Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am new to this website, and apologize if I ask a foolish question. Is the big-headed turtle a species that is commonly captive bred? I am interested in owning one, if it is legally possible. If so, which breeders might have some? I looked through the turtle section of this website's classifieds, and couldn't find any. Thanks,

VB3

Big headed turtles are not commonly bred. They have almost never been bred. They lay 1 or 2 eggs per year and most of the wild-caught imports are not near being full grown. They were just added on C.I.T.E.S., so you will not see very many coming in. They are an animal that is only sold as an import. The average size of the imports is about 4-5 inches. I have seen one 9 inches. They are hard to ses unless you have fully grown adults.

That was my impression of the situation. Thank you for your input.

They are rarely bred, but i have seen a CB baby offered in the classifieds some time ago. You will have to go with imports. Note: it is unwise to house them with any other turtles (especially of their own species), as their long tails are very vulnerable to damage and, because they are poorly vascularized, bite injuries can lead to intractable infections. I speak from experience here. Also DO NOT underestimate their climbing abilities. They can scale a smooth slope slanting against them .

Does anyone have information on how big they can get? I haven't been able to scare up much info on them beyond husbandry.

Ernst and Barbour list the carapace length as 18.4 cm. The tail is as long as the shell. It is not a particularly large turtle, considering its bizzare apperance. For comparison, I would say it is slighty smaller than an American Wood Turtle in shell length. I have one of the very few spcimens that was imoported as an adult. Most imports are about 4 inches to increase the shipping capacity of the containers, as with most Asian turtles.