Show Name: "Podocnemis"

How we got it: Unwanted Pet

Touchable: YES

Zoo Diet: Greens, fruit, crickets, dry aquatic turtle food.

Natural Diet:  Mostly plants and fruits, but will also eat insects, amphibians, fish and mollusks.

Range: Northern South America including the Amazon rainforest.

Habitat: Ponds, lakes, and rivers.

Size: Can grow to 15-27 inches, weigh 5-14 pounds. Females are larger than males

Lifespan: 50 + years.

Reproduction: Lay about 24 eggs in the riverbank. These turtles often lay eggs together in a communal nest. Eggs hatch in two months. Hatchlings are the size of a quarter.

Conservation: CITES Appendix I: Endangered. Turtles and eggs are hunted for human consumption. Today armed guards protect many nesting sites.

Cool Facts: Podocnemis belong to a group known as side-necked turtles,Pleurodira. When frightened, they draw their head into their shell sideways instead of straight in like most turtles. Much like the snapping turtle, this species rarely leaves the water its entire life.