The Captive Care of Chelus Fimbriatus or Mata Mata turtle

Introduction

Ever since I can remember, I have always been intrigued with Mata Mata turtles. I can think back to the first time I laid eyes on one of these unique animals in the flesh. I was probably about 11 at the time .Where I was taken to a local pet store.  I remember walking through what seemed like cages and cages of reptiles – snakes, frogs, lizards, tortoises, and turtles everywhere I looked. I was in heaven. Bending down to look into what seemed to be a rather marshy pool of water, I saw a little nose just barely breaking the surface.  As I looked closer I saw the rest of what I could only describe at the time as a Dinosaur!

“What is that?” I eagerly asked the pet store employee. He told me that it was a Mata Mata turtle. I immediately asked if I could hold it. “Ha,” he said and told me to quit bothering him. I [ad#Google Adsense]stared at that animal for what seemed like hours, and its image has always stayed in my mind. In the many years that I have worked with Mata Mata turtles I continue to observe a new behaviors that keeps me passionate about studying these amazing creatures. Throughout this article I hope to shed some light on the basic captive care of these very peculiar creatures and techniques I have found to be very helpful in my studies.

Description

Chelus fimbriatus or Mata Mata turtle have a unique appearance. They have a very flat, narrow head that often resembles a dead leaf. Their nose is a very long fleshy tube, which is used just like a snorkel. They are able to lift their long and muscular neck to just allow the nose to break the surface of the water.

Mata Mata turtles inhabit very shallow areas of water, often with thick vegetation covering the surface and preventing little or no light to penetrate to the bottom. They have very small, light sensitive eyes that can detect even the smallest amount of movement in this environment.  Their neck and lower jaw are equipped with dead skin and flaps or fringes. I believe that this camouflage assist in  breaking up the shape of the turtle under the water in aid in its bizarre habits as well as helping detect movement in the water that is surrounding them. There skin flaps are said to be highly sensitive sensory organs that are said to allow the turtle to detect water movement and material around the turtle. The shells of the Mata Matas look quite unique; they are exceptionally bony and tapered, ranging from dark browns to yellows and even light red in some specimens. The mata mata turtle has rather flat and webbed feet witch probably allows for this animals to root themselves quite firmly under the surface.

Environment

C. fimbriatus is predominately found throughout certain areas of South America including Venezuela, Rio Orinoco, the Amazon Basin in Brazil, Peru, Columbia, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Mata Mata turtles are found in slow moving freshwater environments. This species is rarely seen out of water except when a female is depositing her eggs, and even that is a rare occurrence . The majority of the time they spend lying on the bottom of a river or stream where they periodically break the water’s surface to breathe. This species is a weak swimmer, which is one of the reasons they choose to inhabit small, shallow, slow moving areas of water. This habitat has much live and dead vegetation, which creates a very dark and acidic environment..

Adult Husbandry

When acquiring a Mata Mata turtle there are certain thing to keep in mind and look for. First of all is the animal in overall good appearance, does it have good color, does it have all its toes, is the shell damaged, how does its nose look, and does it look alert ( keep in mind these turtles are not overly active but they should show response when touched). These are all very important things to consider before purchasing a Mata Mata . I would also suggest to take your turtle to a qualified turtle vet that is familiar with Mata Mata’s. Once this has been addressed then you can move on to captive care techniques and acclimation. Depending on the size of the animal and how many you have. I recommend using the large feeder troughs that you can buy at feed shops. Mata Mata turtles do not require a lot of room or a hugely elaborate enclosure with all the bells and whistles, but ultimately you want to provide the most room possible when dealing with any animal. I maintain my adults in a three foot wide by four foot long and two and a half feet tall stock tanks. Equipped with large canister filters and aquatic plants both in the tubs and hanging over the surface of the water. The water level is very important as’ well as the condition that it is in. You don’t want your Turtle to have to tread water to get a breath of air, they should be able to gradually raise there head and break the surface with little or no effort. Keep in mind they are not good swimmers. The best way to describe them is like underwater couch potatoes. Only one of my adult tanks has a substrate on the bottom. The others do not. This reason is for the particular way that these turtles feed witch allows for substrate to be swallowed and possibly ingested this can easily kill a mata mata. If you are going to incorporate a substrate I recommend smooth river rock, these being larger and harder to ingest. When feeding some turtles. Some are smarter then others and will expel gravel when eating fish. Others will just swallow it all, so care must be taken when deciding what the bottom of your tank will consist of. It is true, in the wild there is gravel and junk that they are living on but, in captivity I don’t want a chance of mine accidentally  ingesting substrate.. This can and will cause impactation, so be careful .With this being said you want to then turn your attention to one of the most important if not the key in keeping your Mata Mata happy and healthy, water requirements. I have heard of people just using bottled water for there turtles, and I have heard of people just using rain water for there animals. As long as you can maintain an accurate degree of proper PH, water condition, and temperature you should be fine. I keep my PH in my tanks around 4.5 or 5.0  and the temps range from 82-85 degrees. I have found several products to be very helpful in aiding to condition my tanks and keep the water maintained. I use a product called Tetra Black Water Extract ,witch allows the water to be softened and adds beneficial properties and nutriensts in the water. I then add large pieces of peat moss to my canisters and add Indian almond leaves to the tank.. Lastly I incorporate a enzyme to break up organic waste to allow the filter to work more efficient and help with the filtering process this breaks up even more of the waste and helps keep the water very clean.

