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Encyclopedia / Turtles / Spiny softshell turtle
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Variations

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Spiny softshell turtle

Apalone spinifera · Spiny softshell, Softshell turtle, Apalone

Fast and aggressive; will bite and eat fish.

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

Not recommended
  • Spiny softshell turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Not recommended
  • Spiny softshell turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Not recommended
  • Spiny softshell 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 ✓Aggressive
Swims at ✓Bottom
Care level ?Hard
Diet Carnivore
Lifespan ✓25+ years
Size in shops 5–10 cm
Growth Medium

Behavior

Fast and aggressive; will bite and eat fish.

Check your local laws. CITES Appendix II since 2023 (all Apalone species); the Cuatro Cienegas subspecies A. s. atra is Appendix I and US-ESA Endangered. US: live turtles under 4 in (10 cm) carapace length may not be sold. Harvest is regulated by individual states (e.g. a game species with season and limits in Missouri; Florida bans take of wild softshells). Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.

Not for home aquariums. This fish grows far too big for any home tank. It needs a pond-sized system of thousands of litres, so please don't buy one as a baby.

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

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Food

Shrimp, fish, worms and pellets.

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Male or female

Males are much smaller (to about 22-27 cm), keep the juvenile spotted pattern, have a sandpaper-rough shell and a long, thick tail with the vent near the tip; adult females grow to about 50 cm and develop a blotched pattern.

Health

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

Breeding

Egg-layer (buried clutch) · Moderate

Egg-layer: mates in spring in deep water; females dig flask-shaped nests in sand or gravel bars from late May to July and may lay up to 3-4 clutches a season. Females mature at about 8-9 years, males at about 4. Sex is not set by incubation temperature.

Pairing

Pair.

Setup

Large pond or tank with sand.

What starts it

Warm season.

Eggs

Average about 18 eggs per clutch (reported range 3-39; larger females lay more); up to 3-4 clutches a year; eggs hatch after about 60-90 days.

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

RegionNorth America – southern Canada, USA & northern Mexico
Rivers and lakesMississippi, Great Lakes and Rio Grande basins
HabitatRivers and lakes with sandy bottoms
Native rangeAbout 2,000 km across
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The story of the spiny softshell turtle

A fast-swimming, flat, leathery-shelled softshell turtle from North America that lives in rivers and lakes with soft sand or mud bottoms and basks on logs and banks.

Charles Lesueur described the spiny softshell in 1827. It lives in rivers across North America. Its leathery shell has spiny bumps at the front.

First described by Charles A. Lesueur in 1827.

  • Its leathery shell has spines at the front.
  • It can breathe through its skin underwater.
  • It buries itself in sand.

Sources

12 facts checked with sources