The turtle isn’t unlucky

I remember vividly my San Andres boyhood kabarkada smashing to death a pet turtle. The hapless chelonian left to die by the roadside with a broken carapace was blamed for the death of my playmate’s father. I took the lifeless turtle home and buried it in mom’s little garden.

Pinoys of old believe that turtles are bad luck and should not be kept as pets. I loved turtles and was fascinated by them since I was a streetwise juvenile. (Delinquent, Snakey adds. Then, the only turtle one could buy from Cartimar was the Malayan Box Turtle (Cuora amboinensis) for P15, hard saved, I might add. I bought a four-inch brown juvenile that grew to be a nine-inch adult in a jiffy, fed it pandesal tidbits that clouded its water in a tin and glass old-style 10-gallon aquarium. I bought a turtle every time I had spare baon and the Ninja Turtle gang grew to a bunch of eight within a year. They freely roamed the yard and stayed with me for a few years until typhoon Didang circa 1978 swept away my whole collection. The turtles are probably still thriving in the estero, home free, happily eating the little guppies and human excreta that abound there. (Snakey apologizes to those eating their breakfast).

A lot of letter writers have written me about the proper care of the Box Turtle. So, here is a long overdue care sheet for you.

The Malayan Box Turtle

The Pagong is referred to as a Box Turtle not because it is square (show snakey a square turtle and he’ll show you a sweet smelling pink MMDA urinal) but because of the hinge present in the upper part of its underbelly or plastron. This hinge opens or closes whenever the turtle needs to retreat inside its shell. Although still plentiful here, Cuora amboinensis, classified CITES 2, is highly threatened abroad, especially in China where it is sought after for traditional Chinese medicinal purposes. The Malayan Box Turtle is not to be confused with another favorite pet Chelonian, the North American import, the Red Eared Slider. The Red Eared Slider has a red streak on the side of its head, while the native Cuora has a yellowish white stripe. The box turtle carapace is also more highly domed.

This turtle is a highly aquatic species especially when young and will be quite happy to live in a pond with a rock as a sunning perch.

Housing Malayan Box Turtles

Box Turtles are called Ambos in Malaysia and simply Pagong in the PI. They tend to spend most of their time in the water but move about and eat on land as well. Hatchlings are aquatic, leaving the water only to get some sun. Like most reptiles, they are exothermic and need the sun to warm them and help in the digestion of their food. As they age, they become more terrestrial.  The best indoor accommodation for Malayan Box Turtles is a very large aquarium. While they are completely at home in water, they are fairly poor swimmers and a water depth of two-inches or less for a hatchling to allow them to stand on the bottom and reach the surface to breathe without difficulty.  This can be increased as the animal grows but one should always provide resting areas and shallows where the water should be no deeper than the length of the shell.  If this type of arrangement is used, an area should be built up in one end of the habitat to provide a dry basking area. Cuora cloud their water very quickly. So it is wise to change it as soon as the need arises.

Diet

We recommend light feeding once every day or a little more every other. Juveniles are very carnivorous and will eagerly consume insects, worms, and fish but will also consume some greens.  If feeding fish, live fish is best. It provides exercise and mental stimulation. As they age, they tend to eat a higher percentage of vegetables. Many of the commercially prepared turtle diets, as well as Koi or fish food, which have a bit higher protein, work well with this species. Cuora amboinensis live very, very, very long and are quite hardy. With proper care, they provide perfect home companions.

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Watch Kuya Kim at Animalandia on Magandang Umaga Bayan daily at 6 a.m. E-mail me at kuyakim@hotmail.com or text me at 0918-201-04-05 or 0917-826-06-35 for questions. Ssssalamat from the bottom of our cold blooded hearts!