure out what kind of turtle you own, make sure it has the right diet. One of the most common mistakes of new turtle owners is feeding any/all turtles lettuce and fruit. Some breeds don't eat this at all, and most breeds that don't eat meat need attention payed to keeping the assortment well-rounded. Turtles fed the wrong diet will slowly die.

Light--does your turtle get a broad spectrum light? Just like people, most animals need sunlight (artificial or real) to healthily grow and process nutrients.

Feces--should be fairly well formed. If your land turtle has loose watery stools, or stools are exceptionally foul smelling, it might be due to a parasite or other illness and should be seen by a specialist.

Turtle Pneumonia

I am sad to say Mr. and Mrs. are not fine recently. I took them to vet, then be told they got pneumonia. There is not much I can do because they are too small. Doc. Burrows gave them injections of antibiotics. I really hope it works. :(

Below is the article I found about the Pneumonia. 

(Article source: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medinjuries.htm)

Symptoms: 

Pneumonia is not something you can tell right away. The turtle usually will begin to exhibit sighs, most common of which are listed below, but other times they will carry it for several months without showing any signs or symptoms of being sick. An example: One of my red ear sliders, Frisbee, was fine on Friday evening before we went out of town. Sunday night, he was listing (swimming crooked, one side leaning lower than the other).  A week or so later with treatment, he was 100% again and has not had any further problems. On the other hand, Thorn, an Argentine Snakeneck Turtle, showed no signs until near death. Tests were conducted by a qualified herp vet (to include Radiographs and CT Scan), who diagnosed the problem as Necrotizing Pneumonia (deteriorating the lung tissue itself). This condition was estimated to have begun almost 1 year prior to showing any signs, and could have continued until death had I not gotten lucky and happen to see Thorn cough of a small amount of lung tissue.

Treatment:

Keep the water temp, ambient air temp and basking temps in a comfortable cushion, as per the needs of that particular species. Ensure that the ambient air temp does not fall below the temp of the water. If it does for a few hours (ie: during the night) then that is normal and natural in the wild. Several cases of pneumonia have been caused by this easily preventable condition. Another way of preventing pneumonia, is  to keep the turtles away from drafts, such as under or near open windows, especially in the winter. In our early days, we lost a slider to pneumonia this way.

If you are still not sure your turtle had pneumonia or not, the video below shows exactly what your turtle will do if he gets it....

Saturday, walking my turtles

Mr. & Mrs. start to explore the world! :)

Hey Mr., I still can see you! XD