Indian Roofed Turtle

1 Overview

The Indian Roofed Turtle is a relatively common species of the roofed turtle genus, whose shell is characterized by a very prominent black hump. Distributed across India and surrounding regions, it prefers moderately warm temperatures, can enter hibernation, and is a rather timid aquatic turtle.

Chinese Name: Indian Roofed Turtle

Scientific Name: Kachuga tecta

English Name: Indian Roofed Turtle

Alternative Names: Roof Turtle, Keeled-back Turtle

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Reptilia

Subclass: Anapsida

Order: Testudines

Family: Geoemydidae

Genus: Kachuga

Species: Indian Roofed Turtle

Distribution: Northern India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

Habits: In captivity, the Indian Roofed Turtle likes warmth and fears cold. At a water temperature around 24°C it feeds normally; below 20°C it stops eating; below 18°C it stops feeding and becomes less active, and as the temperature gradually drops the turtle enters hibernation. Prolonged exposure to water below 10°C can be fatal.

Diet: In the wild the Indian Roofed Turtle eats plant stems, leaves, and fruits; under captive conditions it has been observed to eat only bananas and apples.

Temperament: The Indian Roofed Turtle is gentle and docile, timid, and does not actively attack people.

Appearance: The Indian Sawback Turtle belongs to the high-domed genus Kachuga, characterized by a tall carapace, especially the prominently raised third vertebral scute.

2 Physical Characteristics

The shell of the Indian Roofed Turtle is high-domed and cap-shaped, with the keel ending at the tubercle of the third vertebral scute. The rear margin has slight serrations. The nuchal scute is small and square. The shape of the first vertebral scute varies; in adults the front is narrower with curved lateral lines, while in juveniles the lateral lines are straight. The third vertebral scute protrudes backward and contacts the longer fourth vertebral scute. The fifth vertebral scute is wider than the others. The plastron is large, and in juveniles the sides are angled. The gular–humeral seam forms a right angle. The axillary and inguinal scutes are large.

3 Care & Husbandry

The Indian Roofed Turtle has long been labeled as difficult to keep. Why is that? In fact, it is a species that adapts poorly to new environments, and the long transport process can cause stress, so the slightest carelessness can lead to disease or even death.

The pink ring around the carapace of the Indian Roofed Turtle is very eye-catching; it is probably the most vivid species in the genus. Taiwan imported small numbers a few years ago, but because juvenile roofed turtles are highly susceptible to aquatic fungal infections and adapt poorly to new environments, mortality within the first week exceeded 80%. Few individuals have survived to the present. When purchasing, pay special attention to signs of infection; it is best to keep juveniles separately at first and treat them with fish anti-fungal medication to prevent infection, then mix them with other turtles only after the acclimation period.

The housing environment for the Indian Roofed Turtle is the same as for general aquatic turtles—semi-aquatic with both land and water, requiring no special setup. Its diet is fairly omnivorous; it accepts common aquatic turtle pellets, leafy greens, dead fish, dead shrimp, frozen bloodworms, and mealworms. As long as imported individuals are not infected or ill, the difficulty of keeping them is not high. There is great size variation, with females typically twice as large as males.

4 Habitat & Environment

The Indian Roofed Turtle is very prone to illness. In this case, we can only try our best to ensure a healthy environment. But what counts as a healthy environment? Does changing the water every day make it healthy? In fact, a healthy environment is one in which the Indian Roofed Turtle can adapt.

Wild Habitat: The Indian Roofed Turtle is distributed across Pakistan and India’s Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Indus rivers, and also appears in the Mahanadi basin. It is a rather quiet turtle, inhabiting calmer rivers, ponds, and tanks. It also occurs in brackish coastal waters. Soft riverbeds with abundant aquatic vegetation are ideal habitats. The Indian Roofed Turtle basks in the morning sun, which helps maintain body temperature and synthesize vitamin D.

Captive Environment: Two points need attention when setting up the enclosure. First, the roofed turtle is after all a timid species, so a completely open setup will inevitably cause stress; at the same time, it loves to bask. Based on these two points, the enclosure should provide proper hiding places—such as driftwood with cavities or floating duckweed on the water surface—so they feel safe. Second, there must be a basking land area; it need not be large, since they do not like to roam on land much—they just need a spot to rest their plastron and enjoy the sunlight. It should be emphasized that basking species kept without land, soaked in water long-term, will inevitably develop shell rot and skin rot; thus providing a basking area is an important prerequisite for preventing these conditions.

5 Feeding Requirements

The Indian Roofed Turtle is not particularly picky about food and can accept meat, vegetarian items, and some turtle pellets, so feeding is not troublesome. However, it is a temperature-sensitive turtle, and unsuitable temperatures will cause it to refuse food.

The Indian Roofed Turtle is omnivorous, mainly eating aquatic plants such as water hyacinth and animals such as crabs, and it will also eat carrion. As an ectothermic animal, it is sensitive to environmental temperature changes; its feeding and activity are affected by temperature. Because its metabolism produces limited heat and it lacks a mechanism to retain internally generated heat, to overcome this it moves to cooler or warmer spots to control daily body-temperature fluctuations. Only when the temperature in the artificial enclosure matches its natural habitat can the Indian Roofed Turtle’s physical and mental health be assured.

Generally, tropical turtles prefer 27–38°C and temperate turtles 20–35°C. For some Indian Sawback Turtles the lethal temperature is about 5°C above the upper limit of the preferred range. A temperature of 25°C is conventionally taken as the normal value for feeding and activity, while around 30°C is optimal for feeding, activity, and growth. Thus, in the middle and lower Yangtze region of China, April to October is the feeding and active period, and November to March of the following year is the hibernation period.