Animal Diaries Archive

Freshwater Turtles

7 January 2005

As a member of our reptile team, we don't just look after snakes and lizards. Our other main area is turtles. Our freshwater pond at Australia Zoo is home to 4 different species of turtles - Broadshell, Brisbane River, Knefts and Sawshell Turtles. Each of our turtles in the pond has it's own personality, like "One Eye" a Brisbane River turtle (with one eye) who is always keen to take food and your fingers if you're not careful.

Our keeper Andrew can tell you all about his first experience. Standing there one day feeding "One Eye" and a Broadshell Turtle, he glanced away to talk to a guest when "One Eye" latched onto his finger. As they have a nice bite but no real sharp teeth, Andrew's finger survived to live another day, but the embarrassment of standing with a turtle attached to his finger is a daily reminder, "Crikey! Don’t muck with them!".

Our turtles live in luxury and have a home with not one, but two waterfalls! Every few days they're fed a mix of whiting, shrimp and hardy heads and tend to get plenty of their own treats from the exhibit itself.

Next time your passing through the Zoo, make sure you check out our freshwater pond and say g'day to "One Eye" and the rest of our turtles.