The Soft-shelled Turtles 



to the number of several dozen, when she crawls from the burrow 

 in a fashion that leaves the eggs covered and makes her way 

 back to the water. The eggs are white and perfectly spherical; 

 the shells are hard and brittle, but very thin. The diameter 

 of an egg of average size is i inches, and looks much like the 

 egg of the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina). See 

 illustration. 



In captivity, the soft-shelled turtle will live for years, if 

 provided with a deep tank and means of occasionally crawling 

 from the water. The resting places should be perfectly smooth 

 or the reptiles bruise the tender plastron causing sores to develop 

 which ultimately result in the animal's death. Hence rock- 

 work or concrete should not be used. Old, water-soaked logs 

 or pieces of bark, fastened in such positions that they slope very 

 gradually from the water, form the best resting places. The 

 bottom of the tank should be covered, for three inches or more, 

 with fine sand, as in this, the turtles will burrow and remain 

 for some time beneath the surface. They should be fed chopped 

 fish, or small minnows, raw beef and earthworms. It is always 

 advisable to procure young, or half-grown specimens. They 

 are not alone brighter in colouration, but appear more hardy. 



As captives, the writer has had admirable opportunities 

 of studying the species. Some large specimens about fifteen 

 inches in length of shell, were placed in a tank twenty feet long 

 and eight feet wide. On one side of this capacious basin was 

 a slanting runway, but during the several months that the turtles 

 were kept here, they spent their entire time in the water, which 

 was about five feet deep. When undisturbed their swimming 

 movements were very deliberate and graceful, recalling the 

 actions of the marine turtles. After crawling about the bottom 

 of the tank for a time, a specimen would slowly rear itself upon 

 the hind feet, and then, with a single sweep of the front limbs, 

 rise to the surface, where it floated about with the slender tip 

 of the snout protruding from the water. If alarmed, while in 

 this position, all signs of grace disappear. Working the broad, 

 paddle-like feet in alternation, he would dart through the water 

 in lively fashion to seek a dark corner and there to hide. Every 

 three days, each of these turtles was given a fair-sized shad. 

 It was devoured by a series of clean-cut bites, the sharp jaws 

 cutting the fish as readily as a cleaver. 



76 



