Fire Turtle, also known as red-bellied turtles, is actually a branch of the Brazilian turtle, but its beautiful patterns are even better than the Brazilian turtle. It is not expensive and cute in shape. As a vegetarian when it grows up, it has low cost, so Fire Turtle has become the first choice for aquarium enthusiasts to raise pet turtles.
Just born little turtles are all green, which seems unrelated to fire at all. So someone might wonder, isn't fire supposed to be red? There is a profound meaning in it. If you observe carefully, you will find that the patterns on its back are very similar to burning flames. More importantly, there is an important secret behind why it is called Fire Turtle. The color of Fire Turtle's shell is not a constant layer. Although it is initially green, as it grows slowly, those green patterns will gradually turn yellow and red, and finally become as bright as fire, hence the name Fire Turtle.
Chinese Name: 火焰龟
Alias: 红肚龟
English Name: Painted Turtle
Appearance: Small water turtle, the length of the back shell is only 10~25cm, smooth and flat oval shaped, the color ranges from green to black, and some even have red patterns.
Distribution: Mainly distributed in North America.
Habit: Living in lakes, rivers, ponds and other places. Omnivorous, the main food includes snails, insects, small crayfish, tadpoles, small fish, carrion, water algae, and aquatic plants.
Reproductive Habits: The breeding period of Fire Turtle is from June to July each year, laying 2~22 eggs each time. The long diameter of the egg is 27.1~30.7 millimeters, and the short diameter is 13.9~16 millimeters. The egg weighs 3.55~5 grams. The incubation period is 72~80 days.
Price: The price varies greatly depending on the size of the individual. The smaller ones cost tens of yuan, while the larger ones can possibly cost 200 yuan.
Western Painted Turtle (Chrysemyspicta bellii Gray, 1830): also known as the Western subspecies of Painted Turtle, it is the largest among the four subspecies. Their body length is usually at least 18 centimeters, with the largest specimen being 25 centimeters. They also have the largest habitat, covering various states in northern United States and parts of Canada, from the Pacific coast to the upper Missouri River basin, to southwestern Ontario, Wisconsin, Missouri, and the western region of the Colorado River basin.
Red-bellied Turtle (Chrysemyspicta dorsalis Agassiz, 1857): also known as the Southern subspecies of Painted Turtle, its main characteristic is a red line along the spine. It is distributed from southern Illinois and southeastern Missouri in the United States to Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and eastern Texas, limited to the lower Mississippi River basin.
Midland Painted Turtle (Chrysemyspicta marginata Agassiz, 1857): also known as the Midland subspecies of Painted Turtle, it has a symmetrical plastron with a variable dark shade. They are usually smaller than Western Painted Turtles, with sizes typically ranging from 12 to 14 centimeters. They are distributed from southern Canada, New Hampshire, and New York in the United States to Illinois and Tennessee, excluding the Atlantic coastal plain.
Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemyspicta picta Schneider, 1783): also known as the nominate subspecies of Painted Turtle, the seams between the scutes on their carapace are light in color, converging to form a grid, and the central longitudinal stripe is not obvious, appearing as a dark black color. Their plastron is yellow without black spots. They are distributed from Nova Scotia in Canada to northern Georgia in the United States, mainly located in the Atlantic lowlands east of the Appalachian Mountains.
(Conjunctivitis)
Cause: It is mainly caused by water pollution. The affected turtle often rubs its eyes with its forelimbs, which leads to bacterial infection.
Symptoms: The affected turtle's eyes become inflamed and congested, gradually turning gray-white and swollen. The nasal mucosa also turns gray-white. Severe cases can result in blindness, difficulty breathing, inability to eat, gradual weight loss, and eventual death.
Prevention and treatment methods:
1. Maintain clean water quality regularly. After the disease occurs, keep the affected turtle in a dark place to encourage the removal of white secretion.
2. Strengthen feeding management. During the illness, feed the turtle animal liver to increase its disease resistance.
3. Use antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs. Apply medical chloramphenicol or other antibiotic eye drops or eye ointments 1-2 times a day. Alternatively, use injections such as erythromycin, with a dosage of 40,000-50,000 international units per kilogram of body weight, once a day, 2-3 times. If there are a large number of affected turtles, soak one or two types of antibiotics in water. Soak for 30-60 minutes per milliliter of water with 500-1000 international units of antibiotics, several times a day until recovery. Some use 1% penicillin or 1% rifamycin water solution. After applying the medicine to the affected area with a cotton ball or new brush, allow it to sit for 1-2 minutes, immediately rinse in clean water to remove excess medicine, and then return to clean water for feeding. Apply once a day for 6 days, with certain therapeutic effects.
(Enteritis)
Cause: It is mostly caused by feeding spoiled and deteriorated feed, deterioration of water quality, and infection with Aeromonas hydrophila.
