Theyoungof theChineseStriped-NeckTurtleareattractively colored.
NEWS103
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will weaken the animal and hence disease
may strike. Nowadays there is plenty of
experience-based information available on
how to tell how fita turtle isby lookingat it.
But in the caseof theChinese Striped-Neck
Turtlethequestiondoesn’tariseatall,asonly
captive-bred specimens are available in the
trade. The trade in Chinese Striped-Neck
Turtles is subject to no legal regulations of
anykind.
Youngstersrequirespecialcare
This applies to turtles just as to any other
animal. Accordingly maintenance must be
optimal to ensure that the animals thrive.
Those available in the trade are usually
hatchlingswithacarapace lengthof around
3-4 cm.Theyarebest housed ina50-60 cm
long aquarium.Thewater depth should be
around 10 cm, as otherwise the little
creatures could easily drown. During the
settling-in period at least, provision should
bemade in all four corners of the terrarium
for the little turtles toclimboutof thewater.
Asa turtle thatwants to leave thewaterwill
alwaysswim toacornerof theaquarium.
Chinese Striped-Neck Turtles are swamp
turtles. This means that they are excellent
swimmers and divers that search for their
food in thewater and flee there to escape
theirenemies,butwhichalwaysrequireadry
placeon landwhere theycanwarmupand
dry out; in addition adult females lay their
eggson land.
Probably the commonest mistake in the
maintenanceofswampandaquaticturtles is
to ignore or only inadequately apply the
rulesof theaquariumhobby.Thewaterarea
of the turtle terrarium isanaquariumandan
aquarium requires biological filtration, as
otherwise toxicsubstances,especiallynitrite,
will accumulate in the water. Hence it is
important that thenewly-purchased turtles
shouldbeplaced ina rearingaquariumwith
a mature filter. The ideal for rearing baby
turtles is aHamburg filtermat covering the
rearwallofthetank.Theslow-runningfilter is
veryeffective,provides the littleoneswitha
goodway of climbing out, and there is no
danger of the little turtles being sucked in
and perhaps drowning because they are
unable to escape again from the suctionof
the filter.
A number of small, agile fishes (Guppies,
CardinalTetras,ZebraDanios) shouldalways
be placed in the aquarium. If the fishes are
doingwell then thewater isalsoas it should
be fortheturtles.Thesameappliesas forany
aquarium:amaturationperiodof 3-6weeks
is requiredbeforeany livestock isadded!
Ocadia
babiesareparticularly susceptible to
fungus, which can very rapidly assume
serious proportions. Once this disease has
broken out the turtles will be almost
impossibletosave.Prevention isthemethod
of choice here! Awell-matured filter is half
the battle, and
Catappa
leaves, alder cones,
anddeadoak,beech,birch,andalder leaves
will ensure biologically functional water in
which the turtlesareunlikely to fall ill.
Temperatureand light
This is where the majority of mistakes in
maintenance are made. The water
temperatureshouldbebetween16and26°C
