The Asian Turtle Consortium

Heosemys spinosa : Spiny Turtle

PHOTO BY DAVID LEE

Photo by Russ Gurley

Spiny Hill Turtles

Heosemys spinosa

by Russ Gurley

Comments: This unique turtle, with its fascinating spiked shell, has the reputation of doing poorly in captivity. New husbandry methods, including the use of large, well-planted enclosures, and advances in deparasitization and veterinary protocols, are producing successes in keeping this turtle alive.

Distribution: H. spinosa is found in Thailand, Sumatra, Borneo, and parts of Indonesia.

Adult Size: Adult H. spinosa grow to 9” (22 cm).

Captive Care: Outdoors, Spiny Turtles do well in a semi-terrestrial enclosure that features both land and water. The land area should be planted with a variety of ground cover, shrubs, and plants that offer them secure hiding places (which they use often). They are especially active after rains and they seem to do best in cool - 75 ° to 80 ° F (24 ° to 27 ° C) environments, they are even active during unusually cool days (down to the high 50's and low 60's F). We offer them plenty of shade during warmer months and even turn sprinklers on them for several hours during the hottest afternoons.

Indoors, Spiny Turtles have proven to be quite delicate. We get the feeling that they survive well enough indoors just long enough for us to move them out in the spring. This is not great news for those without outdoor enclosures or access to warm weather for most of the spring and summer. As they tend to inhabit cool streams at high altitudes in nature, we do not place submersible heaters into their water, but offer them 6-8” of filtered, circulating water and a land area with both man-made and natural hiding spots. These hiding spots include lots of tropical plants and small, evergreen shrubs. Piles of leaves and palm fronds are added to provide further “security”. The substrate consists of a layer of pea gravel beneath a ½ peat moss and ½ damp sand layer and then topped off with a generous layer of cypress mulch to help retain moisture. A fluorescent shop light fixture with UVB-emitting bulbs is placed over the enclosure and a 100-watt spotlight is placed over the basking spot. They rarely bask, and their weekly routine generally consists of hiding, coming out to eat, and then hiding once again. They do venture out when the enclosure is sprayed or we often find them soaking in the aquatic portion of their enclosure early in the morning. Most of their activity seems to take place during the early morning or late evening.

Feeding: As herbivores, Spiny Turtles are offered a large and diverse salad every three days. This salad consists of a combination of finely grated vegetables and more coarse offerings of romaine lettuce, kale, squash, carrots, and sweet potato along with apple, banana, cantaloupe, strawberries, and pear, as well as mango and papaya when they are available. Banana and mango have proven to be very effective in getting newly imported H. spinosa to begin feeding. After they begin feeding, we add some higher protein foods such as MAZURI Tortoise Diet®, high-quality canned cat food, or soaked Zupreme Monkey Biscuits® mixed in with some of the mashed fruit and yellow and orange vegetables (for Vitamin A) to increase their nutritional intake. Ocasionally, specimens will be interested in fish such as smelt or goldfish.

Common Health Problems: Dehydration, stress, and unusually high parasite loads have all proven to be part of imported H. spinosa 's health problems. Many specimens have been very reluctant to feed and mortality has been relatively high with imported specimens. This is most likely due to dehydration and to the incredible stress placed on them during their capture and long journeys as they were diverted from the Asian food markets to the pet trade. A prophylactic round of Baytril® and Panacur® are recommended by most breeders working with this delicate species.

Breeding: As H. spinosa has not thrived in captivity, little is known of its courtship, breeding habits, or egg-laying behavior. One captive breeding of H. spinosa did occur at Zoo Atlanta in 1991. Reportedly, males tend to show more activity and even some courtship behavior following rain showers (Hermann, 1993), however no actual mating has been observed at the Turtle and Tortoise Preservation Group facilities. We feel that with close supervision, an intense parasite elimination program, and a large, well-planted, “safe” enclosure, we will see the production of some captive-hatched baby Spiny Turtles someday. Surely these will be one of the most exciting and unique hatchlings to climb out of an egg!

SUGGESTED READING

Herman, D. W. 1993. Reproduction and Management of the Southeast Asian Spiny Turtle ( Heosemys spinosa ) in Captivity. Herpetological Natural History . 1(1): 97-100.

Liat, L. B. and I. Das. 1999. Turtles of Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia. Natural History Publications (Borneo). Kota Kinabalu. 151 pp.

* Excerpt from Gurley, R. 2003. KEEPING and BREEDING FRESHWATER TURTLES . Living Art publishing. 305 pp.


