Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all.

Recently, at the shop I work at, we aquired a smallish {roughly 2.5'} Pelomedusa. He's been set up in a fifteen gallon tank in my reptile section for about a week now, and I'm the only person who feeds him {as I'm the only person who does reptiles six days a week} and he's gotten to where he'll follow me around as I walk back and forth near his setup.

Well, I've sort of fallen in love with the little bugger, despite the fact that I'm really not an aquatic turtle person, my heart being in Morelias and Varanids. Despite this, I'm very seriously considering bringing him home and adding him to the reptile room here at the house.

I guess I just wanna' know if anyone here has any advice for a first-time Helmeted owner or even stories about their own to share.

:]

Thanks in advance,

Harm.
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1.1 Ornate Uromastyx [Re and Wadjet]
1.0 Savannah Monitor [Zephyrus]
1.0 Quince Monitor [Poe]
1.1 Eastern Box Turtles [Zoink and Abel]
1.0 Sulcata Tortoise [Littlefoot]
0.1 Pink-Toe Tarantula [Athena]
1.1 Argus Monitors [Kharnak and Mudd]
1.0 Eastern Kingsnake [Duke]
0.1 Jungle Carpet Python [Whistler]

...And more rats than I can count anymore.

{Hi, I'm Harmony, and I'm a Varanophile...}

As a recent owner, I literally just gave them to a friend of mine on the 8th, I say if you have the space get them.I kept them for 9 years & am thinking of ways I can get them back. I am also a monitor fan though I only have 1 exmanthicus for now. When my pockets no longer allowed for varanid keeping I moved to heavy turtle keeping. However pelomedusa were 1 of the 1st 4 turtle species I kept during my varanid phase. They are very personable & eating machines. Durable & thrive on any thing. Watch for agression towards other turtles. A solo 1 should have at least 30g. Mine didn't bask much but did come out when the lamps were off.

Hi Harmony,

Josh Hunkele has made an excellent website on the African helmeted turtle.
Check out http://www.pelomedusa.com/
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ESF studbook keeper Heosemys grandis http://www.heosemys.org