Mountain turtles have a reputation as being unsuitable for keeping in captivity. Mountain turtle hatchlings, with their bright yellow to apple-green carapace, are among the most beautiful hatchlings in the world. Let’s take a closer look at them below!
Flat-shelled Turtles (Flat-shelled Turtles, name: Notochelys platynota)
Dispersed: N. platynota is distributed in Thailand, Vietnam, western Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.
Adult size: Adult N. platynota may grow up to 13" (32 cm).
Capturing and management: Indoors, flat mountain turtles have been shown to be quite fragile. Supply them with 3" to 4" of filtered, warm water, and a site with plenty of natural hiding places. These hiding places may include hot-weed plants and small evergreen shrubs. Mounds of leaves and palm fronds can help reduce the risk. The substrate should be composed of a layer of fine gravel first, then the upper layer is half peat moss and half moist sand, and finally thick cypress branches should be placed above the paddock. A UVB fluorescent bulb and a 100-watt spotlight were placed above the basking area. Notochelys rarely basked and when people approached their enclosure, they would retreat to the nearest cover. They hide in places and are very mysterious. However, after the water was sprayed in the paddock, they would occasionally come out and walk around. Most of them were found bathing in the pond in the paddock. Movement seems to take place early in the morning or in the evening.
Outdoors, the flat mountain turtle is suitable for living in a semi-aquatic enclosure with mainland and shallow water (3"-4"). A variety of ground cover, larger shrubs and plants should be planted on the mainland to provide them with a safe place to hang out - this is where they tend to stay. Mountain turtles are more active after rain, when the ambient temperature is warmer. They are also quite active when warm (80° to 85°F, 27° to 29°C), and it has been reported that they do not like extreme heat and excessive translucency (Buskirk, 1997). To ensure that they have a shaded habitat, players may need to turn on the watering device during the hottest hours in the afternoon to cool down the turtles.
Feeding: The flat mountain turtle is omnivorous. They have been found to eat earthworms, snails, slugs, and crickets with relish (Buskirk, 1997). In addition to invertebrates, they should be provided with a large variety of salads once every three days. Salads should consist of shredded romaine lettuce, kale, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, cantaloupe, strawberries and pears, or even mango and papaya - as long as they're available - and the ingredients don't have to be too much. Exquisite. In addition to earthworms, bananas and mangoes have also been shown to be very effective in getting new Notochelys to eat. Once they start eating, we recommend adding some relatively high-protein foods, such as soaked commercial turtle food, and mixing them into salads to reduce the turtle's nutrient intake.
Common health problems: Dehydration, stress, and unusually large numbers of parasites have all been shown to be part of health problems with imported N. platynota. Many flat mountain turtles will refuse to eat, and the individual sacrifice rate at the entrance is also very high. Some players recommend preventive drugs such as Baytril and Panacur for this rather vulnerable turtle species.
Growth: Because N. platynota has a reputation of being difficult to maintain in captivity, almost nothing is known about their courtship, growth habits, and egg-laying behavior. We feel that with careful management, strong deworming links, and a large, well-vegetated, "safe" paddock, players will eventually have beautiful, artificially bred Notochelys in the future.
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