A lot of people nowadays are getting turtles as pets. One of the kinds of turtles that people love to have is the soft shell turtles. Agressiveness is innate among soft shell turtles yet, they can also be great pets. Soft shell turtles look like pancake because of their soft shells and flat bodies. In this article, you will know the basic things about these species.
Soft shell turtles belong to family Trionychidae. Soft shell turtles have more or less than thirty species. The most common species of these turtles are Apalone mutica, Trionyx axenaria, Apalone spinifera emoryi, Apalone spinefera and the Florida soft shell turtle or Apalone ferox.
Almost all soft shell turtles live in fresh waters such as lakes, ponds, streams and rivers. This type of turtles loves to live in rivers which waters move so slow and has sandy or muddy bottoms. Like ants, soft turtles also live in colonies and they love relaxing on sand bars and rocks that are located at the edge of the water. They also like staying under the sand or mud. May is the breeding month of these animals and they lay their eggs some time in month of June and July. Like other turtles, female soft shell turtles also make nest on the sand.
The most prominent characteristic of these turtles are their soft shells. Apart from these, they have oval-shaped bodies that are flat and flexible. Usually, the color of the turtles' shells is almost the same with the sand's color or mud. This allows them to hide and difficult to find. When they hide under the sand, they allow their snouts or long necks to pop out so that they can breathe. The shells of full grown soft shelled male turtles come in gray or brown color with dashes and dots. Shells of females on the other hand, are in dull color and have dark markings.
Soft shelled turtles are meat eaters of carnivores. Depending on the kind of species, they are capable of devouring larger fish that they can hold using their powerful long necks. Part of these turtles' diet is fishes, insects, worms, caterpillars, crustaceans and some amphibians. They also eat some carrion and selected plant material.
Soft shell turtles are great display animals. However, they are delicate and they need extra care when planning to have them as pets. They have soft covering that can be damaged easily by bites and scrapes. Their tank should be filled with sand enough to bury them and they should be kept in an area that is low in house traffic and noise. The water should be kept clean using proper water filtration since they are susceptible to diseases.
These are the basic information about soft shell turtles. If you want to know more about their health, diet and reproduction, you can make little search over the internet. Remember that these turtles make great pets if fed and cared for properly.
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