AMPHIBIANS. 93 



taJik, and a mate was purctased to share it with him. This and 

 other experiences taught me that, though very small tortoises 

 will live peaceably with fish, rather large ones will not. Those 

 Emydes whose carapaces, or back plates, are not more than two 

 inches across will be quite harmless among the ordinary 

 inhabitants of an aquarium — at least, such I have found to be 

 the case. 



Fresh-water tortoises are, as a rule, carnivorous, though very 

 rarely they can be induced to eat vegetable food, even bread, for 

 a time. The smaller ones will feed upon little worms, bluebottle 

 flies, and the fry of fish ; while the larger ones, in addition to 

 these things, wUl devour birds, frogs, and mice. It is wise, for 



Fig 77. I'Uesh-water Tortoise (Emys orbicularis). 



obvious reasons, to accustom them to eat pieces of meat, either 

 cooked or raw. They should be fed regularly and sparingly, in. 

 order that they wiU not be so satiated with one day's food as to 

 refuse that of the next. This regularity of feeding wiLL tend to 

 prevent neglect, for when anything has to be attended to every 

 second or third day, it runs a very great risk of being forgotten, 

 sometimes for a week. The tortoises will not eat much during 

 winter, nor wiU they often appear above the water. Besides 

 the JSmys orbicularis (Fig. 77) there are other fresh-water 

 tortoises which will live well ia the tank, such as the Emys 

 ev/rojpcea, Emys Bealii, Emys reticulata, and the like ; indeed, I 

 believe any very small or young Emydes will thrive in an 

 aquarium. As aU the Terrapins are pretty good climbers, the 

 tanks in which they are kept should be covered. 



