Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been considering getting another turtle . The Central American Wood turtle has really caught my eye. Does anyone here have one or can tell me how thwy are as pets? Do they have the same requirments as other box turtles? Ad are they considered a easy keeper. I don't know anything about them and would like to research them before buying one .Any information would be greatly appricated. Thank you Lisa

I'm certainly glad that you're putting forth the effort to research a possible captive. However, Central American Wood turtles are not box turtles. Their care is very different from most of the box turtles that we keep. You should post under the "Wood, Spotted, and Bog" forum, or even "All Other Turtles". Phratz has a veterinarian that keeps a species of neotropical Wood turtle, but I can't remember which. Maybe she'll give you some tips. Good luck, they're beautiful turtles.

Ugh, ok, no more late night posts for me. Obviously, you DID post under the Spotted, Bog, & Wood turtle forum. Sorry about that.

Good info Ken. I thought I would add some more information on the wood turtles from south of the border just because this topic piqued my interest.

There are 8 recognized species of Rhinoclemmys and 9 subspecies. The range of this genus extends from northern Mexico to north/central South America. The species of the genus are found from many different habitats from rivers to savannahs. From the 8 species there are two that are most readily found in the hobby. These are the Spotted-Legged or South American Wood Turtle (R. punctularia) comprising of 3 subspecies and the Painted or Central American Wood Turtle (R. pulcherrima) comprising of 4 subspecies. I will give some information on these two most commonly encountered species and subspecies.

Unfortunately these species are more often than not imported and not captive bred. With the high amounts of imported specimens hopefully captive breeding of high quality individuals will be on the increase. There are three common reasons that these species have not been heavily captive bred. 1.) Readily Imported 2.) Low clutch size (as Ken mentioned) 3. Import Mortality due to heavy parasitism (yes, the all too common and continued waste of chelonian life to make a dollar). You and the environment will benefit much more greatly from taking the time to acquire a captive bred specimen. I personally favor the South American (R. punctularia) over the Central American Wood Turtle due to its more aquatic nature and starkly contrasting color scheme of oranges and black. But that is just my opinion. Here is some info on both.

Spotted-Legged (South American) Wood Turtle- This turtle is unfortunately imported in high numbers making it one of the most commonly found species of the genus. Due to the importation, most specimens have some type of health/aesthetic ailment and are riddled with parasites, not to mention populations are being severely depleted throughout their range. Unless treated by a vet immediately, mortality for these imports is high. This turtle is PRIMARILY AQUATIC residing in and around ponds, marshes, swamps, and rivers. I highlight this because most imported specimens seem to be kept in overcrowded terrestrial environments. They are a beautiful turtle, with a base coloration of black/brown, with yellow, orange, and red pigments and markings found on their skin. These turtles are omnivores and will eat in the water as well as on land. Mine personally ate most readily in the water where they spent the majority of their time. Females will lay brittle-shelled eggs throughout the year consisting of only one to two eggs per clutch. These eggs are normally laid in leaf litter or under vegetation as opposed to digging a flask-shaped nest cavity. Of the 3 subspecies, R. p. punctularia, R. p. diademata, and R. p. flammigera, R. p. punctularia is the most often found in the hobby.

Painted (Central American) Wood Turtle- This species is also unfortunately imported in high numbers making it the other most commonly found species of the genus. Like mentioned above these imports are also highly riddled with parasites, have health problems, populations are being severely depleted, and unless treated can face a high mortality rate. This species comprising of 4 subspecies ranges from northern Mexico to northern Costa Rica. While this species can be quite beautiful there is quite a variation encompassed by the subspecies, with R. p. manni being the most colorfully marked. I have seen individuals with all sorts of varying levels of coloration on their shells and skin. As with any of the Rhinoclemmys, captive bred individuals will yield a higher quality and a more highly colored individual. Many R. pulcherrima ssp I have seen for sale come out quite drab and muddy looking after going through the importation ordeal. (As you can tell, I do not approve of the commercial collection of turtles) This is an omnivorous species of various habitats including scrubland, moist woodlands, and rainforests. The subspecies most commonly offered are R. p. manni a turtle of the moist woodlands and rainforests where it favors areas in close proximity to water, as it is fond of entering it, (Remember this when creating an enclosure), and R. p. incisa a species of more terrestrial woodlands but also in close proximity to water. These species will lay up to 4 clutches of 3-5 eggs in a season.

Hope this background info helps some, feel free to ask any questions about specific husbandry. Good luck.

-JG

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Thank you everyone. I saw them for sale in the classifieds here. There were 2 different ads the one on page two being sold in Florida are beautiful.But have to be wild caught because they are listed as 4 inches to 9inches I believe. I also don't like to see animals taken from the wild .I would hate to be part of a animal suffering because I think it is pretty,so I guess I will watch and see if any hatchlings are listed.Though it doesn't sound to promising. We also have a pet store from where we live that has a Russian Tortoise for sale I keep telling myself I'm only promoting this if I buy him but it is so hard to look into his eyes and see him in that small glass cage and not scoop him up and buy him.They just keep dropping the price on him bercause he has been there so long how sad. Lisa

Great post man!