Feeding

Mata Mata turtles rely on a very stealthy and stunning method of feeding.  I remember the first time I saw my adult female eat in front of me. All I can remember is staring in amazement and saying do it again! Turtles will usually wait for a single or a school of unwary fish to approach them and in a lightning fast reaction will extend there neck fully and open there mouth to create a vacuum effect. It usually doesn’t take that long for Mata Mata turtles to begin to feed in captivity. You will start to notice small portions of fish to disappear, and then they will be pretty much not mind letting you watch. A very important area to consider is what to feed. I have never fed my turtles goldfish. I have red in various articles and herd from people that when Goldfish are eaten they invert there back spine to cause damage to the inside of the turtle’s throat. Not to men chin that goldfish do not have the highest nutritional value. I will usually resort to purchasing a couple hundred rosy fish, chiclid fish, minnows or just feed my adults frozen smelt with the proper vitamins included incorporated into there diet( reptomin sticks work fine and yeast tablets).  One of the more interesting aspects of feeding is behavior involved with adults and juveniles. It has been noted and witnessed for adults and juveniles to demonstrate what some refer to as herding behavior. Multiple animals will carrel around a group of fish and slowly pick them off at there ease, this event is quite impressive to watch when there are several large adults or absolutely adorable hatchlings gathering around a collection of fish and waiting to slowly select each one off.

Raising juveniles

If you think adult matas are difficult, babies can be a nightmare. First, the majority of all hatchlings that are available are brought into the country in some of the most horrible conditions I have seen. Turtles on turtles some in water some out of water. This is a great time for bacteria and a handful of funguses to set in. Maintaining juveniles is easier said then done. Being that there developing and growing a lot faster they need certain things that are crusial to there well being. Babies will come out of water to bask! My juvenile Peruvian and Orinoco hatchlings will be basking in the shallow areas every morning. It is pretty strange but you would think there sunning would aid in the strengthen of there shells and adding in benifitial transferring of Uv and UVB . There tubs are cleaned and maintained every 7 days. Taking care to always leave some of the exsiting water behind to inshure the proper beneficial bateria is still incorporated in there environment. I also add Indian almond leaves and certain types of drift wood. The leaves and wood release benificaial agents into the water, and will turn the water tan. I would recommend using lots of water plants that cover the surface. This allows the babies to feel more secure and will be more incline to eat and do the things that baby matas do as well as interact with the new objects in there enclosure. Feeding is done 3 times a week. I will usually mix up different things for the little guys to eat. Guppies, rosy reds, baby convict ciclids, ghost shrimp, and little earth worms seam to keep them happy. Some times I will even offer frozen pieces of fish off tongs. The growth rate on babies is amazing. One of my hatchlings literally doubled in size in a 4 month time frame. With all the water checking and proper feeding you should also be monitoring the health of your babies. Taking them out every couple of days and examining there carapace and plastron for areas were bacteria might develop. These areas might appear ok but when theruly examined look like little holes filled with cheesy material and cracked areas that seam to be covered over. Being that there shells are still very pliable and fragile forming leaves lots of room for problems like shell disorders, shell rot and wearing of scoots to set in. If you do notice these problems accruing I would stress to you to bring them to a qualified turtle vet asap. Sick Matas will still eat for you and will show no real signs of being ill. If you are on top of all of this, then you can fix a problem before it goes down hill. With all of this being said I hope this has helped open some more doors on these truly amazing creatures that I feel very special and privileged to be working with.

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Tagged as: Ari Flagle, care guide, Mata Mata, turtle