Chinese softshell turtles are fascinating and exotic-looking species. Primarily carnivorous, these turtles will readily consume commercial pellets or fish food products.
Chinese turtle farms are an increasingly popular breeding grounds, providing popular aquarium pets that also are farmed in large farms across China. Unfortunately, research conducted at the Senckenberg Institute indicates that many of these specimens suffer from fluctuating temperatures and densities which often leads to disease outbreaks in cultivated specimens.
Contents
Protein
Soft shell turtle meat is not only rich in protein but also contains 20 percent of the daily value for vitamin B – believed to help convert food into energy and maintain overall good health. Furthermore, its composition includes essential elements for bone health such as phosphorous, zinc and calcium that support overall bone wellness.
Chinese softshell turtles (Pelodiscus sinensis) differ from other reptiles in that they are omnivorous feeders, eating everything from fish, frogs, snails and insects in nature to seeds, plants and parts of water lilies as food sources. Furthermore, they often feed when available and will consume anything available such as insects.
China cultivates 340,000 tons annually of these mushrooms, but their cultivation could endanger their diversity and result in the loss of an important natural resource.
Calcium
As this turtle is carnivorous, it will consume fish, crustaceans, mollusks and marsh plant seeds as food sources. Additionally, this turtle spends much time underground where burrowing plays an integral part of its health and growth.
Your fish requires sunbathing in order to produce enough Vitamin D, and preferring land surfaces such as cork or willow bridges is best as this promotes better eye sight. Additionally, any time spent outside an aquarium is great too!
Soft shell turtle was eaten during the Zhou Dynasty, with recipes including lamb, cabbage, rice, ginger, magnolia flower and wine as ingredients for soft shell turtle dishes. Today it remains popularly consumed in China where it is frequently steamed or made into soup; millions are farmed worldwide as food while this poses threats to wild populations worldwide due to inadequate or excess phosphorus levels inhibiting intestinal calcium absorption and thus stunting turtle growth.
Vitamins
Consumption of soft shell turtles (Pelodiscus sinensis or Trionyx japonicus) has long been considered an indispensable part of Chinese traditional cuisine and medicine, providing not only protein and calcium but also vitamins A, B1, B2 and B6 essential for processing food into energy.
Turtles are predominantly carnivorous animals that feed on fish, worms, crustaceans, mollusks, insects, seeds of marsh plants and more. Additionally, their diet provides them with small amounts of DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids which have been shown to reduce cholesterol and triglycerides levels in their system.
Turtle should only be consumed when fresh and properly cleaned and sanitized before being cooked to minimize risk of foodborne illness.
Minerals
Chinese softshell turtles are carnivorous by nature, feeding on various types of aquatic organisms such as fish, mollusks, crustaceans, insects and worms as food sources. When keeping one as a pet it’s important not to overfeed as this could cause chemical imbalances as well as heart and circulatory issues if overfed for too long.
These turtles can usually be found in slow moving rivers, rice paddies, swamps, marshes, ponds and lakes with shallow waters. They spend most of their day submerged beneath mud before periodically raising their head or neck above it to breathe air. While amphibians or crustations might make up part of their diet occasionally, fish is their main food source.
They breed successfully in captivity and produce between two to five clutches annually, reaching sexual maturity between 4 and 6 years old. Raised as food sources due to their fast growth rate, however over-farming has lead to its population rapidly declining in nature.