malaysian leaf turtle?

krucz36

Chelcirator
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 13, 2002
Messages
296
petco had a turtle in a little tank today, dry except for a slightly larger than a turtle water dish it was sitting in. it said "malaysian leaf turtle" (or tortoise, i spaced). anyone know what it is? i feel sorry for the little dude. it has a serrated look to the outside edge of its carapace, and was an overall dark green color.
any thoughts
 

Lasiodora

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 11, 2002
Messages
852
It sounds like geoemyda spengleri. Does it look like this: http://www.schroete.de/arten/g_spengleri/
If it does then it is most likely a leaf turtle. They like it humid and cannot take the heat. 60-80 are temps they will tolerate. They are also not social. A large enclosure is required to keep a breeding group. For the most part they are insectivores. They may accept fruit on occasion. They are very cool turtles. If you can keep the temps from getting over 80 and can supply the humidity then they are not hard to keep. Most wild caughts will be parasitized.
Mike
 

Wade

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2002
Messages
2,929
A number of asian turtles are known by variations of the name "leaf turtle" with some country name in front of it. It may be Geoemyda spengleri, a small species (about 4" full grown), although that one is usually known as "Vietnamese leaf turtle". These are highlty terrestrial, and prefer cooler temps.

It could also be Cyclemys dentata, a larger turtle with more aquatic habits. I have a couple of these, I've attached a pic of my larger one.

You can check this website www.chelonia.org for pictures and care sheets.

If you decide to get this turtle, be sure to take it to a vet right away. Asian turtles are almost always loaded with parasites and many do not survive. Asia's turtles are rapidly dissapearing because they are in high demand as food, in fact those coming into the pet trade are generally purchased from food markets. This is truly a case where captive breeding may be the only hope for many of these species.

Wade

Edit: Oops! Mike beat me to the punch.
 
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