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Here is a Sumatran Malayan Box which
was recently imported at the time of the photo. It's a female and
its about 4 inches long.
Asian Box turtles can be very
friendly turtles when given attention. They are usually non
aggressive turtles.
A picture of both a male and female
Malayan Box turtle. The male is on the left and appears to have a
concave plastron (bottom of shell) which allows the turtle to breed
easier. The female is on the right, which will have a more flat
plastron.
A small female on the hunt for a
banana or small meal.
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Description:
The asian box turtle is
sometimes called Ambo or Ambos for plural. They have a
black or in some cases a dark brown carapace, with white on
the neck and face along with yellow streaking. Their skin
is dark with limbs being black or a faded black. They range
in size based on their geographical location. There are
about four sub-species of the Asian box with the
smallest species staying small around 5-7 inches and then
the larger sub-species getting 9-12 inches long. They
possess a hinge on their plastron just like that of an
American box turtle. Difference between males and females
is that a male will typically have a slight concaved
plastron (bottom of shell) and a female will have more of a
flat plastron. The male will also have a longer and thicker
tail with the female having a shorter and thinner tail. |
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Ecology:
These turtles have been
captured by hundreds of thousands just to be eaten on the
Chinese food market and they will continue to be hunted until
there are no more left. Some of these have been rescued and
imported into the United States and dispersed amongst the
pet trade. If you obtain a wild caught or recently imported
Asian box, I would advise you to do a full inspection of
the turtle looking for any problems that do not see right
with your turtle. Sometimes wild caught turtles carry or
obtain bad parasites that can hurt the turtle when it's
immune system is weak which is usually when it is stressed
out. Stress comes with not being used to captivity. Some
also come in dehydrated, so a good soaking would be
recommended when obtaining your turtle. Most have reported
these turtles living as long as 40 years of age, however I
am one to think they can live a lot longer than that if fed
the proper diet. |
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Habitat:
These turtles are found throughout wetlands and rainforests
in southeast Asia. You will see them in countries such as
Southern Burma, South Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaya
and the Philippines. |
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Breeding: Asian
box turtles can breed at about 5-6 years of age. Mature
boxies will generally breed after a small cooling period or
hibernation. It generally takes place just like that of the
American box turtles. For this species, a good cooling
period would be to bring them down to about 50-59 degrees
for a month or so. One is starts to warm up they should
start breeding on an early morning or rainy day. A few
weeks after breeding the female will dig her nest and
deposit her eggs in the ground. Incubation will generally
take about 65-80 days but is based on the temperature they
are incubated at. They usually lay anywhere from 1-5 eggs. |
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Enclosure: Malayan
box turtles tend to wander in the water quite a bit, so it
is a good idea to set up something that is half land half
water for your box turtle. Some even stay in the water
almost all the time except to bask. Which means you need a
log or embankment in your pond or enclosure for your box
turtle to climb out and dry off in the warmth of a heat lamp
or sun. They do fairly well in 2-4 inches of water. I have
not had any problems with turtles in 6-8 inches of water and
have even kept them outside in a pond that was as deep as 2
feet. They will usually walk along the bottom of a pond or
water source and will surface when need be to breathe. The
best thing to do is to have some kind of debris in the water
such as logs or rocks that are underwater which allow the
turtle to grab hold of something to help pull it to the
top. One plastic tub would be sufficient for one Asian box
or two depending on the size of your tub. Sweater boxes are
good for raising smaller Ambo's. A 20 gallon long tank
would be fine for 1-2 Asian box turtles. If you go this
route, avoid housing them with gravel as a substrate. They
can accidentally swallow some of the gravel which could
become a problem. Water quality is important with keeping
any turtles. Clean filtered water helps prevent illness.
Oxygen flow is key. The more water is splashed around, the
more oxygen is placed in the water. Be sure that the water
does not hit the turtle's basking area. Artificial plants
will help give the turtle some security in the enclosure.
Some people keep their Asian box turtles outside year round
as they can withstand cold temperatures. I keep a few
adults outside in NJ year round where they hibernate with
some of my other box turtles. It's best to find out the
geographical location of where your turtle came from if at
all possible. When keeping these turtles active, try to keep
an air temperature of over 70 degrees with a basking area
over 90 degrees. If kept outside during warmer months, the
sun should provide all the warmth needed. In the winter,
the turtle will burrow down a couple feet or so to prevent
from freezing. If kept inside, provide your box turtle with
a heat bulb or a UVB overhead light if possible. |
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Feeding: Asian Box
turtles feeding on a variety of foods. I have seen mine eat
banana, tomato, blueberries, strawberries, romaine lettuce,
meal worms, wax worms, night crawlers, small mice, aquamax
turtle pellets and reptomin. A good variety is a good idea
to make sure your turtle or turtles get all the nutrition
they need. In addition you can add some rep-cal calcium
powder or multi-vitamins to make sure the turtles get their
proper nutrition. |
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Health:
If dealing with a fresh import, check your turtle from head
to toe for external parasites. If there are some, simply
pull them off. If there is any shell damage that looks
recent or shell rot, try applying neosporin with a water
proof band-aid but avoid placing the turtle in the water
immediately after application. Sometimes fresh imports come
in with fire damage burned shells or missing toe nails or
other injuries. Hopefully they are all old and healed. If
now, place Neosporin on them to prevent infection. If this
doesn't seem to work, check with your local reptile vet. If
you ever notice your Asian box turtle gasping for air or
having bubbles come from the nose, your turtle more than
likely has a respiratory infection. Baytril is the drug
used in this case. Contact your local vet for the Baytril
and dosage applications. |
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Predators:
Predators consist of Raccoons, Oppossums, Coyote,
Skunks, Birds, Fish, etc. So be sure that if you keep your
turtles outside you keep them in an enclosure where you can
keep predators out. |
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AL ROACH |
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