Brazilian Painted Turtle

The Brazilian Painted Turtle is an animal of the turtle family, genus Emydidae. Under artificial breeding conditions, its weight can reach 100 grams in one year. It has a moderate body size, a small head with a blunt snout, and yellow-green longitudinal stripes on the head and neck, with a pair of red spots behind the eyes. The carapace is flat, with circular green markings on each scute, and the posterior margin is not serrated. The plastron is pale yellow with black circular markings, resembling coins, and is connected by bone sutures between the carapace and plastron. The limbs are pale green with gray-brown longitudinal stripes, and have rich webbing between the toes and fingers. This turtle has a colorful appearance, with a pattern of seven colors, including red, yellow, white, brown, green, gray, and purple on the carapace. The plastron has alternating patterns of yellow, white, and black, resembling hieroglyphics, and each turtle is unique.

Origin: Mexico (Coahuila), United States (West Virginia, Virginia, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, North Carolina, Nebraska, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana).

The Brazilian Painted Turtle has a high reproductive rate, with a breeding period from April to September each year. The female turtle has a wide body, short tail, and the cloaca is located close to the base of the tail. The male turtle has a relatively narrow and long body, with a long and thick tail, and the cloaca is located farther from the base of the tail. They have long claws. In the Yangtze River Basin in China, the nesting period is from June to August. The turtles reach sexual maturity when their weight is over 250 grams. Parent turtles weighing over 1000 grams have strong reproductive ability. The female turtle lays 2-3 batches of eggs, with 10-20 eggs per batch. The artificial breeding of Brazilian Painted Turtles is similar to turtles and yellow-margined turtles. The eggs of Brazilian Painted Turtles are oval-shaped, with an average length of about 31 millimeters and an average weight of about 6.8 grams.

Compared to other turtle species, the Brazilian Painted Turtle has more vibrant colors on its body. They have two-color patterns on their heads, with light green and red. The top of their heads is light green, while the sides of their heads are red. There are dark green patterns on their backs, which are arranged in a very regular manner. The underside of their bodies has patterns of black, white, and yellow, with yellow being the dominant color. Brazilian Painted Turtles are active, but they are timid and can easily be startled by loud noises.

1. Shell Rot

Symptoms: White and yellow spots appear on the limbs, head, and tail, usually accompanied by a foul smell; severe swelling, bleeding, and nail loss in the limbs, and even exposed flesh in the tail.

Treatment: Mild shell rot can be treated with iodine tincture or erythromycin ointment, and exposure to sunlight can promote self-healing; for severe shell rot, apply iodine tincture twice a day, followed by application of erythromycin ointment and dry keeping for half an hour, with a damp towel or tissue placed underneath to prevent dehydration, soak in water three times a day, 30 minutes each time; soak in diluted potassium permanganate solution for 15 minutes (diluted to a pale purple color).

Cause: Use of unsunned water; large temperature differences; excessive water changes; improper handling of food residue and feces polluting the water; bacterial infection caused by injury.

Prevention: Reduce the frequency of water changes; promptly remove food residue and feces; use water that has been sunned for a day; isolate and raise injured turtles.

Difference between shell rot and molting: Molting is a normal growth phenomenon that does not affect the turtle's condition. Molting is a transparent fibrous substance, odorless, while shell rot covers the turtle's skin and has a foul smell.

2. Shell Ulceration

Symptoms: The shell of the turtle is ulcerated externally or internally, accompanied by a foul smell.

Treatment: Mild cases can be disinfected and self-healed by using iodine tincture and sunlight exposure; for severe cases, remove the rotten flesh, disinfect with iodine tincture, and apply erythromycin ointment and dry keeping.

Cause: Use of unsunned water; large temperature differences; excessive water changes; improper handling of food residue and feces polluting the water; bacterial infection caused by turtles biting each other.

Prevention: Reduce the frequency of water changes; promptly remove food residue and feces; use water that has been sunned for a day; isolate and raise injured turtles.

3. White and Red Eyes Disease

Symptoms: Sleeping all day, rubbing the eyes with claws; red and swollen eyes with white membrane covering the corners; severe cases unable to open eyes, resembling goldfish eyes; refusing to eat and drink.

Treatment: In the early stage, use hydrochloric acid eye drops that can be opened twice a day, followed by dry keeping for half an hour; in the middle and later stages, drop the eye drops into the eye slits, then apply erythromycin eye ointment and dry keeping for half an hour.

Cause: Use of unsunned water; large temperature differences; excessive water changes; improper handling of food residue and feces polluting the water; feeding raw pork.

Prevention: Reduce the frequency of water changes; promptly remove food residue and feces; use water that has been sunned for a day; do not feed pork (Brazilian turtles are particularly prone to white eye disease).

