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Description:
The SA Wood turtle has a black shell with yellow and black
skin. There are orange markings or streaks that run along
the top of their head. They do not have webbed feet but
rather just claws or toe nails. Males are approximately 6-8
inches where females range from 7-11 inches, but can
sometimes exceed that. Most in the United States are wild
caught imports and should have a smooth shell. Few of these
are captive bred and offered as hatchlings. If raised as
hatchlings, they may obtain a more rough shell as they are
not exposed to natural sunlight or their natural diet.
These turtles are very personable turtles and are a neat
first turtle for anyone getting into the hobby, just as long
as their enclosure needs are met. |
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Habitat:
These turtles are found in mainly ponds, marshes, swamps,
rivers and streams in forests. Their habitat is much like
the North American Wood turtle. They are decent swimmers
but not the best, like Diamondback Terrapins. |
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Distribution:
These turtles are found in South America. Columbia,
Brazil, Venezuela, and the Trinidad Islands to Guianas. |
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Diet: South
American Wood turtles love bananas, strawberries, rasberries,
romaine lettuce, tomato's and any kind of melon. They will
also take down some worms and should feed on brand name
foods such as reptomin. |
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Enclosure:
These turtles should be set up in a half land half water set
up so they can dry off and absorb some heat when they need
it. They like warmth and are fond of temperatures in the
upper 80's. Temperatures in the 70's for too long might
cause a respiratory infection unless it is given some
substrate to dig into and keep warm. Their water source
should have a filter on it as they require very clean
water.
UVB and a heat bulb are definitely a must. You can even
placea submersible heater in their water source to make sure
they are kept warm. Cold water can also make them sick when
you change it. Room temperature water should be fine (70-85
degrees) The water source should also be shallow to avoid
drowning. 5-6 inches should do just fine.
Rubbermaid and turtleland tubs make great set-ups for this
species. They like to walk around a lot on land so a large
enough land area should be offered. Which ever enclosure
you choose, make sure it is escape proof and predator
proof.
Many breeders keep this species outside in Florida, south
Texas and southern California. Note that these breeders
provide plenty of hiding areas and debris for the turtles to
climb under at night to escape predators that might wonder
in their enclosure. Shade should be provided as well as sun
so the turtle can move to where it wants to be based on
comfort level.
If you decide to keep your SA wood turtle with another
turtle, it should be fine. I like to keep them with other
species in the rhinoclemmys group, such as rhinoclemmys
manni and rhinoclemmys funerea.
They can withstand water ph levels anywhere from 5-8 but i
wouldnt go anywhere out of that range. |
Breeding:
The best method is to place your turtles in a small cooling
period which means temperatures in the upper 60's. This
period should go for about 4-6 weeks. They should burrow to
stay warm but remain inactive. These turtles seem to breed
in temperatures in the low 70's and in fresh clean flowing
water. If you create a slow moving stream or running water
outdoors in temperatures in the 70's, the males should be
somewhat aggressive. They also may attempt breeding in
early morning hours in the hot summer or during a rain. A
large enclosure should be provided so the males do not
frequently see the females. This will help them stay more
aggressive.
During breeding, the male will sniff at her anal vent right
before moving to the front of her to where he will go
through a series of head movements to both sides of her
head. The female might bite at the male during this time.
Once the female settles down and becomes receptive, the male
will then move to the back of her where copulation will take
place.
These turtles usually lay 1-3 eggs. These are very large
eggs and can get over 2 inches. Obviously larger females
will lay more than one egg.
The best incubated temperature is in the lower 80's. I
would do 76 for about 3 weeks and then raise the temperature
slightly to about 81 for the rest of the way out. These
eggs take over 100 days to hatch. Somewhere near 110-140
days |
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AL ROACH |
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