	Heosemys spinosa : Spiny Turtle PHOTO BY DAVID LEE Photo by Russ Gurley Spiny Hill Turtles *Heosemys spinosa* by Russ Gurley Comments: This unique turtle, with its fascinating spiked shell, has the reputation of doing poorly in captivity. New husbandry methods, including the use of large, well-planted enclosures, and advances in deparasitization and veterinary protocols, are producing successes in keeping this turtle alive. Distribution: H. spinosa is found in Thailand, Sumatra, Borneo, and parts of Indonesia. Adult Size: Adult H. spinosa grow to 9” (22 cm). Captive Care: Outdoors, Spiny Turtles do well in a semi-terrestrial enclosure that features both land and water. The land area should be planted with a variety of ground cover, shrubs, and plants that offer them secure hiding places (which they use often). They are especially active after rains and they seem to do best in cool - 75 ° to 80 ° F (24 ° to 27 ° C) environments, they are even active during unusually cool days (down to the high 50's and low 60's F). We offer them plenty of shade during warmer months and even turn sprinklers on them for several hours during the hottest afternoons. Indoors, Spiny Turtles have proven to be quite delicate. We get the feeling that they survive well enough indoors just long enough for us to move them out in the spring. This is not great news for those without outdoor enclosures or access to warm weather for most of the spring and summer. As they tend to inhabit cool streams at high altitudes in nature, we do not place submersible heaters into their water, but offer them 6-8” of filtered, circulating water and a land area with both man-made and natural hiding spots. These hiding spots include lots of tropical plants and small, evergreen shrubs. Piles of leaves and palm fronds are added to provide further “security”. The substrate consists of a layer of pea gravel beneath a ½ peat moss and ½ damp sand layer and then topped off with a generous layer of cypress mulch to help retain moisture. A fluorescent shop light fixture with UVB-emitting bulbs is placed over the enclosure and a 100-watt spotlight is placed over the basking spot. They rarely bask, and their weekly routine generally consists of hiding, coming out to eat, and then hiding once again. They do venture out when the enclosure is sprayed or we often find them soaking in the aquatic portion of their enclosure early in the morning. Most of their activity seems to take place during the early morning or late evening. Feeding: As herbivores, Spiny Turtles are offered a large and diverse salad every three days. This salad consists of a combination of finely grated vegetables and more coarse offerings of romaine lettuce, kale, squash, carrots, and sweet potato along with apple, banana, cantaloupe, strawberries, and pear, as well as mango and papaya when they are available. Banana and mango have proven to be very effective in getting newly imported H. spinosa to begin feeding. After they begin feeding, we add some higher protein foods such as MAZURI Tortoise Diet®, high-quality canned cat food, or soaked Zupreme Monkey Biscuits® mixed in with some of the mashed fruit and yellow and orange vegetables (for Vitamin A) to increase their nutritional intake. Ocasionally, specimens will be interested in fish such as smelt or goldfish. Common Health Problems: Dehydration, stress, and unusually high parasite loads have all proven to be part of imported H. spinosa 's health problems. Many specimens have been very reluctant to feed and mortality has been relatively high with imported specimens. This is most likely due to dehydration and to the incredible stress placed on them during their capture and long journeys as they were diverted from the Asian food markets to the pet trade. A prophylactic round of Baytril® and Panacur® are recommended by most breeders working with this delicate species. Breeding: As H. spinosa has not thrived in captivity, little is known of its courtship, breeding habits, or egg-laying behavior. One captive breeding of H. spinosa did occur at Zoo Atlanta in 1991. Reportedly, males tend to show more activity and even some courtship behavior following rain showers (Hermann, 1993), however no actual mating has been observed at the Turtle and Tortoise Preservation Group facilities. We feel that with close supervision, an intense parasite elimination program, and a large, well-planted, “safe” enclosure, we will see the production of some captive-hatched baby Spiny Turtles someday. Surely these will be one of the most exciting and unique hatchlings to climb out of an egg! SUGGESTED READING Herman, D. W. 1993. Reproduction and Management of the Southeast Asian Spiny Turtle ( Heosemys spinosa ) in Captivity. Herpetological Natural History . 1(1): 97-100. Liat, L. B. and I. Das. 1999. Turtles of Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia. Natural History Publications (Borneo). Kota Kinabalu. 151 pp. * Excerpt from Gurley, R. 2003. KEEPING and BREEDING FRESHWATER TURTLES . Living Art publishing. 305 pp.
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