Carretochelys insculpta

Captive care and husbandry.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
User avatar
Berkeley Boone
Posts: 878
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 4:02 am

Carretochelys insculpta

Post by Berkeley Boone »

Does anyone out there have any of these guys? I'm not looking for any, I was just curious. They are such cool turtles, but so uncommonly seen in the last several years. I had one in my care back in 2004/2005 and I took him outside for some photos one afternoon. Got to see him again last spring, and he is as big as a basketball now. Still doing well!

I would wax poetic more about the pignosed turtles, but I am sure I would bore someone!

Thanks for looking. I just wanted to see if anyone else out there had any, or any photos that they would like to share.

--Berkeley

Image

Image

Image

Image

(Please forgive the photo quality. That was my first attempt at using a tank for some underwater shots....I have learned a lot about it since then!)
User avatar
Sam Bacchini
Posts: 379
Joined: March 1st, 2011, 10:26 am
Location: NorCal

Re: Carretochelys insculpta

Post by Sam Bacchini »

I had one some years back. It did really well for me but I passed it along after a few years to another person who had more space.

They do best in warm (~86 F) alkaline water and a low protein diet.

VERY cool turtles.
User avatar
justinm
Posts: 3423
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:26 am
Location: Illinois
Contact:

Re: Carretochelys insculpta

Post by justinm »

I have a friend who has a pair. They're probably 10 or more years old, another friend paid the way to get them here and had to let the go. They're kind of mean tempered, but really cool to look at.
Paul White
Posts: 2288
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:52 pm
Location: Amarillo, Texas

Re: Carretochelys insculpta

Post by Paul White »

Don't they get pretty good sized? I've seen a few in person and thought they looked (size wise) roughly equal to soft shells. But amazing animals, and I wish they were A: Smaller and B: more obtainable.
VICtort
Posts: 691
Joined: July 2nd, 2010, 6:48 pm
Location: AZ.

Re: Carretochelys insculpta

Post by VICtort »

Not me, they sound pretty demanding but rewarding for those who can devote the necessary care and space to these very cool and unique aquatic turtles. They are one of my favorite display animals at the San Diego Zoo, which has at least two of them of differing sizes.
User avatar
Berkeley Boone
Posts: 878
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 4:02 am

Re: Carretochelys insculpta

Post by Berkeley Boone »

Thanks guys. I figured there had to be a couple of people out there who also appreciated them...... :)

You got it, Sam. That one in the picture really liked fruit pieces, but took pellets quite well.

Justin- that is pretty cool. I don't know that I would call them mean-tempered, but you are correct- they will fight amongst themselves like you wouldn't believe. They are really easy going around other turtle species and fish though.

Paul- Oh yeah. A big adult can be over 2 feet in shell length, and they are ACTIVE! They do not stop swimming. They are like freaking leatherback sea turtles. Pignoses need HUGE aquaria, or better, ponds to live in. I agree with both your A and B statements!

Vic- Also a correct statement. They can be pretty finicky when it comes to water parameters (shell problems and whatnot), and obviously space and food. But they are also very intelligent and, in my opinion, seem to recognize individual people. The juvenile pictured here in this post is the same one that is pictured in my post on the main forum (trip to southeastern herp mecca), just a few years later.

Thanks guys!
--Berkeley
Shells-n-scales
Posts: 20
Joined: June 18th, 2010, 3:00 am

Re: Carretochelys insculpta

Post by Shells-n-scales »

I have 3.1.....

squirty went from a little 3" bugger, to a 6" chick magnet within a year...
Image
Image
Image

Image
Image
Image

Here's an albino (not mine)
Image
rsmith
Posts: 14
Joined: December 3rd, 2011, 10:07 pm

Re: Carretochelys insculpta

Post by rsmith »

I remember gila-91's turtle. It was cool watching a freshwater turtle that acted like an ocean turtle.
User avatar
monklet
Posts: 2648
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:44 pm
Location: Ventura, CA
Contact:

Re: Carretochelys insculpta

Post by monklet »

Wow :shock: Had no knowledge of those! Highly appealing! Great shots to Berkeley and "Shells"!

Where are they indigenous?
User avatar
Sam Bacchini
Posts: 379
Joined: March 1st, 2011, 10:26 am
Location: NorCal

Re: Carretochelys insculpta

Post by Sam Bacchini »

monklet wrote:Where are they indigenous?
New Guinea and parts of northern Australia.
User avatar
Berkeley Boone
Posts: 878
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 4:02 am

Re: Carretochelys insculpta

Post by Berkeley Boone »

Thanks for the additional pictures Raul. I thought I remembered you had one. Good to hear from you again. That albino is crazy looking. How long ago did you see that one?

Thanks for the kind words, Brad. As Sam said, they are found in New Guinea and northern Australia (hence their other common name of 'Fly River turtle').

--Berkeley
kurakura
Posts: 28
Joined: March 14th, 2012, 11:04 am

Re: Carretochelys insculpta

Post by kurakura »

Nice one, the requirements for this species probably make it over the top for many/most people. I worked in an animal sanctuary where we had a bunch that was luckily confiscated before hitting the pet market. Had good breeding success and roughly 200babies have been released into the wild. We had a group with babies in a 10000liter tank (roughly 2500gallon), We had a few in 500-1000liter (125-250gallon) aquariums, and I found that too small for them to really display nice behaviour.
Paul White
Posts: 2288
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:52 pm
Location: Amarillo, Texas

Re: Carretochelys insculpta

Post by Paul White »

The herp guy at WT (Kazmier) had one when I was going to school--I think from a USFW confiscation. It was in something like a 500 gallon tank and he was trying to figure out a way to get a tank 2x that size for it. Amazing animal to watch.
Post Reply