Spiny turtle

The Spiny turtle is classified as Endangered (EN), considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

The Spiny Turtle is known from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. More

spiny turtle (Heosemys spinosa) in captivity. Herpetol. Nat. Hist. 1: 97-100. Mertens, R. 1971. Die Stachelschildkr More

The spiny turtle has an oval brown carapace, with a strong vertebral keel. There are dark radiating lines on the pale brown plastron and under the marginal scales. The head is brownish, usually with a yellow spot behind the eye. More

The spiny turtle has not thrived in captivity and relatively little is known of its breeding habits (8). Mating behaviour is apparently stimulated by rains, with males becoming excited when sprayed with water in captivity, chasing females in an attempt to mount. More

Captive Care: Outdoors, Spiny Turtles do well in a semi-terrestrial enclosure that features both land and water. The land area should be planted with a variety of ground cover, shrubs, and plants that offer them secure hiding places (which they use often). More

A spiny turtle in the pet markets of Jakarta A spiny turtle (Heosemys spinosa) in the pet markets of Jakarta. A recent glimpse of the pet trade found more than 450 turtles of 21 species for sale in markets. More

reproduction of the spiny turtle in captivity occurred at Zoo Atlanta in 1991. The incubation period was 106 days. More

Care Sheets: Asian Spiny Turtle (Heosemys spinosa) - Dennis W. More

Spiny turtles live around shallow streams in the mountainous rainforests of south-east Asia, where their camouflage colours help them to hide in the leaf litter. More

Want to know when the Indonesian spiny turtle will be back in stock? Send use an email and we will contact you when we have them back in stock. *E-mail: You may also want to purchase some feeder insects at no additional shipping cost. More

Distribution: The spiny turtle is found throughout peninsular Thailand and the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra, Borneo, and various small Indonesian Islands. More

A medium sized turtle, the spiny turtle is about 9 inches long in adulthood. The spiny turtle lives in wooded mountain streams, but does spend considerable time on land foraging, or burrowed under plants and leaves. More

streams in Sumatra and elsewhere in Indonesia, the spiny turtle has become endangered in the wild. In captivity the spiny turtle has consistently failed to produce eggs that would hatch, despite decades of careful nurture at sanctuaries across the globe. More

of spiny turtles ever to have been bred in captivity, but the 3rd and 4th at Durrell in 2 years. Hunted in the wild in Indonesia till the species is now endangered, this tiny turtle is miraculous for having hatched in captivity Spiny Turtle. © Durrell. More

Common names

Kura-kura Duri in Malay - bahasa Melayu
Spiny terrapin in English - English
spiny turtle in English - English
Stachelrandschildkrote in German - Deutsch
Sunburst turtle in English - English
Черепаха колючая in Russian - русский язык
トゲヤマガメ in Japanese - 日本語