Alligator snapping turtle

The Alligator snapping turtle is one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world and the largest in North America. It mainly inhabits water areas in the southern United States. They can stay underwater for up to 3 hours. Female turtles only go on land when building nests. The Alligator snapping turtle is an opportunistic carnivore and also eats carrion. In northern states like Michigan, young turtles may even eat plants. They usually do this when food is scarce or during the summer. When they reach maturity, they become omnivorous and do not pose a threat to fish populations. However, when Alligator snapping turtles reproduce to a certain level, they can threaten the local river ecosystem. Fishermen praise their ability to catch fish (using their tongues to lure prey). Small fish are often a food source for young turtles. They will eat almost anything, mainly fish and dead fish, invertebrates, carrion, and amphibians. They also eat snakes and other turtles. Captive Alligator snapping turtles will eat any kind of meat, including beef, chicken, and pork. Adult Alligator snapping turtles have also been known to hunt small alligators. As an invasive species with a large size and aggressive nature, the Alligator snapping turtle has no natural predators in China.

Alligator snapping turtles are mainly distributed in the Mississippi River basin in North America, the southern and central regions of the United States, and Central America, with the southeastern United States being the most abundant. Miami is an important original habitat for alligator snapping turtles.

Alligator snapping turtle is a species of large turtles that is not suitable for domestication.

The common diseases of the Alligator snapping turtle are: rotten skin, rotten shell, blindness, pneumonia, and intestinal inflammation

For the first three, just pay attention to water quality

Pneumonia is mainly to ensure that the temperature difference is not too large, basically there is no problem

Intestinal inflammation is mainly about paying attention to the freshness of the food

The Alligator snapping turtle has a strong resistance to diseases, and frequent water changes and sunbathing will generally keep it healthy

The Alligator snapping turtle's skin is not prone to illness, but it is still fragile when it is young or in the seedling stage. Here, I won't talk about how to handle newly arrived turtles or how to keep the probability of getting sick as low as possible. Let's talk about some basic knowledge of common diseases. The more common diseases are mainly five types: rotten skin, rotten shell, eye disease, gastrointestinal problems, and pneumonia and cold. Let me talk about each one!

Rotten skin:

Rotten skin is caused by bacterial infection due to inadequate adaptation to water quality or poor water quality. Mild rotten skin, after years of exploration, using a comprehensive savior is undoubtedly the best treatment method. Generally, soak in new water for one day after soaking for two days, then continue to soak for two days in this cycle until you recover, there is no need to feed during the period of soaking medicine, you can feed on the day of keeping with new water. Severe rotten skin is probably beyond the help of the comprehensive savior because there will be other symptoms, such as loss of appetite and weakness in turtles. At this time, potassium permanganate is a good choice, but it is more dangerous. I have no experience in injection, so I cannot explain the details of injection here. But, injection is said to be a good measure for severe rotten skin.

Rotten shell:

The causes of rotten shell are similar to those of rotten skin, but the symptoms appear on the shell. Bacterial infection and collision can cause stagnant internal injuries leading to rotten shell. It is not advocated to use surgery for minor problems, but cleaning the diseased area is necessary. Hydrogen peroxide is necessary at home for cleaning wounds. For minor rotten shells, after cleaning and disinfecting the diseased area, you can put the Alligator snapping turtle into the water, and it will recover quickly if it eats normally. It is recommended to use iodine or alcohol for disinfection. There are fewer severe rotten shells in Alligator snapping turtles, but severe rotten shells do exist with large-sized mata, so there is also some experience. First, the condition of the turtle must be good, and being able to eat is the greatest help in combating all diseases. At this time, it is difficult to avoid surgery. It is necessary to remove all rotten places until there is no decayed flesh and \****, and then the wound can be smeared with antibiotic powder mixed with alcohol, and then wrapped and kept dry. Change the medicine every other day, soak in water and feed until the wound dries up and new flesh grows, and then you can resume normal care in the water. Injection of antibiotics is also a good auxiliary method when necessary!

Eye disease:

Caused by bacterial infection in the water, the treatment is relatively simple. Chloramphenicol eye drops and gentamicin eye ointment for humans can basically take care of it, but when operating, it must be dripped into the eyeball. For milder cases, after dripping the eye drops, the turtles can be put into the water for normal care after a period of time. Feed three times a day. For severe cases, it is recommended to apply eye ointment to the affected area and keep it dry for one day before feeding it to the water and repeating the procedure until recovery!

Gastroenteritis:

Generally caused by eating spoiled or spoiled food, or temperature changes after eating good food leading to indigestion, prone to occur in young turtles and seedlings. Symptoms are loss of appetite or reduced appetite, mental depression, and the discharge of white nasal mucus-like substances, and normal feces spreading out is not a manifestation of gastroenteritis! Treatment for mild diseased turtles is to increase the temperature to 30 degrees for faster metabolism, and then use antibiotics to treat gastrointestinal problems through soaking or filling feeding. The dosage must be controlled, less is better than more, and gradual treatment is needed. No feeding during the treatment period, until the condition recovers. During this period, a small amount of food mother tablets can be used in the water or for filling feeding to help rebuild the intestinal flora, which will be helpful. Severe intestinal inflammation also requires injection treatment, and the mortality rate is extremely high, so this type of disease needs to be discovered and treated early!

