The Eastern Chicken Turtle, Florida Chicken Turtle, and Western Chicken Turtle are the three different species of chicken turtle. Chicken turtles have a variety of shells, but many of them have attractive yellow and green rings.
Habitat
The three varieties of chicken turtle can be found in Virginia’s natural environments, and they can also be found as far south as Florida and as far west as Missouri, Texas, and Oklahoma. Only the lower two-thirds of Florida contain the Florida Chicken Turtle.
These creatures favor water bodies with soft substrates and dense vegetation, such as lakes, swamps, ponds, and other bodies of water.
Care as a Pet
Feed
Tadpoles, crayfish, and water insects will be consumed by hatchlings and young Chicken Turtles. These turtles will eat more plant matter as they get bigger because they will become more omnivorous.
Invertebrates, non-toxic aquatic plants, fish, and leafy greens like water lettuce, water hyacinth, watercress, romaine lettuce, kale, and carrot tops can all be fed to turtles, in addition to commercial pelleted diets.
Temperature
Build an inside enclosure using a large tub that is at least 20″ deep, 84″ long, and 48″ wide. You can also utilize a tank that is at least 75 gallons for one or two adult males, or at least 125 gallons for one enormous female. In any enclosure you choose to use, make sure a top-notch water filtration system is installed, as well as a UVB light streaming down from above. You should make an atmosphere that is warm for your Chicken Turtle to bask in since it will do so frequently. And finally, add aquatic and floating plants, as well as driftwood, to the cage.
Housing
You can utilize an outdoor pond as an enclosure in the outdoors. Nevertheless, depending on the sort of chicken turtle you have, you will need to set up a relatively cool location for hibernating. For instance, the Florida Chicken Turtle can tolerate brief periods of chilling or sleeping without harm. The Western and Eastern Chicken Turtles, on the other hand, can employ a hibernating period since they live in more moderate climates, which helps to encourage courtship and mating in the spring and summer.
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