Cayman tortoise (Chelydra serpentina), whose weight can reach thirty kilograms and thirty-five centimeters long, is a real fortress with a very thick shell. People avoid meetings with them. On the one hand, they are non-aggressive, but if Cayman turtles meet someone on their way, they attack, biting their victim with sharp and strong beaks. For this they are called biting.
Description
Recognizing their appearance is easy. Cayman turtles are distinguished by a very rough shell. It can be painted in black, brown and even cream color. It is covered with tubercles and hollows. The head of this turtle is large, with a sharp beak and powerful jaws. At the slightest danger, she literally throws her head to the side and bites. Given how powerful her jaw is, it’s best not to avoid such attacks. In communication with this turtle, it is necessary to strictly observe the safety rules, which we will talk about a little later.
Cayman tortoise can grow in some cases up to forty-five centimeters. There is no exact information about the duration of her life; there is an opinion that they live from twenty to one hundred years.
This variety of turtles is very reminiscent of its vulture cousin, but it significantly exceeds the cayman in size - its length can be up to one and a half meters, with a weight of sixty kilograms.
Habitat
The natural habitat of cayman turtles is America. They amaze with their vitality, ability to inhabit in the desert and hot areas of Texas, in the snowy areas of Washington. They feel quite comfortable in the North American Rockies, at an altitude of up to two thousand meters. The main condition for the life of cayman turtles is the presence of a reservoir (pond, lake or river).
These are completely aquatic animals. Under natural conditions on land, they are selected only in order to move to another body of water. In addition, females after mating go ashore to lay eggs. In winter, when the air temperature drops to negative values, the cayman turtle at the bottom of the reservoir hibernates, buried in silt. You can see a person walking along the ice of a pond or swimming under the ice. They are able to breathe and lungs, sticking their heads out above the water, and absorbing oxygen in the skin, which allows them to be in the winter for several months under water.
Fighting temper
We have already said that this is one of the varieties of turtles that people really fear and avoid meeting with them, especially in rural areas, where residents know that a large individual can bite a person’s hand.
In water, our heroine behaves more calmly than on land. Probably, in the water, the caiman turtle, the photo of which you see in our article, is less constrained in its movements, so it feels more protected. In the collision of two such individuals, one of them necessarily dies - these turtles have a "bad habit" to bite off an opponent’s head. If she feels that the enemy is stronger than her, she releases a fetid musky liquid like a skunk.
This turtle is not completely afraid of man. For her, he is a typical threat that should be bitten if a potential enemy is nearby. At the same time, she immediately throws her head forward, grabbing the limb closest to her.
Cayman tortoise at home
All that we talked about earlier should make exotic lovers think well before starting such a pet. Firstly, it is dangerous. Secondly, a cayman tortoise at home is an expensive pleasure, it will be too expensive for a person with an average income. Perhaps it is better to look at other varieties of turtles, for example, the Trionix.
Cayman Turtle - Contents
We advise you to immediately discard the idea of a typical aquarium - this turtle grows throughout life. It is more expedient to immediately buy the largest water area, so that it lasts for a long time. A fenced pond is even more suitable for cayman turtles. So, a cayman tortoise at home will feel as comfortable as possible.
If you decide to purchase a terrarium, then its minimum dimensions should be as follows - two meters in length, a meter in width, a meter in height. Cayman turtles in an aquarium usually will not survive. We emphasize once again that these are minimal sizes; your pet cannot turn around in a smaller pond.
Now you need to install two lamps. One is luminescent (for lighting), and the second is ultraviolet with a UVB mark of 10%. This radiation is necessary for all reptiles. The duration of exposure is at least 12 hours daily.
A thick layer of soil is laid at the bottom of the terrarium. It can be sand, silt, in which your turtle can burrow. An important role is played by the temperature in the terrarium - it should not exceed +25 degrees.
You will need a very powerful filter that will work around the clock. It will be necessary to create an island of sushi. To do this, use stones that are three times the size of the head of the turtle, otherwise it will swallow them.
Probably, it is not worth saying that there should not be other animals in the terrarium, even if they are larger. The tortoise will certainly eat them, maybe not instantly, but this is only a matter of time.
The adult must be taken by the back of the carapace, held tight, taking into account its weight and strength of the paws, as it will necessarily be pulled out.
This turtle is completely indifferent to pH, water hardness, decor and other attributes of a familiar aquarium. It is important for her a lot of free space and good, powerful filtration, frequent changes of water, because the remnants of food rot, and this can cause various diseases of the turtle.
