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Encyclopedia / Turtles / Asian yellow pond turtle
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Variations

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Asian yellow pond turtle

Mauremys mutica · Yellow pond turtle

Peaceful but may eat fish.

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20 cmAdult size ✓
UnknownTemperature ?
UnknownpH ?
UnknownSmallest tank ?
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Tank mates
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This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.

Not recommended
  • Asian yellow pond turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Not recommended
  • Asian yellow pond turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Not recommended
  • Asian yellow pond turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. ✓ means a source backs it; ? means no reliable source yet. See sources

Care and water

Hardness ?Unknown
Group size ?Can live alone
Temperament ?Semi-aggressive
Swims at ?Bottom
Care level ?Moderate
Diet Omnivore
Lifespan ?Unknown
Size in shops 3–5 cm
Growth Medium

Behavior

Peaceful but may eat fish.

Check your local laws. CITES Appendix II (since 2003). US: live turtles under 4 in (10 cm) carapace length may not be sold. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.

Good to know: Needs a basking dock with UV and heat lamp and deep water. Never house with fish.

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Food

Pellets, worms and vegetables.

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Male or female

Males have a slightly concave plastron and longer, thicker tails with the vent beyond the shell edge. Males are not consistently smaller: recorded maximum shell length is larger in males (22.5 cm) than females (19.5 cm).

Health

Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Breeding

Egg-layer (buried clutch) · Moderate

Egg-layer with brittle-shelled eggs; in captivity in Taiwan eggs were laid April to August, with 1-4 clutches per female per year. Mating is simple: the male approaches and tries to mount. Sex is set by incubation temperature.

Pairing

Pair.

Setup

Medium tank with basking.

What starts it

Warm season.

Eggs

1-8 eggs per clutch (mean about 4), 1-4 clutches a year in captivity; eggs hatch in about 65 days at 29.5-30 °C or about 94 days at 25-25.5 °C.

Raising the fry

Hatchlings are fully independent: house them in shallow warm water with a basking spot and feed small pellets, worms and daphnia daily.

Common mistakes
  • Undersized tank and weak filtration
  • No UV or basking heat (soft shells, poor growth)
  • Releasing unwanted turtles into the wild
Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionEast Asia – southern China, Taiwan, Vietnam & southern Japan
Rivers and lakesRivers and ponds of southern China and Taiwan
HabitatPonds, marshes and slow rivers
Native rangeAbout 1,000 km across
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The story of the asian yellow pond turtle

A semi-aquatic pond turtle of slow lowland waters in southern China, Taiwan, northern Vietnam and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, kept in turtle farms; wild populations are Critically Endangered (IUCN).

Danish zoologist Theodore Cantor described the Asian yellow pond turtle in 1842. It lives in southern China and nearby areas. It is farmed in large numbers in China.

First described by Theodore Cantor in 1842.

  • Its head has a yellow stripe behind each eye.
  • It is farmed in large numbers in China.
  • It eats both plants and animals.

Sources

9 facts checked with sources