When it comes to tortoises' food, we mainly start from the following aspects: water content, fiber content, protein ratio, calcium and phosphorus ratio. The water content in this food is strict for leopard turtles, because you can find that the intestines and stomach of leopard turtles are very sensitive to the water content of food. Feeding foods with high moisture content for a long time will inevitably lead to soft feces of leopard turtles, leading to diarrhea of different degrees, which has led many people into a misunderstanding. Every time before preparing food for leopard turtles, dry the food until it is very dry, and then feed it when it is almost wilting. In fact, it's nothing too serious. For a healthy leopard turtle, the acceptance of this food may not be low, but many problems are afraid of integration. Assuming that there is no pot in the breeding environment, the breeding temperature is high and the soaking is not frequent, supplemented by such food, the consequences will sometimes be very difficult. The most likely situation is "dehydration", because the observation results show that the demand for water by leopard turtles is actually very high. Comparatively speaking, the feeling is much higher than Sue's requirement for water, because leopard turtles often drink water at high temperature, soak in water and even gulp water (of course, it is guaranteed that it is not an abnormal reaction when the body has inflammation), so water is very important to leopards.

On the one hand, the solution depends on soaking in water, on the other hand, it is to keep some water on the surface of food so that they can also take in a certain amount of water when eating. Then I believe many people will say, aren't you giving high-moisture food? It is contradictory to the previous theory! At first glance, it seems to be true, but here is a little physiological knowledge about turtles that needs to be briefly introduced. Water will be absorbed in the tortoise's stomach, and other nutrients will be absorbed in the intestine. Diarrhea is caused by excessive water in the intestine, which leads to accelerated intestinal peristalsis. Therefore, the water on the surface of food is absorbed in the stomach, and the water contained in food will not play a role until the intestine. Part of it will be absorbed, and the other part will lead to diarrhea, so what I want to tell you is that there is no need to rub and dry the leaves of vegetables for a little moisture. As long as you choose leafy vegetables with low moisture, the problem will not be great. There are many high-fiber vegetables. Generally, I will choose rough texture, such as cabbage, cauliflower leaves and kale ... There are two kinds of fibers, one is coarse and visible fiber, such as the fiber of water spinach. The other is the so-called dietary fiber, which is cellulose. Generally speaking, the cellulose content in vegetables is not low, and even some fruits have high cellulose content. But fibers are different. We can judge the fiber content by touching with naked eyes and hands. Here is a brief introduction to the different functions of fiber and cellulose. On the one hand, fiber is the main substance that constitutes the structure of feces. I remember that the feces of Susu in the wild are one by one, so it is the reason to advocate providing high-fiber pasture for herbivorous turtles.

On the other hand, the function of fiber is digestion and absorption in the intestine, which is determined by the specific intestinal flora of tortoises. There are certain flora in the intestines of herbivores, such as cattle and horses, which can't. The way to break down fiber to produce sugar is similar to the way people eat starch, so providing fiber is actually a nutrient. However, the function of cellulose is very different from that of fiber. Cellulose is a substance that promotes intestinal peristalsis. Insufficient intake of fiber can lead to constipation. In addition to vegetables with dark green leaves, wilting apples also contain high cellulose content. Regarding the intake of protein, the concept of feeding tortoises in the past has always emphasized low protein, which is correct. But we have to think about this "low". The foundation of individual activity is muscle tissue, and the root of muscle tissue is protein. The foundation of human immune system is also protein. Simply emphasizing improper low protein will inevitably lead to individuals being too thin and even weak in resistance. You need to take a certain amount of protein, but this requires a basic condition, plant protein.

After all, the intestines and stomach of turtles are different from those of water turtles and semi-water turtles, and animal protein is tantamount to garbage for them. Plants with appropriate content in protein should be provided to their beloved turtles as one of the necessary structures of food. At the same time, protein in beef will not be absorbed by human body like eating beef without exercise. Only through the strength training in the gym can the protein you eat grow into your sports muscles. Therefore, your turtle emphasizes that exercise is absolutely the only way to keep healthy after ingesting a proper amount of protein, and beans should be avoided as much as possible. In fact, the high content of protein is only one aspect. More importantly, their phosphorus content is too high, which will affect calcium absorption. The protein content of conventional Chinese cabbage is considerable, and the acceptance of soft-shelled turtle is also high.

It used to be thought that American scholars mentioned in their articles that soybeans in cabbage vegetables would affect the absorption of iodine and cause goiter. The absorption of iodine by soybeans and the effect of goiter were limited to mammals, but the thyroid physiology of reptiles was still different from that of mammals. It seems that this statement is limited to theory, and from the photos and introductions of foreign farms, the gap between theory and practice is still quite large. Turtles from the wild must be isolated for a period of time before they can interbreed with the original turtles. When hunting, wild turtles often swallow food with eggs into their bodies and become parasites carriers. The food of captive tortoises is processed, so there are fewer opportunities to carry parasites. Therefore, it is necessary to kill parasites for new wild turtles.

First of all, when you will own a turtle, please ask its owner about its species name, origin, living environment (dry or wet), eating habits and so on. However, in order to sell turtles as soon as possible, a few turtle owners usually say that turtles are artificially raised and can be eaten. In fact, four species of tortoises made in China have no record of artificial reproduction, and most of them come from the wild. Some foreign-made turtles have been bred, such as leopard turtle, Sukada turtle, red-legged turtle, Indian star turtle and so on. Therefore, it is very important to determine the correct species name of the tortoise. The origin, habits, life types and lifestyles of turtles (wild or captive) can be determined by their species names, so as to adopt corresponding management methods. Secondly, for tortoises from the wild, they should be fed with broad-spectrum parasitic drugs or forced to feed once. Artificial tortoises can be fed with broad-spectrum antiparasitic drugs before late autumn or early winter. After that, the medicine is given. Generally, after 2 ~ 3 days, insects are excreted with feces. As far as turtles are concerned, it is very important to give the newly introduced turtles a hot bath. Hot water bath can not only urge turtles to excrete feces, but also enhance their appetite. In addition, nutritional drugs can be added to water to treat unhealthy turtles. At the same time, the turtle's health can be judged by the amount of feces and water discharged by the turtle. It can be seen that giving turtles a hot bath is an important link in the process of raising turtles. Whether it is a newly raised turtle, a raised turtle or a wild turtle, you should take a hot bath regularly.

Method of hot water bath: find a basin of suitable size and hold water of about 35℃ (in the process of soaking in winter, when the water temperature drops to about 25℃, change the water in time. The water level should not exceed 2/3 of the height of the turtle shell. Let the turtle drink water first and let the turtle soak for 30 ~ 40 minutes. When the tortoise crawls, scrub its shell with a small toothbrush or soft brush. Finally, dry the turtle with a dry towel prepared in advance and put it in the sun or in a turtle nest with high temperature. Most turtles like to live in a higher temperature environment. The suitable temperature is 25 ~ 35℃. Turtles are exposed to low temperature for a long time, which is prone to respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms and even death.