How to clean the fluid?
In order for the water to remain clear and clean, to remove the dregs from the food residues and feces of the turtle, we recommend installing an external filter designed for aquariums, the volume of which is 3 times the volume of the water you poured. This filter will perfectly cope with the task and you will not need to change the water in the terrarium often, it will be enough only to partially replace it.
Like other large turtles, representatives of this species are very strong. As a rule, they change the interior "to their own taste." Their powerful paws help them in this. Therefore, if an internal filter is installed in the aquaterrarium, then it is likely that at one fine moment, the turtle will simply tear it from the glass. An external filter is insured against such troubles, so it will last you a long time. Do not forget that dirt accumulates inside the device, therefore it is necessary to rinse it regularly.
Does the turtle need a beach?
Yes, it is needed, despite the fact that cayman turtles rarely bask on the shore. But they like to crawl on it. The turtle does not have such an opportunity in the aquaterrarium, so equip the shore as standard - a heating lamp and a UV lamp.
Content in the country
If in the spring and summer you move to the country, then you can take a turtle with you. But in advance for her it is necessary to prepare a reservoir. To do this, a barrel, bath, or a special plastic pond that can be buried in the ground and nicely decorate it is suitable. It is advisable that the pond is in a sunny place. The conditions in it should be the same as in the terrarium. However, in the event that direct sunlight is incident on the turtle, the need for a UV lamp will disappear. To prevent your pet from escaping from the pool, you should not completely fill the water in it, but you can cover it with a net on top. If the pond is on the same level with the ground, then most likely frogs will jump into it, which the turtle will catch and eat.
Care must be taken to prevent small pets from approaching the pool - cats that, when they see such a miracle, can put a paw in the water, small and very curious dogs, etc. If you have small children, make sure so that they come to the reservoir only accompanied by adults.
Food
Immediately we want to please future owners of cayman turtles - they do not suffer from a lack of appetite. These "babies" eat everything that swims past their predatory beak. If there is no food in the terrarium, it will eat the plants in it. With pleasure, the pet will enjoy all kinds of fruits and vegetables, chilled meat or fish.
Based on this, it will not be difficult to make a diet for your pet. It should include all the necessary nutrients, minerals and vitamins. In autumn and winter, these turtles eagerly consume animal food - fish, meat, seafood, poultry, offal. The basic rule of feeding - food should not be too oily.
In spring and summer, freshly caught fish or frogs can be added to this diet. At the same time, it is not necessary to clean and gut the fish, since its bones contain many trace elements necessary for the turtle. Do not add any vitamin supplements to the diet.
Breeding
Caiman turtles reach puberty by the age of 18-20, which is not so much in comparison with the total life span of turtles. Growth time can be tracked along the length of the plastron, which at this point reaches about 14 cm.
In the natural environment, this process occurs in the spring. In captivity, caiman turtles mate at every opportunity. It is better to keep the male and the female in different reservoirs, they can be combined only in the spring. Make sure that the turtles do not cripple each other, especially when eating. The female is endowed with a strong instinct for procreation, she can even try to escape from the indoor pool to lay eggs.
As a rule, they lay 10 to 15 eggs on the shore. Females tend to lay their eggs in warm sand, quite far from the water. To organize a nest, turtles use everything that is available to them - plant debris, sawdust, etc.
The female chooses the place for masonry, and does this for a long time and carefully. She uses the selected site constantly. Often, these turtles are attracted to roadsides for some reason, so quite often masonry dies under the wheels of cars.
After 80-85 days, turtles appear from them. Kids are afraid when they are picked up. They grow quickly, they are very active. They eat a lot of both artificial and live food (guppies and earthworms).
Communication Security
Everyone who has already brought a cayman tortoise, and those who are just about to do this, need to know that no one of this species has ever and no one has been able to tame. It can be picked up only in exceptional cases, when it needs to be transplanted, for example, to wash the terrarium. They bite from birth, so stock up on thick gloves.
To clean the shell, use the brush on the long handle, which should be rubber or metal. Such a tool made of wood or plastic will be easily eaten. It is desirable that at the time of your “communication” the turtle was full, then, perhaps, the desire to bite will be less.
If you are not afraid of the difficulties of keeping this animal, significant material costs, and you just dream of seeing this overseas miracle in your reservoir, which can be considered a living fossil, do not doubt your own strengths. Moreover, not everyone can boast that a tortoise lives in his house, which belongs to such an ancient species that its ancestors appeared on our planet before giant dinosaurs.