4. Scutes Sores

Symptoms: Small white or yellowish raised spots on the head and limbs that feel hard when touched, similar to pimples on human skin.

Treatment: Mild cases can be self-healed by exposure to sunlight; severe cases should be punctured and squeezed clean, then apply iodine tincture and erythromycin ointment and keep it dry.

Cause: Use of unsunned water; large temperature differences; excessive water changes; improper handling of food residue and feces polluting the water.

Prevention: Reduce the frequency of water changes; promptly remove food residue and feces; use water that has been sunned for a day.

5. Common Cold

Symptoms: Lethargy, bubbles and blackening of the nose tip; ulceration of the nostrils; shallow mouth breathing.

Treatment: Mild cases can be self-healed by exposure to sunlight; moderate cases can be treated by soaking in water at 30 degrees Celsius with common cold medicine (e.g. 999 Cold Remedy).

Cause: Use of air-conditioned rooms; keeping it on the balcony without covering; large temperature changes during water changes.

Prevention: Pay attention to temperature differences during water changes; reduce the amount of water changed each time; do not use air-conditioned rooms.

6. Pneumonia

Symptoms: Floating on one side; screaming and breathing with an open mouth; refusing water and food; bubbles at the corners of the mouth.

Treatment: For those who can still eat, mix amoxicillin capsules powder with food for feeding; for those refusing food, soak amoxicillin in water for 30 minutes, once a day.

Cause: Pneumonia is a worsening of cold symptoms.

7. Gastroenteritis

Symptoms: Red, white, and green stool; loose stool with blood streaks; floating at the rear end; refusing water and food.

Treatment: Mild cases should be kept warm and fasted for a week; severe cases should be given Bathor/Mother Aijiu, soak for 30 minutes, once a day.

Cause: Feeding at too low a temperature; feeding during temperature drop; feeding too frequently.

Prevention: Reduce feeding when there is a large difference in temperature; feed regularly; reduce feeding on rainy days.

8. Tail Injury

Symptoms: Tail abrasions, bleeding, and ulceration.

Treatment: Disinfect with iodine tincture and isolate.

Cause: Overcrowding (mainly occurs during the seedling period); biting and fighting between turtles; vitamin deficiency leading to atrophy and shedding of the tail scutes.

Prevention: Increase hiding places for seedlings; raise in green water; do not mix turtles with significant size differences; ensure balanced nutrition for turtles.

9. Otitis Media

Symptoms: Swelling in the inner ear, feels like a large hard mass when touched.

Treatment: Prepare iodine tincture, a small knife, and Yunnan Baiyao. Disinfect the knife, apply iodine tincture to the affected area for disinfection, make a cross-shaped wound, squeeze out the pus, apply iodine tincture and sprinkle Yunnan Baiyao on the wound, and keep it dry.

Cause: Infection in the inner ear; feeding prickly food, etc.

Prevention: Pay attention to water quality; do not feed prickly food.

10. Fungus

Symptoms: White fluffy substance tightly adhering to the surface of the turtle shell, unable to wash off, spreading and covering the entire turtle back.

Treatment: Apply tannic acid ointment and erythromycin ointment to the turtle shell, keep dry for 1 hour, then wash and put it in water once a day, paying attention to temperature differences.

Cause: Bacteria in the water.

Prevention: Keep the water clean.

Water alkali and fungus have essential differences. Water alkali is caused by an excessive amount of alkaline substances in the water, which attaches to the turtle shell after long-term living in the water, without affecting the turtle's health, only affecting aesthetics. The water alkali can be brushed off with vinegar. If it cannot be brushed off, it may be fungus or water mold.

The Brazilian Painted Turtle is an aquatic turtle that prefers tranquility and is sensitive to noise. It is active and adaptable to its environment, with a higher tolerance for temperature changes compared to other native turtle species such as the European pond turtle and yellow-throated slider. The suitable water temperature for its growth is between 20-32°C, with the optimal range being 25-30°C. When the temperature drops below 20°C, its feeding may decrease and it becomes less active. Below 16°C, it begins hibernation, and below 12°C, it enters a state of complete hibernation.

For the daily care of the Brazilian Painted Turtle, it needs to bask. This means providing a little bit of land in its tank or enclosure, or placing a stone for it to climb onto and bask in the sun. Basking helps promote calcium absorption, aids in growth, and has antibacterial properties. For daily feeding, it is not necessary to feed the turtle too frequently as it has a slow digestion process. It is best to feed it every two days, with the amount of food being approximately the size of its current head. Feeding small fish and shrimp is ideal, but lean poultry meat such as chicken can also be offered as food.