Spiny Turtle

1 Overview

The spiny turtle (Heosemys spinosa), also the ‘sun turtle’, is unmistakable as a juvenile – a ring of raised spikes around the carapace makes it look like a cartoon sun. Sadly the spikes fade with age, so only the young are truly cute.

A semi-aquatic turtle of forest streams at 100-170 m elevation, hiding under leaf litter and grass. Juveniles are more terrestrial; toes are not webbed and it swims poorly, usually found ambling the cool, moist forest floor. CONSERVATION NOTE: listed CITES Appendix II and IUCN endangered since 2002.

2 Appearance

Carapace is tea-brown, about as long as wide, flattened with a shallow central ridge; 175-220 mm long, 1.5-2.0 kg. The signature is a ring of upward-flaring spikes around the carapace margin (hence ‘sun turtle’). Plastron yellow with fine black radiating lines. Adults reach about 22 cm and the spikes blunt with age. Females have a developed plastral hinge to house larger eggs.

Most are smuggled from Malaysia and Indonesia – long, hazardous transit and cramped conditions wreck their condition, so imported animals often arrive half-dead with very low survival. Buy only alert, heavy, responsive individuals; choose in May-September (growth season) and avoid winter purchases.

3 Care (Hatchling)

The hatchling is adorable but hard to keep alive – it demands a near-perfect environment, so buy sub-adults if possible. Keep newly hatched in a small glass box for 3-5 h, then disinfect in 0.6% saline after the umbilical dries; never pull the cord. Change water 1-2x daily at 25-30 C, mist to add oxygen; start feeding tiny grains at 2 days, then cooked egg and chopped fish, shrimp, frog or pumpkin at 7 days before moving outdoors.

4 Habitat & Environment

Semi-aquatic but a poor swimmer – give a divided land and water setup, or at least a large basking platform (it spends more time on land than in water). Indoors: large pool, half water at 6-10 cm depth, 5 cm gravel base plus 15-25 cm peat or sphagnum for hiding and nesting; mist 1-2x weekly. Outdoors: shrubbery with a cool shallow pool; heating needed in cold months. Temperature 27-30 C with a 12/12 light cycle.

Brumation: from November to March below 10 C it buries in mud or straw-covered soil and stops eating; resume activity above about 15 C in April. No feeding or water change needed during brumation – just keep it warm and predator-free.

5 Diet & Feeding

Naturally mostly herbivorous (though captives sometimes take meat). Best fed 2-3x weekly a salad of fruit (especially tomato), vegetables and kale. Adults may get peeled, chopped rodents every two weeks – never feed meat to hatchlings or juveniles. Most juveniles prefer tomato over anything. No vitamin supplement needed on the salad; juveniles need calcium and phosphate and a D3 source (e.g. Turtle Brittlea).

Health: susceptible to the usual shell and fungal diseases – provide a UV lamp and, ideally, a filter with UV steriliser; always keep water clean.