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Turtle Care Florida (Scientific name: Trachemys scripta )

Features Florida turtle

Florida Turtle Turtle is best known as a pet by the general public thanks to the marketing for which she was subjected to international level over the past 25 years. Trachemys scripta is a hard-shelled turtle, unlike the soft-shelled turtle Trionyx sinensis as , and shapes adapted to life in water or hydrodynamic, and to a lesser extent, its limbs. The ends of Trachemys scripta and its shell, are adapted to swimming. The legs of the turtle, when in the water, act as fins. Smooth profiles and provided with webbing make very valid for swimming. florida turtles are known as semi-aquatic turtles because they spend almost all day in the water. Leaving only off to sunbathe or to lay eggs. The other activities such as eating, sleeping, mating or hibernation are carried out in the water. Florida Turtle Trachemys gender. Previously, she was known as Pseudemys or also Chrysemys. This reptile can reach lengths of between 20 and 30 cm, according to sex. Males are larger than females. The best known subspecies Trachemys scripta elegans or turtle red wing, which owes its name to the red spots that has both sides of the head near the ear drum. For its part, the plastron (or base of the shell) is adorned with dark spots on a yellow background. The other variety of Florida turtle is yellow-nosed turtle (Trachemys scripta scripta ). Besides being less commercialized than the previous one is also less conspicuous. Trachemys scripta scripta , instead of having red spots has some fine spots for a more subdued color, close to yellow. Its shell, in what is called the costal plates, is adorned with yellow vertical lines. Finally, another subspecies of Trachemys scripta much less known than the above is gaigene Trachemys scripta. This variety of turtle Florida has a spot of orange on the head. without focusing on any particular subspecies, the Florida turtle has a natural range covering the central-eastern North America, from Virginia to the Gulf of Mexico. This species is found in ponds, lakes, wetlands and rivers, all very vegetated.

Photo red-eared ( Trachemys scripta elegans )

Photo yellow-nosed turtle ( Trachemys scripta scripta )

Food Florida turtle

The diet of this turtle water varies according to age of the animal. For example, when young are exclusively carnivorous diet consisting of crustaceans , aquatic insects, amphibians (especially their larvae) and molluscs . Supplement their diet with carrion.
However, as the turtle grows gets more vegetarian (actually, it is omnivorous). Feeds, as an adult, the same food when I was young, but adds to your diet aquatic plants such as lilies, plus roots and tubers .

We can give our turtle, Florida, 3 times a week, meat: chicken, beef or lamb, liver and fish. It also serves the canned cat food.

Supplement your diet to avoid nutritional imbalances resulting from excessive protein, worms, and mealworms and worms, fruit (apple or banana) and vegetables (lettuce), all dusted with vitamins and minerals 2 times a week.
food specially formulated for water turtles (especially shellfish dried) is very convenient and useful, but only when we use as a food supplement. Therefore, although we give to the commercially prepared turtle the turtle can not ever forget all other foods.

- View Feeding of reptiles in captivity

Material for Florida Turtle

- Terrarium spacious interior with water area of \u200b\u200b130 x 50 x 50 cm.
The land area must be large enough that can fit all the turtles that we have without crowding.

- Terrarium outside (if you do not have a garden).

suitable conditions the Florida turtle

The optimal water temperature for Florida turtle is between 18 and 23 º C, when kept in an outdoor cage or outdoor (garden).
If the turtle lives throughout the year in an indoor terrarium, the minimum safe temperature rises to 25 º C, which makes it advisable to use a heater.

Preparation of the terrarium for Florida turtle

- Terrarium with simple decor. Aquatic plants and animals, as fish , we introduce can be eaten by the turtle.

- Place a large branch that can climb on and sunbathe.

Maintenance Florida turtle

The aggressiveness of Trachemys scripta does not recommend their coexistence with other turtles quieter. On the other hand, can be kept together with Florida turtles turtles Cuora or Graptemys.


is strongly recommended that Trachemys scripta can bask in sufficient quantities . A good option is to leave our tortoise in the garden, because this species is perfectly adapted to a temperate climate. It helped to maintain good health of the turtle if we let him live in a larger venue. Florida turtle also needs a few hours a day of exercise and an indoor terrarium, however great, is not sufficient that the development of obese animals is somewhat easier in caged animals than in animals kept outdoors.
However, especially when your environment is flooded with sunlight, some shadow area can not fail ever. This turtle is very sensitive to air currents.

When we thought about releasing the slider turtle in the garden, we look to the cage and water garden. One difference between the temperature of the terrarium with the outside is harmful to the turtle, favorable to the emergence of diseases.

