Page 2 - Fly River Pig Nose Turtle Archive

General: Fly River Turtles are large nearly exclusively aquatic freshwater exotics vaguely similar to a North American
softshell but thicker & bulkier with a shorter, broader snout & more 'flipper-like' limbs. They are also known as 'pig-nosed
turtles,' in light of their bulbous fleshy shout with prominently divided nostrils some consider pig-like. Overall, the animal is
grey to brown on top, & white underneath. The Fly River Turtle is the sole surviving member of Order Cryptodira; despite
superficial similarities it is not closely related to the softshell turtles.

Head: Rather rounded, round dark eyes (pupil & iris black with dark blue sclera; remind me of a great white shark's),
protuberant bulbous snout, & the top & sides of the head & top of the neck are grey but the underside of the face & neck &
sides of the neck are white.

Carapace: The carapace tends to be grey to live to brown with some subdued lateral white spots/patches. Like in softshell
the shell is covered with leathery skin & lacks the keratin scutes of 'hard-shelled' turtles, but unlike softshells the carapace
margin is inflexible.

Plastron: The plastron is largely white but pinkish in juveniles. A switch from light color to reddish in an adult may indicate
irritation from poor water quality; if not corrected this can kill.

For a more extensive physical description, see this extensive description at Carettochelys.com.

Size: Wild Specimens: Length: Up to 22 inches (56.3 cm). Weight: Up to 49.5 lbs (22.5 kg). (Georges and Rose,
1993). Captive Specimens: Carettochelys.com’s Captive Care page by Scott Thomson & Jan Matiaska notes “Out of all
the data about captive specimens I have come across, the maximum carapace length was approximately 35 cm.”

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Southern New Guinea, southern Irian Jaya and northern Australia . Carettochelys.com features this page
on distribution with range maps. You may be interested in their page on Origins, discussing how this
distribution came about.

Temperature Range (°F): (All ranges are estimates)

• Air Temperature: 80’s
• Basking Temperature: N.A. (One of the very rare species where a basking
platform in unnecessary).
• Water Temperature: 79 - 86ºF .
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CARE DIFFICULTY

A large, fairly active exclusively aquatic turtle capable of abrupt bursts of speed when startled & requiring
warm tropical spacious accommodations with pristine water quality. Highly aggressive toward its own kind
& some other turtles. Prone to fungal infections which can rapidly kill it. Expensive & went to CITES II in
late 2004.

CAPTIVE DIET

Noted to thrive on a diverse diet of figs, apples, other fruits, eel weed (Vallisneria sp.), whitebait (Pisces)
and shrimp per one source . I recommend inclusion of a strong brand name commercial tortoise or box
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turtle food (Mazuri, ZooMed, etc…) with Vit. D3 content. Given that UV-B penetration of water is sub-
optimal & they generally don’t bask, dietary Vit. D3 is necessary so consider a quality Vit. D3 supplement.
Flavia said her's like aquatic plants (like water lettuce), and she recommended they be part of the diet.
Menikos suggested Spirulina algae wafers.