Anthony Pierlioni
Anthony Pierlioni Incubation The eggs were recovered with great care, cleansed, and transferred to an incubator. I use a device manufactured by Jäger. Here, the eggs were half buried in a substrate of well-moistened vermiculite in small tubs. Owing to the fact that the eggs of Clemmys guttata are a little firmer than those of Chrysemys picta or Graptemys spp., they will not respond quite as sensitively to too much or too little moisture. Temperatures in the incubator were set to 28- 29 °C. I have so far incubated all turtle eggs without nightly temperature decreases. The baby Spotted Turtles started hatching after about 52 days. As of late, I have been placing some eggs in a second and third incubator where temperatures are set to only 26 °C in a quest to produce male hatchlings. These eggs will then take about ten days longer until they hatch. Raising The baby Clemmys guttata typically emerged from their eggs without large yolk sacs. The hatching process itself took about two to three days. Once the babies started moving about inside the incubator, they were collected and placed in a small raising tank of 65 × 65 × 30 cm (l×w×h) that offered water some 12 cm deep. It was decorated with a few pieces of roots and rocks, as well as some aquatic plants (e.g., hornwort) that could serve as shelters and provided purchase. One piece of root protruded above the water surface, creating a spot in which the hatchlings could dry completely while basking. Light and warmth was supplied by means of a mixed-spectrum spotlight manufactured by Solar Raptor with an output of 100 W that was mounted at a distance of ca. 45 cm above. These spotlights Fig. 6. A male of the Spotted Turtle in the shallows of the outdoor pond. 24 RADIATA 26 (2), 2017
Spotted Turtles emit a pleasant, bright, daylight-like type of light, and the content of UV-B radiation will take care of the vital vitamin D 3 -synthesis in the juveniles. An eye has of course to be kept on the possibility of the water overheating, which would necessitate the spotlight to be mounted at a greater distance! The first weeks saw the miniature Spotted Turtles being fed a diet of live daphnia, white mosquito larvae, Artemia, small earthworms, and shrimps. At a later stage, they voraciously consumed everything that also constituted the diet of the adults. Seasonal outdoor stays Inspired by the fairly northern distribution range of Clemmys guttata, I started keeping the male in my outdoor pond throughout the warmer season as from spring of 2014. This pond measures about 6 × 4 m, and its deepest spot is at about 1.2 m. It sports gently rising banks all around and is heavily vegetated. These two factors are, in my opinion, crucial preconditions for keeping Clemmys guttata in an outdoor enclosure. For one, these turtles are not really the most skilled of swimmers so that they will have to be afforded embankments that can be scaled with ease. For the other, they love to conceal themselves in dense vegetation. This pond is co-inhabited all year round by a population of European Pond Turtles (Emys orbicularis orbicularis), but the two species will hardly take notice of each other. While on his outdoor stay, the male Spotted Turtle presents himself very naturally and secretive. He is fished out of the pond again in early September and moved back to the greenhouse where he can prepare for the next hibernation period. When the male was returned to his summer residence last spring, I added two captive-bred specimens from my own stock and an adult female to the pond. They spent the entire summer there in great harmony. Mating events were predominantly noted not before late in summer when the first cool nights started occurring. The two females left to live in their greenhouse pond were eventually separated once more. Even though I did not witness any biting fights or wild chases, I had the impression that they were causing each other stress. The younger female also started producing fewer fertile eggs. Diet Spotted Turtles are not particularly choosy when it comes to food. They will readily take dry foods such as Gammarus, freshwater shrimp, small fish, and pellets Fig. 7. A subadult captive-bred female in the marshy section of the outdoor enclosure. RADIATA 26 (2), 2017 25
