Chinese softshell turtle

- Pelodiscus sinensis

The tortoise we know in Europe as Chinese softshell turtle has recently been subjected to a great deal of taxonomic work by scientists. In fact, for many years the name was used Pelodiscus sinensis for all Chinese softshell turtles. In the meantime, the genre has been divided into many ways:

Probably not the end of the story and more species will be added. It is questionable to what extent care was taken to keep these forms separate on Asian breeding farms.; there is already evidence of the existence of hybrids on farms. It is also doubtful whether the specimens found in Europe can be clearly assigned to one of the species.

Currently the Chinese softshell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) is widespread in China (Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Henan, Hong Kong, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Nei Mongol, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi , Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang) and they also live in Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

The Chinese softshell turtle reaches a body length of 15 to 25 centimeters. Males are significantly smaller than females, until 15 centimeters.

The shell is relatively flat, with an elevation in the anterior part in the form of a hump. Like all softshell turtles, the shell of the Chinese softshell turtle it is not rigid, but soft and flexible. The shell surface is smooth and mostly olive-green to olive-brown in color.

The ventral plastron is predominantly whitish to cream in color.. The plastron of juveniles is red.. Like the shell, the plastron has a leathery appearance.

The neck is long and much thinner than the huge head.. head area, especially under the eyes, shows some lighter spots. The tip of the nose has been transformed into an elongated snorkel.

Adult males and females cannot be distinguished by size alone. In the male, the root of the tail is much thicker than in the female. Limbs end in long fingers, each with a small claw.

Between the fingers, the Chinese softshell turtle has clearly visible webbed feet, which makes her a very good swimmer. In the period from October to March, this chinese tortoise hibernates.

The Chinese softshell turtle lives in water most of the time, and only comes out to the shore to sunbathe and lay her eggs. When they rest in the water, they are usually buried in the ground. The waters usually have a muddy substrate. Here the turtle can dig with special ease and speed.

The Chinese softshell turtle has a leathery soft shell. This shell naturally offers less protection, so these softshell turtles are more aggressive than other aquatic turtles. Another tradeoff for the soft shell is different behavior, to the Chinese softshell turtle likes to bury itself in sandy substrate.

With its very long neck and huge fin-shaped legs, They are excellent swimmers and very effective predators.. Their diet is predominantly carnivorous.. eat worms, insects, snails, crustaceans and fish. A fascinating aquatic turtle and very easy to maintain.

In nature the Chinese softshell turtle is almost extinct. The reason for this is not just habitat destruction, but also catch for Asian food markets and traditional Chinese medicine.

For the Chinese softshell turtle of up 15 cm of shell length, an aquarium with a base surface of 100 x 40 cm.; The water level should be such that soft-shelled turtles standing on their hind legs can barely reach the surface of the water with their “trunk.”.

In principle, the length of the aquarium must be at least five times the length of the shell. The Chinese softshell turtle spends a lot of time buried in the sand, but she is an excellent swimmer and explores the tank a lot.

Basically, the substrate is a very important element for this species of turtle because they spend a lot of time buried in it. Its soft shell offers little protection, so buried in the substrate they can compensate for this disadvantage. So, the substrate must be sand. The substrate for young animals should consist of a layer of sand of 6 to 8 cm thick. The thickness of the sand layer will increase with growth, so that the layer of sand always corresponds to at least twice the height of the shell, but better to the width of it. In this way, the Chinese softshell turtle can comfortably dig into the substrate.

heavy furniture, like the stones, they have no place in an aquarium for Chinese softshell turtle, precisely because the turtles would undermine them. But, you can create some structure above the sand layer with some roots. You can even plant, but not with plants that form roots in the substrate.

for filtration, external pot filters are recommended, since the inmates are quickly victims of the destructive fury of the Chinese softshell turtle.

It is often said that the Chinese softshell turtle does not need a land part. This is a mistake. These turtles occasionally bask in the sun, both in the wild and in the aquarium. Not as often as ornamental turtles, but they do. So, turtles should be given the opportunity to do so even when kept in an aquarium.

For juveniles and males, a piece of land made of cork or a willow bridge is enough. If they remain female, must have an egg-laying area with a substrate depth of at least 20 cm..

For one Chinese softshell turtle, metal halide lamps with a UV component have proven effective for lighting. For fry up to 15 cm., is enough a hqi with 35 watts, for example the set of lamps SolarRaptor HID incl. ECG + ClampLamp* or the complete lighting set Exo Terra Sun Ray*. For the Chinese softshell turtle bigger should be a lamp 70 watts. The distance between the lamp and the sunbathing area on the ground must be chosen in such a way that a temperature of 40-45 °C.