To prevent leaks, the garden where free to let our turtle should not be protected by a metal mesh, much better is that this surrounded by a wall of smooth wall of minimum height twice the length of our turtle.

If the water area of \u200b\u200bthe terrarium is large enough (130 x 50 x 50 cm) No need to install any filter. Instead, the filter is very necessary for those terrariums with smaller water areas, especially taking into account that the Florida turtle dirty water much more than other species of turtles, especially in an adult.

When we filter, we change the water more often, if we maintain a quality adequate water to prevent infection.

If we want to hibernate to our turtle, place them in a pond of 1 m minimum depth. Ideally, in the same garden where the sun has taken the rest of the year.
If you do not want the tortoise into hibernation we maintained at 25 º C minimum, with the help of a heater.

The babies during their first 3 years of life, must have a lamp on the ground to provide the warmth they need. The proper water temperature for baby Trachemys scripta is about 25 º C.

Training and management of Florida turtle

As we said before, Florida turtle is a turtle quite aggressive, which has a tendency to bite, especially if you are female. To tame this animal the first thing to do is reduce the fear that we may feel toward the main engine of aggression toward humans. To do this we take some getting used to us, we see and manipulate that.

Health the Florida turtle

If our turtle meat is fed exclusively, it is likely that in the future suffer from vitamin A deficiency (vitamin A). We think that our turtles have this disease when their eyelids will begin to swell. There comes a point where the swelling of the eyelids prevents him from seeing and stops eating. Then you can die. The same thing can happen if the fed only dried food for turtles, too much of this food also can cause hypovitaminosis A.
Therefore, it is best to give a varied diet with all the ingredients mentioned.
You yourself can investigate food preferences of your turtle, but not make the mistake of giving only the food we eat your turtle more pleased.

turtles kept in captivity, if they see some sun, may also suffer from lack of vitamin D and consequent soft shells. We have to check if our turtle shell softening gently pressing his shell. A healthy turtle (with the exception of softshell turtles) should have a shell perfectly hard and resistant, deformation in pressure.
is strongly recommended that the turtle every day to sunbathe. As they grow turtles in Florida needs calcium and vitamin D also increase, so that, together with the turtles have stores of calcium in your bones, it begins to manifest a clear lack of calcium when the turtle starts to become great.
When we got to this point the solution is more complicated and often permanent sequelae in the animal, so the best medicine for turtles, like food, is prevention.
When the turtle has deficiencies of calcium, as well as suffering from shell Soft, will also be negatively influenced its growth, which may come to a halt.

A clean water is another measure to ensure the good health of our turtle. Florida turtle is quite dirty, so that in this species of turtle will need more than others to change the water more often and the use of filters, when we have a small terrarium.
If the turtle is kept in poor water quality can be prone to eye infections, manifested by redness and swelling or part of the eyelids.

short, these are the most common symptoms that can make us think that something is wrong:

- The eyelids begin to swell and have red eyes.

- The turtle will not eat.

- Some time ago the turtle is not growing as before (after 3 years of life is normal growth relentice).

- In touch his shell, I noticed something soft.


At the slightest suspicion of any of these symptoms of illness, we must rethink change any of the conditions that we keep our turtle: water, food, temperature, sun, etc.
If we have several animals together, separating the healthy would be good to note that a of them have fallen ill.

Raising Trachemys scripta

Florida The male turtle is a little larger than the female. While males can easily reach 30 cm, Florida turtles females did not exceed 20 cm in length.
The males of this species have claws on their forelimbs longer than females. They also differ from females by having a slightly longer tail.

Mating occurs between March and June.
The pre-mating courtship is based on a kind of massage that makes the male with her long toenails before the head of the female. The mating begins when the female is submerged under water, a sign that the male Trachemys scripta itself interpreted as a female.

The female performed between March and May, up to 3 separate posts at intervals of one month, although at times, made one start, in a hole about 8 cm deep, which she practiced near water. Each set is composed of between 5 and 20 eggs.

Between June and July, the offspring born after an incubation period of about 2 or 3 months at a temperature of about 30 ° C. Then, its shell is about 2 cm in length.

Despite the small size with the pups after birth, grow very rapidly during their first 3 years of life. When they are kept in proper conditions, increasing twice the size and weight every year.

Florida turtles reach sexual maturity after 4 years, although at times, at 2 years and are sexually mature.

If we want to raise a turtle is recommended that hibernate.
The hibernation period is from December to February and the temperature drops to 4 ° C. The turtle hibernates in the water.
If we keep the temperature slightly above 10 ° C without exceeding 15 ° C, the tortoise rather than enter a hibernation hibernal break, also very good for your health.