Vietnamese pond turtles are found in marshes, streams, lakes and ponds in central Vietnam.

Information on their lifespan in the wild is unknown. The longest-living Vietnamese pond turtle in a zoo has been 46 years old.

Little is known about their diet in the wild. In zoos, they are omnivores, and feed on fish and vegetables.

A group of turtles is called a "bale"

Zoorassic World

The closest related species of the Vietnamese pond turtle is the yellow pond turtle.

Knowledge about their life in the wild is limited, given how rare they are. In zoos, they tend to respond well to living in groups.

Hatchling

The incubation period is anywhere between 80–131 days depending on the heat of their environment.

Fascinatingly, the sex of turtle hatchlings depends on the temperature the egg is incubated at. If it is incubated below 28.9 degrees then the hatchlings tend to be male and above 28.9 degrees, they are mostly female.

Females lay 1-4 clutches of eggs per year with 4-7 eggs per clutch.

6.5 - 11 g

5-7 years old for females. Males unknown

The Vietnamese pond turtle is classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Surveying the population of Vietnamese pond turtles has been mostly unsuccessful in recent years, indicating that it is now extremely rare in the wild. It is likely that no more than 50 mature individuals remain in the wild.

The greatest threats to Vietnamese pond turtles are poaching for food, traditional medicine and the pet trade, as well as habitat destruction and pollution.

Dublin Zoo participates in a European breeding programme for Vietnamese pond turtles.