This turtle's shell seems to "let through" UV-B light more easily, so it is necessary to sunbathe in a less prolonged and intensive way to produce enough vitamin D. So, sunbathing on the surface of the water may be enough and you don't necessarily have to leave the safety of the water to do so.

Although in nature the Chinese softshell turtle feeds mostly in the evening and at night, in the aquarium it easily accepts food also during the day.

The diet of this turtle in the wild is mainly carnivorous.. They feed on worms, mussels, snails, crustaceans, amphibians and fish, but also seeds and other parts of the water lily (Euryale ferox). This can be easily reproduced in the aquarium with dry food animals, frozen food and live food. While the juveniles can be fed daily in the year of hatching, it is enough to feed the Chinese softshell turtle adult one to three times a week.

These softshell turtles are more aggressive than other aquatic turtles. Its shell offers little protection, so they bite quickly. If you take them by hand, you'll be amazed how long his neck can get. Even if you grab them by the back half of their shell, they can bite you.

Chinese soft-shelled turtles are also very aggressive towards each other.. They are very territorial and can constantly bite and chase other inhabitants. So, it is recommended to keep this species of tortoise individually, even when young.

The Chinese softshell turtle They reach sexual maturity at about 14-18 cm..
Softshell turtles are more aggressive than other aquatic turtles. Its shell offers little protection, so they bite quickly. If you take them by hand, you'll be amazed how long his neck can get. Even if you grab the Chinese softshell turtle by the back half of its shell, can bite you.

The Chinese softshell turtles They are also very aggressive towards each other.. They are very territorial and can constantly bite and chase other inhabitants. So, it is recommended to keep this species of tortoise individually, even when young.

The Chinese softshell turtles They reach sexual maturity at about 14-18 cm.. Like other aquatic turtles, mating takes place in spring and spawning takes place in spring and summer. They bury their eggs as deep as 20 cm.. Each female can lay up to five clutches of 5-50 eggs each.

The Chinese softshell turtle basically has a genetic sex fixation, so it is not influenced by the playback temperature. So, the sex of the turtle cannot be influenced by hatching temperature. The ideal is to incubate the eggs at about 28 °C, and the young are born after a little more than 50 days.

The growth of the Chinese softshell turtle it's fast. After hatching with 3-3,5 g, reach of 11,5 to 18,0 g in hatching year, a year already 100,0 – 125,5 g, at two years they weigh 220,0 – 263,0 g and at three years already 450,0 – 480,0 g.

The price of a "Chinese softshell turtle" at the exotic animal market, ranges between 20 – 40 EUR and 60 – 100 euros for the albino species.

1. Chinese softshell turtle (English).
2. Trionyx de Chine, Tortue à carapace molle de Chine (French).
3. Chinesische Weichschildkröte (German).
4. Tartaruga-de-carapaça-mole-chinesa (Portuguese).
5. "Tortuga china de caparazón blando" (español).

Sources:

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Gong, S., Vamberger, M., Auer, M., Praschag, P. y U. Fritz (2018): Chinese softshell turtles' ancient ranching (Pelodiscus spp.) causes massive erosion of biodiversity. – The Science of Nature, 105(5-6), 34.

Gong, ALREADY., L.-F. Peng, S. Huang, Y.-F. Lin, R.-Y. Huang, Y.-H. Coins, D.-C. Yang and L.-W. Not (2021): A new species of the genus Pelodiscus FRITZINGER, 1835 (Testudines: Trionychidae) de Huangshan, Anhui, China. – Zootaxa 5060(1): S. 137-145.

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Laicher, T. & F. Müncheberg (2020): Breeding and Breeding of the Albino Softshell Turtle, Pelodiscus sp. – reptile (141): S. 58-64.

Tortoise Taxonomy Working Group [Rhodin, A.G.J., J.B. Iverson, R. Bour, U. Fritz, A. Georges, H.B. Shaffer y P.P. van Dijk]. (2017): turtles of the world: Annotated Checklist and Atlas of Taxonomy, Synonymy, Distribution, and Conservation Status (8th ed.). – In: Rhodin, A.G.J., J.B. Iverson, P.P. van Dijk, R.A. Brine, K.A. Buhlmann, P.C.H. Pritchard & R. A. Mittermeier (eds.): Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles: A compilation project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Aquatic Turtle Specialist Group. – Chelonian Research Monographs 7: pp. 1-292.

Wang, D., Z. Tang and Y. So (1997): Biochemical composition of the Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Trionyx sinensis). – Acta Hydrologica Sinica 21(4): 299-305.