Anthony Pierlioni Ulrich
Anthony Pierlioni Ulrich Bollack A Report on my Experiences with the Husbandry and Propagation of the Bog Turtle, Glyptemys muhlenbergii (Schoepff, 1801) Introduction It was on occasion of the Workshop “North American Turtles” in the framework of the 19th Landau Chelonian Day in September of 2016 that I reported about my experiences with the husbandry and propagation of Glyptemys muhlenbergii. Based on this lecture, the present contribution is a brief summary of my observations, limited to information on the care and reproduction of a species that has been granted the highest protection status possible (CITES Appendix I). I deliberately do without descriptions of its natural habitat, ecology in the wild, systematics, and its history in literature. In 2008, I had a chance to take over a pair of the rare Bog Turtle. At the time, the female was six years of age and the male twelve. In 2012, I was given two more females on loan for breeding purposes, both of which were eight years old. None of these females had produced eggs before. The Glyptemys muhlenbergii in my care are adult and presently (as of December 2016) measure 8–9 cm in carapace length at weights of 135–150 g. The females are dark to black in ground colour. They feature yellow to reddish orange spots on the occiput, with these being markings that will be of a triangular shape in juveniles and lose their outlines with age. Husbandry The turtles are housed one by one in aquaterraria (1 × 0.4 × 0. 4 m) set up in a greenhouse throughout the year. These tanks are each furnished with a terrestrial section and an obliquely mounted bottom of slate that will create a range of water depths from 1 to 14 cm from one end to the other. This enables the turtles to reach the water surface by means of walking and reduces the risk of their drowning when mating, for example. My observations suggest that the water depth should always enable the turtles to stick their heads above the surface when they stand on the bottom. The glued-in terrestrial section is filled with Sphagnum (peat) moss that will be used both for sheltering and oviposition in summer. A 35-W spotlight creates a basking spot and takes care of the necessary ambient temperature, Fig. 1. Lean-to greenhouse for keeping Glyptemys muhlenbergii all year round. Fig. 2. An aquaterrarium for housing Bog Turtles. 32 RADIATA 26 (2), 2017
Spotted Turtles Fig. 3. G. muhlenbergii, adult male. while overall lighting is provided by a metal vapour lamp with UV-B emission. The water is not additionally heated or filtered, but in part replaced at two- to three-week intervals. It is vegetated with pondweed (Elodea), hornwort (Ceratophyllum), water hyacinth (Eichhornia), water cabbage (Pistia), and other plants. An upside-down flowerpot in the water offers the turtles another hiding place. They are secretive in their habits and will often bury themselves in the moist Sphagnum moss. Keeping them in a greenhouse all year round allows them to experience an optimal annual rhythm. The moss-filled terrestrial section is flooded from about mid- to end-October after which the turtles will readily accept it as a hibernation quarter. Depending on prevailing temperatures, they will start brumating “automatically” and reappear not before mid-February when temperatures start rising once more. Diet These turtles are omnivorous, which means they will feed on both animal and plant matter. They like to nibble from below at the water hyacinths floating on the water, but also at red fruit or carrot peels. Their most favourite foods are live woodlice, earthworms, pink mice, mealworms, small slugs, and small fish, however. Live crickets are dusted with CalcioREPTIN (manufactured by cdVet) before Fig. 4. G. muhlenbergii, adult female. being made available. With time, the turtles will also learn to feed on defrosted (e.g., red mosquito larvae) and dry feeds (pellets). Mating The Glyptemys muhlenbergii in my care exhibit a narrow time window for mating, with successful events usually being limited to the period right after hibernation when the water will still be cool in March/April and once more in late autumn (September/October) shortly before they retreat for hibernation. The male will then be placed with one of the females, never the other way round. He will then sniff the female from the front and try to snap at her front limbs. If a female is ready to mate, the male will mount her from behind, hold on to the edges of her carapace, and remain in this position until the female tries to throw him off. Copulation events usually last for 10–15 minutes in the specimens in my care. If the female is not ready for mating, she will try and flee. In this scenario, the specimens should be separated once more, as the males will typically present themselves as rather violent “lovers”. Oviposition and hatching Kept in their greenhouse, the Glyptemys muhlenbergii will deposit their eggs always around the end of May/early June. An oviposi- RADIATA 26 (2), 2017 33