Symptoms: The affected turtle becomes dull and slow in response, reduces or stops eating, and has inflammation and congestion in the abdomen and intestines.
Prevention and treatment methods:
1. Maintain clean water quality and change water regularly.
2. Keep the feed fresh and do not feed spoiled and deteriorated feed.
3. Mix sulfamethoxazole, sulfathiazole, or chlortetracycline in the feed. The initial dosage of sulfonamide is 0.2 grams per kilogram of turtle body weight, and it is halved from the 2nd to the 6th day. Feed a smaller amount than usual to ensure that the turtles consume all the medicated feed. The dosage of chlortetracycline is 0.5 grams per adult turtle, divided into morning and evening feeds. One treatment course lasts for 7 days.
(Trauma and Ulcerative shell disease)
Cause: Most cases are caused by turtle bite injuries or infections with Aeromonas sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and colorless rods after being bumped by objects.
Symptoms: The affected turtle's skin on the limbs, neck, and tail becomes ulcerated, with tissue necrosis, whitening of the skin, and red scars.
Prevention methods:
1. Prevent turtle injuries caused by various reasons, especially during long-distance transportation and capture.
2. When turtle injuries are found, use antibiotics such as penicillin, chloramphenicol, or erythromycin for bathing, spraying the entire pool, or injection for better results. Sulfonamide drugs can also be used for medicinal baths with certain effects.
(Neck Ulcer Disease)
This disease mainly manifests as a contagious disease in the turtle's neck.
Symptoms: The affected turtle's neck becomes enlarged and ulcerated, accompanied by water molds, decreased appetite, difficulty moving the neck, and inactivity. If not treated in time, death can occur within a few days.
Prevention methods:
1. Rinse the affected area with a 5% saline solution three times a day for 10 minutes each time.
2. Apply antibiotic ointments such as chloramphenicol and golden moth on the affected area.
3. Isolate the affected turtle to prevent transmission. For unaffected turtles, use 0.3-0.4 grams/cubic meter of strong chlorine essence or 1 gram/cubic meter of bleach powder for spraying the entire pool, or increase the depth for short-term soaking.
(Shell Ulcer Disease)
Symptoms: The turtle's back or plastron initially develops white spots, gradually forming red patches. When pressed, blood water is squeezed out.
Prevention methods: Pick open the affected area, squeeze out the blood water, wipe with salt, and rinse after wiping once a day for 1 week. Alternatively, mix potassium permanganate with vinegar to make a paste, apply it to the affected area several times.
(Heat Stroke)
Turtles are sensitive to high temperatures. If exposed to temperatures above 36 degrees Celsius in unshaded and unobscured places during hot summers, this disease can occur.
Symptoms: Turtles with heat stroke have weak limbs, slow movement, loss of appetite, and eventually become unconscious and die.
Prevention methods: When raising turtles outdoors, build sheds for shade in advance. In summer, raise the water level, change the water frequently, and keep the surrounding environment cool and ventilated. During the high-temperature season, use well water for feeding every day to lower the water temperature. The temperature difference during water change should not exceed 4 degrees Celsius. If heat stroke occurs, immediately move the turtle to a cool place for breeding.
(Water Quality Diseases)
Water quality deterioration, excess ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, methane, carbon dioxide, etc. in the water, combined with the turtles' lack of terrestrial habitat, can cause turtle poisoning.
Symptoms: Red and swollen neck and limbs of the turtle, with severe ulceration.
Prevention methods: Change the water regularly, frequently remove dirt and excrement. When the disease occurs, replace all the pool water. If ulceration has already occurred, use antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs to control secondary infections.
The breeding of Fire Turtles is not difficult, and they are easy to feed once they are familiar with the environment. After feeding, Fire Turtles can eat a lot as well. Many foods can be provided to them. Let's introduce the food choices for Fire Turtles.
Fire Turtles are omnivores, and their main foods include snails, insects, crayfish, tadpoles, small fish, carrion, water plants, and aquatic plants. Young Fire Turtles are carnivorous, but as they grow older, they tend to be more herbivorous. Under artificial breeding conditions, they can eat lean pork, animal organs, small fish and shrimp, earthworms, watermelon, vegetable leaves, bananas, etc.
Fire Turtles are very active, but they do not fight with each other. They will not freeze to death below zero degrees, and they are very lively at 42°C. As long as they are well fed, they can gain weight by 30-40 grams per month. The breeding season for Fire Turtles is from June to July every year, and each hatching can lay 1-10 eggs. The long diameter of the eggs is 27.1-30.7 mm, and the short diameter is 13.9-16 mm. The eggs weigh 3.55-5 grams. The incubation period is 72-80 days. Fire Turtles have strong adaptability, and as long as they are well fed and managed normally, their survival rate is relatively high.
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