Cuora amboinensis

Amboina Box Turtle (Cuora amboinensis)

Other names:

Indonesian Box Turtle, Malayan Box Turtle, Malayan Box Terrapin, Southeast Asian Box Turtle.

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Reptilia
Order	Testudines
Suborder	Cryptodira
Superfamily	Testudinoidea
Family	Geoemydinae
Subfamily	Geoemydinae
Genus	Cuora
Species	C. amboinensis

Sub-species

Cuora amboinensis widely spread through south east asia, either in the asia mainland and the in the south east asian archipelago. Currently there is four known sub-species of Cuora amboinensis.

1.       Cuora amboinensis amboinensis (East Indian Box Turtle / Walacean Box Turtle),

2.       Cuora amboinensis couro (West Indonesian Box Turtle)

3.       Cuora amboinensis kamaroma (Malayan Box Turtle / Domed Malayan Box Turtle)

4.       Cuora amboinensis lineata (Burmese Box Turtle)

Distribution and Habitat

1.       Cuora amboinensis amboinensis (East Indian Box Turtle / Walacean Box Turtle), Distributed in the island of Sulawesi, Moluccas islands, Timor island, The Philipines and possibly Timor Leste.

2.       Cuora amboinensis couro (West Indonesian Box Turtle)

Distributed in the island of Sumatra, Simeulue, Nias, Enggano, Java, Bali, Sumbawa and several nearby islands.

3.       Cuora amboinensis kamaroma (Malayan Box Turtle / Domed Malayan Box Turtle)

Distributed in the island of Borneo, Bangladesh, India (Assam and Nicobar Island), Myanmar, Cambodia, southern Laos, central and southern Vietnam, Thailand, Malayan Peninsular, Singapore, The Phillipines (Sulu Islands, Palawan and several nearby islands)

4.       Cuora amboinensis lineata (Burmese Box Turtle)

Distributed only in Kachin Province, Myanmar.

Description

These turtles have blackish-brown to olive brown colored carapace. meanwhile Plastron in whitish-yellow color with black marks.

the species have a blackish olive head with three yellow stripes on the side.

front and hind shell able to close as their self defense mechanism.

C. a. amboinensis have a flatter carapace, and flared on both sides. It also tend to have a bigger black marks in the plastron. it have the biggest head size among the species, more aquatic compared to other sub species.

C. a. couro have a moderate domed carapace, the sometimes specimen with flared carapace can be found.

C. a. kamaroma have a high domed carapce, smaller tail and feet compared to other species. doesn't posses any flares. compared with other species, it tends to have less black marks in the plastron. and also it's not good at swimming.

C. a. lineata characteristically similar to C. a. lineata, but the difference is that C. a. lineata have a brighter middorsal stripes. 

Size: Adult Size range from 20cm, sometimes up to 30cm.

Lifespan: 25-35 years, 38.2 years is maximum recorded in the captivity.

Habitat and Behavior

Cuora amboinensis is known as an aquatic and terrestrial turtle, Juvenile turtle tends to very aquatic, meanwhile adult is more semi-terrestrial. lives in tropical lowland of Southeast Asia up to the elevation of 500m above sea surface. It dwells in shallow waters, marsh, pools, streams, paddy field, mangrove swamps, and irrigated plantation, or even man-made habitat such as villages and cities.

In the day time, it hides in the shady river banks which covered with water plants. It is also recorded to dig a hole for a temporary hiding place. Adult male is aggressive and territorial, especially towards other competing male, but it can tolerate other non-adult specimen. it can live in a colony. Cuora amboinensis able to eat in water or on land. well known as not an efficient swimmer, it can only dive or float in the water, loves to bask, able to climb and do not hibernate.

Diet

In the wild, Cuora amboinensis tends to be more herbivore, but in captivity it tends to omnivore.

Cuora Amboinensis eats fish, shrimps, freshwater snails, crustaceans, insects, carcass, worms, vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, water plants, and turtle pellets.

Reproduction

Reproduction rate of Cuora amboinensis is low, it takes 15 months to reach the age of sub-adult. In captivity it reaches maturity at the age 4 years and 5, meanwhile in the wild it reaches maturity at the age 5 ½ years  to 6 years. Male Cuora amboinensis reaches adult size when it reaches 130 mm, and 152 mm for female.

Mating occurs both in the water and on the ground. Male specimen becomes aggressive during mating; it is known to bite, hurt and even kills the female. Therefore placing 2 or more female and one male is better. Female nests from February to June up to 4 clutches with an interval of 2 to 3 weeks, each clutch consist of 1 to 5 eggs. Incubation period is around 3 months (66-77 days in the wild, 76-77 days in captivity).  Outdoor captive at the temperature of 26-30°C without artificial incubation needs around 60-120 days. The eggs have a fragile shell, white colored, oval and it sized around 40-52 mm x 26-34 mm, meanwhile the hatchling size is 34-48 mm.

Cuora amboinensis hybrid is also reported with Vietnamese Pond Turtle (Annamemys annamensis) with C. a. kamaroma. Male Chinese Pond Turtle (Mauremys Reeversii) and Female C. a. kamaroma. Other reported hybrid is between Cuora amboinensis and Chinese Three-striped box turtle (Cuora Trifasciata).

Captive Care

Cuora amboinensis is well known as an easy species for captive care. It is responsive (but some individuals are very shy), eats almost everything given. It is recommended to give 1 to 2 meals per week for adult turtles, meanwhile hatchling needs a daily meal until the age of 4 months, after that the frequency reduced to 3 times per week.  It is not recommended to give high protein diets for Cuora amboinensis. Give a space for basking, don’t keep it in a deep pool. It is better to keep the hatchlings indoors. Providing a dry basking area in outdoor enclosure is a must, and giving a hiding space is recommended to prevent a fight. Water quality also need to be maintained to prevent diseases.

Recommended water depth is around 5 cm for hatchlings and 20-25 cm for juvenile and adults. Provides a climbing stone for outdoor pool, and maintain the water temperature between 25-28°C. Captive temperature is 18-25°C, basking temperature is 35°C. Humidity level is around 75-90%. Cold temperature makes the turtle stress & affects health problems.

General Diseases

• Diarrhea caused by amoebiashis, usually entamoeba invadens.
• Septicemia caused by trauma or entamoeba.
• Shell rot
• Starvation & dehydration for newly wild caught turtles
• Pneumonia
• Injuries during a fight or mating process