Hi guys n gals...Newbie here...Great tortoise forum,learn alot going through the Vs...Need additional info from seniors here, about manouria emys....Highland....Lowland...Brown..Black colour..Which is the prefer choice by the local hobbyist?? Pricewise?? Thks in advance for all the help....

This post has been edited by tortoisecrazy: Mar 11 2010, 11:57 AM

Usually Black emys - M.emys phayrei Thailand upwards

Brown emys - M.emys emys South of Thailand all the way to Borneo and Sumatra Island

Ease/cheapness of getting locally will be the Brown emys


What do you keep at the moment ?

Want to get it de, but the shell all got deep holes.

wah lao...nice nice

After I introduced driftwoods and stones, my mata-mata seems very uneasy. Any ideas?

Dont put stones...is dangerous...coz matamata use mouth to vacuum the fish. if the stones smaller then the matamata mouth...nanti tercekek la if tervacuum...bro.

and also advised to google wat matamata habitat need. or u can read back previous thread, got some info there...

This post has been edited by budblely: Mar 11 2010, 11:36 PM

Holes???? Budblely guess your matamata is not the only one which has the problem, better get a professional's opinion before the holes gets bigger as yours is small and just started.

Faith matamata is a very calm turtle, if it's uneasy, just take the things out. It is reared in only empty glass aquarium when you got it so I guess it's used to it and any small stones indigestive particle is dangerous as it may be sucked in when it feeds, as budblely stated. Hope this help. Cheers.

Thks Samperth for the info, between brown n black, whats the rough estimate of the price?? 6 month ago i was given a res...now i have 0.0.6 RES...0.0.1 H.Grandis...0.0.1 Box..... ..NOW kena "poison" thinking of getting a land tort...Torn btwn a sulcata...emy...radiated.. Again thks for the info.......

Dear samperth, so far i've recuited 6 in my ast army one 3.5 inch, one 5 inch, two 6 inch, one 7 inch and last but not least my general at 8 inch. Note all measurement is carapace only. haha

Wow so many but do prepare for them well when they grow up !! Lots of feeding beside lots of water change unless v good filter installed

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Added on March 12, 2010, 12:56 pmBrown can be anything from free to rm 1000 for large specimen
Black since can't be caught locally range from rm 500 n up
Where or who you get them from beside how many will also directly determine the price quoted !!

Radiated should be your best bet as price used to be the deterent from getting them !! Nowadays some black emys (adpost.com has one asking rm1xxx) has higher asking price than average radiated !!

Since your first land tort why not get something local n cheaper than all the above - elongated tortoise

This post has been edited by SAMPERTH: Mar 12 2010, 12:56 PM

wah lao...u gila...

p/s faster faster mms me ur AST army all together in 1 shot...

This post has been edited by budblely: Mar 12 2010, 02:42 PM

Something to think about.... Thks for the advised...

Yeah, holes. The supplier told me that it might caused by internal parasite or something. I can't remember it very well.

The stones I'm using is not the small tiny gravel, but larger. I just bought AST but it's only a baby. Any advice on taking care of the baby besides making sure the water quality is clean?

Thanks for all the inputs.

Clean water is vital, for baby ast or any turtle at all the first sign of fungus, pls head for the vet asap. Remove half eaten food or it may contaminate the water too. Cheers. Budblely guess you have to solve your matamata problem asap or it may get worse.

Any guides on UV light?

Not compulsory, let it bask in the morning sun when you clean the tank will do just fine.

When you said let it bask, let him bask with or without water around?

This post has been edited by Faith+1: Mar 14 2010, 01:20 AM

I let them bask without water but you have to be around and not forget, otherwise just a little covering up their legs would do if you are the forgetful type. Cheers.

Snapper (Alligator especially) are not the basking type unlike Slider , most AST will be uneasy out of water or water level too low

As for UV/Vitamin D3 ...etc just let some sunlight shine your setup if outdoor or bask them in water (since your AST still small )

Since all my AST are housed outdoor I dont have such worries - but you dont hear stories of them having MBD .....etc from lack of sunshine / Vit D3

Snapper are a lot easier to keep than other turtle in the market

Oh, thanks for all the inputs.

I'm housed my AST inside my house and it's kind of hard for my AST to get a direct sunlight.

If I want to get and UV light to solve this problem, what are the recommended UV light (watts) that are suitable for AST? and how long should I turn on the light?

Thanks a lot.