Turtle Power!

July 1, 2020 - Some new Aussie faces are calling the Zoo’s Reptile Building home.

Zoo staff welcomed two sets of turtle hatchlings over the last few months: 21 Krefft’s River turtles and three snake-necked turtles. Both species reign from Australia. 

About Krefft’s River Turtles

This turtle starts life as a carnivore and morphs into an omnivore as it gets older. As juveniles, wild Krefft’s river turtles eat aquatic insects and larvae, crustaceans, small fish and carrion. Adults supplement their diet with aquatic plants and fruit but they’ll still eat any kind of meat they can find in the river.

At the BioPark, the young river turtles are getting tiny crickets and pieces of earthworms to calm their carnivorous cravings.

About the Australian Snake-Necked Turtle

The Australian snake-necked turtle gets its name from the way it snaps its head and neck out of its shell sideways to capture prey like worms, tadpoles and small fish. Snake-necked turtles have a special advantage when hunting. By lowering their hyoid (tongue) bone, they can decrease water pressure around them to create a vacuum as they strike with wide open jaws.