Mississippi tortoise | Facts & Information

Origin

The map turtle is an aquatic freshwater species that originates in North America ,specifically in the Mississippi Valley of Illinois and Nebraska, but also in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Alabama, Virginia.

It is now increasingly prevalent in the world ,the most recent statistic is from 2005 which shows that in Europe there are about 82,943 of which only 11.92% are in the wild (9,887 individuals).

The turtle map took its name from the lines and markings on its shell and skin that resemble the contour lines of a map.

Size: males 9-13 cm, females 15-25 cm. Sex determination: sex can be determined by examining the tail.The tail of the female is considerably smaller than that of the male. the male has a much longer and thicker tail . Males also have slightly larger toenails.

Feeding the Mississippi Turtle

Map turtles are omnivores . they eat many live foods such as crickets , worms and commercial dry foods. They will also eat some vegetables, such as lettuce.

Feeding is done once a day until about 6 months. At this age is recommended a varied food, just enough to keep them from being hungry, but not to fatten them. After 6 months feeding is done every two days, and vegetables are added to the diet.

Features Mississippi Tortoise

The carapace, one of the distinguishing features in map turtles, is the black crest along the spine, as well as the serrated edge behind the carapace. The color of the carapace is usually olive or brown with an intricate yellow/orange pattern in semi-circles .

In youth, chicks are more brightly colored than adults, whose colors darken over time, in adulthood they have a brownish or black color with black spots outlined with yellow stripes.

The plastron is tan-yellowish in color with brown lines . These become less distinct with age.

The head," boss " of Mississippi Maps has the main identifying feature. On either side of the head there will be a curved line (Crescent ). From the top angle of view there is a single line running down to the center of the head separating the two crescent lines on the sides. ; the Mississippi map turtles have no bar over the pupils (unlike Ouachita and the false map), although there are exceptions.

Life in nature

They inhabit calm waters ,lakes, ponds with abundant vegetation.they love to hide in vegetation. They are very sensitive to the sun ,so they rarely go out on land unless there is bright light.

They are also very sensitive to dirty water , as I said before , because they tend to have eye infections .

Turtles are active at a temperature of 10-27 degrees. Below 10 degrees , they go into hibernation underwater, hidden in the mud.

In captivity

They need a good dry area (Islet) on which to get out of the water completely and dry completely (including plastron, the islet must also dry, not remain wet). In this area you will not only need a heat source (heater), you should also have a source of UVB (UV-B is a light bulb/neon that contains UV-B , recommended for the assimilation of vitamin D3 , which strengthens the shell).

Map turtles are reputed to be more prone to high-quality health problems if water is not kept clear, free of impurities. They should be disturbed as little as possible.

A single adult male would need an aquarium of 283-340 litres, but a 25cm female will need at least a 400l to ensure adequate space . Strong filtration is recommended to maintain the best water quality. A submersible heater to ensure a constant temperature.

Breeding Mississippi Tortoise

The female can lay up to 22 eggs with a diameter of 30 mm each and hatching can take between 52 and 85 days. Males are generally produced at 25 gr – 28 gr C, and females at 31 gr – 35 gr C, and mixed genera at 28 gr-31 gr C. eggs are deposited in water-covered nisp.