I keep a pair of Painted/Ornate woodies(Manni) and breeding them. So far one hatchling who's about 4 week old now. They are tricky to hatch, cause I've been trying for 3 years and finally got it right.
Hopefully I'll be able to offer experienced keepers a few babies.
True my pair are WC but they'll help create some CB's and hopefully keep a few in the wild.

Ornates are a wonderful species, to give them what they need you gotta have a large enclosure, deep substrate, water tub deep enough to cover their shells and they have omnivorous diets which makes you feel like your their personal chef! Maintenance is a pain with the water tub cause there's no great filter to keep it nice.

Buy Captive Bred, no wild turtles!

...If you decide to get some be sure and get captive bred and born...Not wild-caught! I recently adopted 2 of them from our local pet store. Here's the story: The day I walked in to my favorite local pet store I didn't even know of the existence of C.A. Wood Turtles. They had 2 that looked like they were near death...and certainly Were the day a kid brought them in and dumped em off. Pet Store owner said the kid had bought them at a Petco or PetSmart and kept them in a totally aquatic environment with 3 Red-Eared Sliders. When they were brought in...their shells were totally gray and completely flexible as tho made of rubber! After a couple months at this new pet store they had made some tremendous improvement but still looked pretty rough. (They were Still in a totally Wrong aquatic environment but at least now had access to a basking rock under a full-spectrum bulb)The store's reptile manager asked if I wanted them! So I went home and spent most of a week (and lots of time and money) and built a replica of a Central American Rain Forest floor...went back up and brought em home. They love it here! Their shells have hardened up and they're slowly regaining some color...but its gonna take a long time (if ever) until they become as beautiful as the original specimens they once were. And in the last couple months I have inadvertantly become a bit of an "expert" with these turtles. I've been told that they were most certainly wild-caught as it seems no-one is breeding these things. Havn't had time to find this out yet for sure. Its great your asking questions First! Hope this helps. They are curious, personable and quite tame...taking food right out of my hand. I'll post some pics of them and their new home as soon as I can. TJ.

Wow, a pet store actually rescueing and rehabbing...I'm glad it's written down! That's one for the books.

Large scale breeders are not breeding them because the adults are so readily available and cheap. Some private hobbyists are breeding them, and you'll sometimes see them for sale on this site. I remember hearing that they're not very fecund...like only one or two eggs per year. The babies are like little gems...just stunning!

I'd love to see a picture of the turtles and your makeshift jungle! I'm amazed at how creative people can be.

Thanks guys. If anyone here knows a trusted breeder where I can purchase a healthy central American wood turtle could you post it . Thank You. I have never purchased a turtle online and would not knoe who to trust or not. Lisa

I agree Central and South American Wood Turtles that are wild caught, are usually loaded with parasites, which don’t affect them too much in the wild, but being put under the strain of transportation, confinement, and finally the adjustment to captivity, could cause them to parish.

With that said, they are very personable turtles, eat just about any fruit and vegetable that you put in front of them, as well as processed turtle foods. Generally speaking, they do not do well in cold climates, or where temperatures get colder. Many people just bring them in for the winter, as they do not hibernate.

A google search will provide abundant information for you to research.

You may check for animals to be adopted out by your local turtle/tortoise club.

The seller you mentioned in Florida has a good reputation.

Bill

I did a little browsing around to see who was selling these on the classifieds. The ones to stay away from are the ads who are currently selling the "Spot-Legged Turtle" which is selling wild-caught R. punctularia, "Central American Wood Turtles" selling wild-caught R. pul. incisa, "Guyanese" Wood Turtle (they must have discovered a new species...mmm don't think so) selling wild-caught R. punctularia. The safer ones to go with are the three selling captive bred specimens. One is selling R. funerea the Black Wood Turtle. This is the largest of the Rhinoclemmys, has the same AQUATIC habitat as I had mentioned for R. punctularia, and grows to about a foot in length. In other words you need a good bit of space, preferably outdoors when applicable. The second one is selling captive bred R. pul. incisa which I had described in the previous post as well. The final captive bred or born of this genus is the Necaraguan (a new country and species of turtle was found I guess) These hatchlings could either represent R. annulata the Brown Wood Turtle, which they appear to do by their more flattened carapaces. This species is terrestrial, living in lowland rainforests. Or it could be R. funerea the Black Wood Turtle as previously listed. Both being Nicaraguan residents.

Since you are new to the genus I would wait until you can find an add for captive bred hatchlings of either R. punctularia (Spotted-Legged) or R. pul. manni (Painted or Central American). The Black Wood is a great species but you must be able to accomodate its large size. A fully filled in 12 inch turtle needs a lot of space.

I appreciate you doing your homework before purchasing one of these species and realizing that you will be getting a much nicer and healthier turtle buy holding out until you get a captive bred specimen.

Good luck.

-JG

Not an eaasy keeper, maintenance is a pain. You gotta deal with a 50/50 setup. Water tubs are a pain to clean out. I reccomend a Waterland Land tub. They need humidity, lots of cover and deep substrate to hide. They need to feel secure.
omnivores, east feeders.