Pneumonia and cold:

The cause is similar to that of humans having a cold due to a significant temperature difference. Symptoms include nasal congestion and breathing through the mouth, floating and weak. For mild colds, just raise the temperature to 30 degrees. At this time, the turtle's appetite will not be greatly affected. It can basically self-recover relying on its own immunity if it can eat normally. Severe conditions will develop into pneumonia, and the turtle will show floating and weakness, loss of appetite. Treatment method: Soak or fill-feed with antibiotics for treating colds and pneumonia in humans. Maintain a stable temperature. If conditions permit, injection can be very helpful. Compared with severe gastroenteritis, the mortality rate of pneumonia is slightly lower, but early treatment is still necessary!

Farming environment

The growth of the Alligator snapping turtle also requires a good environment. When farming outdoors, the construction of the pond is the same as that of the common snapping turtle. When farming indoors, the water depth should be slightly higher than the turtle's back, but not exceeding twice the height of the turtle's back. It doesn't need to be too deep. In order to provide a place for the turtle to sunbathe and rest, it is best to provide a stone that is higher than the water surface in the aquarium, so that the turtle can climb on it to sunbathe. If completely indoor rearing, make sure the Alligator snapping turtle gets more than ten minutes of sunlight every day. The bottom of the tank can be covered with small stones or large gravel. No water grass should be placed in the water.

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Release of the Alligator snapping turtle

The first step is to choose healthy and vibrant Alligator snapping turtles. Those which are sick or injured should not be released.

The second step is to strictly divide and release. The Alligator snapping turtle is quite aggressive, so they should be kept in different pools according to their size. They should not be mixed to avoid affecting the growth of the small turtles.

The third step is to have a suitable stocking density. One group of adult turtles (1 male and 2 females), or 3 groups of mid-sized turtles, or 5-10 groups of young turtles, or 10-20 groups of juvenile turtles can be stocked per square meter.

Feeding

1. Diet of the Alligator snapping turtle

The Alligator snapping turtle has a relatively diverse diet. Fruits, plant stems and leaves, small shrimp, small crabs, fish, loach, maggots, snails, silkworm pupae, earthworms, mealworms, leeches, small frogs, toads, newts, meat, etc., can all be their food. Under artificial feeding conditions, they can be fed with fish, pork, beef, poultry offal, and puffed feed, and can also be fed with plant foods such as apples and vegetable leaves.

2. Feeding at fixed points

When feeding the Alligator snapping turtle, the bait should be fixed in one or several places, not throughout the pool. A wooden board can be placed underwater at the edge of the slope for feeding. Once the feeding place is fixed, it should not be changed frequently. This is very beneficial for cultivating the turtle's good feeding habits and facilitates timely inspection of the turtle's feeding and health conditions.

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3. Quantitative feeding

When feeding the Alligator snapping turtle, the feeding amount is generally 1.5%-2.5% of the total weight of the turtles, and fresh feed accounts for 5%-10% of their weight. Some snails, clams, and fish can also be bred in the pond to make use of the water and reduce the amount of feed.

4. Timed feeding

In natural conditions, feed once a day in early spring and early winter, and feed when the temperature is high at noon. From late spring to deep autumn is the peak feeding season for turtles. Feed twice a day, preferably at 9-10 am and 4-5 pm. Feed 40% of the total amount in the morning and 60% in the afternoon, and the feed should be consumed within 90-150 minutes. If not finished, the next feeding can be reduced.

5. Feeding with proper quality

When feeding the Alligator snapping turtle, attention must be paid to the quality of the feed. Cut large food into small pieces and soak hard food in water to soften it. Both raw and cooked food can be fed. Young turtles should be fed with nutrient-rich, finely crushed feed to facilitate digestion. Spoiled feed should not be used, and the variety should not be too single.

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6. Train the turtles to eat

When starting to feed, Alligator snapping turtles are not used to coming to the feeding platform. According to their preference for nocturnal feeding, feed the food near the feeding platform in the evening, and gradually transition to the feeding platform. In this way, gradually train the turtles to eat. Check the feeding situation the next morning, mainly to see if there is any residue, and make records.

Control of water

1. Control of water quality

Alligator snapping turtles prefer to live in clean water environments, so attention should be paid to changing the water during the farming process. In high-density intensive turtle farming conditions, turtles have a larger food intake and produce more excrement, and the water temperature is higher, so feed easily pollutes the water, leading to the production of more harmful substances in the water, especially ammoni

a nitrite

and hydrogen sulfide, which can be effectively improved by sprinkling and bottom application of

photosynthetic bacteria

. Each time new pool water is added, photosynthetic bacteria with a concentration of 10-15 mg/L should be applied. Strengthening water change is also an effective method to regulate water quality. For large ponds, partial water change should be done every 20-40 days, and for small ponds, partial water change should be done every 5-7 days. The transparency should be kept at 20-25 cm.

2. Control of water temperature

To ensure the survival rate of the Alligator snapping turtles, it is necessary to maintain the stability of the water temperature environment. The scientific control of water temperature directly affects the growth and survival rate of the turtles. The water temperature of the Alligator snapping turtle should be maintained at 28-30°C for long periods, which is most conducive to its metabolism and growth and development. On the other hand, when changing water or when the exposed turtle pond encounters bad weather such as heavy rain or sudden changes in temperature, precautions must be taken promptly to avoid the water temperature fluctuating by more than 2°C. In outdoor pond farming, the water level must be kept at 80 cm in summer, and more than 1/5 of the pond should be shaded. Some floating plants should be cultivated in the pond, and trees should be planted around it. When necessary, new water should be added to cool down the water temperature, ensuring that it does not exceed 40°C.