Changethewatertwice weekly to keep it clear and clean.
Feed yourturtlessmall bitsofraw fish,groundraw meator liver. Buy
a canofanteggsandfollow the feedinginstructionsprintedon the can. Most
turtleswill enjoy a small pieceofhard-cookedegg, a bitoflettuceleaf, and
a small thin sliceofrawappleinadditionto their regularmeatandfish diet.
Both the small green turtlesordinarilyavailableat pet shopsandwood
turtleswill thrive in awell-keptaquariumorvivariumif they are fedproperly.
But ifyourturtlesbecome sluggish and inactivetowardwinter,they may be
tryingto find a place tohibernate,or restinactively,until summer. Puttheir
tankin a cool place at this time and do notbedisappointedif they remain
apatheticand do not eat much. Don'ttry to force them to eat. Whenspring
comes, yourturtles will become lively again and theirappetites willreturn
tonormal.
When aturtlefeels the need to escape or toprotectitself, it will pull its
legs and head into itsharddoubleshell. This is itsnaturalmeansofprotection.
The shape ofthe undershellofthe turtleis a guide to its sex. Ifthe
undersheIl(properlycalled theplastron)is slightly convex(curvedoutward)it
isprobablya female turtle. If the undershellisconcave(curvedinward),it
is a maleturtle. If you have acommonboxturtle,the male can bedistinguished
from the female by his red eyes. Bycontrast, thefemale's eyes are yellow.
All male turtleshave long claws ontheirwebbedtoes, whereas femaleturtles
haveshortclaws.THE STRUCTURE OF ACHICKEN EGG
Materials: Ask the butcherfor several unlaid chicken yolks from the
bodyofa chicken. Inaddition,you will need a wholechickenegg, adessert
dish, yourhandlens.
Follow thisprocedure:Crackthe egg carefuIlyandpourthecontentsinto
a dish.