Ecology: The
ornate wood turtle is a member of the family
Rhinoclemmys.
It is commonly imported from South America
and not to long ago could be found in
petstores such as Petco and PetSmart. These
turtles are very unique and appear to have
neat personalities as they eat from your
hand with no problem. They like to soak on
very hot days and will frequently wander on
land in morning and late afternoon hours
when temps are not as high. They won't
wander too far away from it's water source
in the wild. They are very much like that
of a North American Wood turtle. |
Description:
The ornate wood turtle measures between 6-8
inches and displays
bright colors, including red, orange, yellow
and most tend to have blue in their eyes. |
Health: When
first imported Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima
manni may have scratches or other marks on
their shell from life in the wilderness.
These heal quickly after a few soaks in
non-iodized salt and clean water. Through my
own experience and that of other keepers, we
have found that deparasiteing these turtles
may result in death and have had better
success leaving any parasites alone. I have
heard of numerous turtles going through
panacur treatment which ended up all dying.
I have left mine un-treated and have not
have one death up to this day.
If they do die, these turtles will more than
likely die from stress as do most WC
imported turtles. Stress weakens their
immune system which allows them to obtain a
respiratory infection much more easily.
Baytril, the common drug used on turtles for
respiratorty infections, does not have too
much affect on this species. Shots usually
stress the turtle out even more and in a lot
of cases 24 hours after the first shot, your
turtle may die. Your best bet is to just
create a great environment for your turtle.
See section on Housing. |
Habitat:
Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima manni occurrs in
South America and extends
into central America. These turtles are most
likely found in areas that are near water as
they are considered semi-aquatic or
terrestrial turtles. You may find them
wandering on land, basking on logs floating
or actually in the water. |
Housing:
When setting up your ornate wood
turtle take into consideration
that your turtle will want to spend a
large amount of their time in water. A
cage seperated into 50-50 water to land
will work well for this species. When
creating a cage, think the bigger the
better. A cage that is 3 feet by 4 feet
will be sufficient for an adult pair or
trio (2 females and 1 male) .
Lighting is necessary for ornate wood
turtles and all turtles. A basking area
of 90 degrees and a cooler side of 75-80
degrees should work well for your
turtle. It is also recommended that you
provide UV rays, especially if your
turtle will not spend anytime outside.
If you live in a warmer climate it would
be beneficial to keep your ornate wood
turtle outside. Just be sure that if you
do, to be wary of predation. Predators
are a huge threat to any turtle outside,
so it is best to add a screen top or
mesh net to the enclosure.
Try to simulate their natural habitat by
including some plants (artificial are
fine as they do not die) This allows
them to hide and feel more comfortable.
Also allow them a burrowing area, which
may be a bale of hay or some leaf
litter.
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Diet: When feeding
your Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima manni take
into consideration ornate wood turtles are
mainly vegetarians. A diet consisting of
fruits- bannanas, strawberries, mango,
cantalope, and apples, leafy greens- romain
lettuce, dandillion, and collard greens will
he a healty diet. Adding worms and pieces of
meat will add protien to the turtle. Finally
adding calcium supplements will help in
developement. You can add this calcium
supplement once a week by sprinkling it on
their food. |
Breeding:
If you have at least one male and one
female, you may decide you would
like to breed your Rhinoclemmys
pulcherrima manni. Breeding activity
can be trigered by rain, and courtship
may include nipping but it is unlikley
any harm should come of any of the
turtles. Manni lay very few eggs per
clutch
ranging from one to three eggs. This
sepcies however will lay multiple
cluthches is allowed. Incubation of the
eggs require a diapause of about 6 weeks
which is basically temps around 70.
Afterwards begin to warm the eggs up to
low 80's. This triggers development to
begin. Incubation may take up to 120
days. Check with other sources for egg
incubation as different methods are used
and the hatch rate may be higher.
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GREG
PETRY
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