Mata Mata Turtle basic information

The Mata Mata Turtle can weigh up to 27 pounds, making him one of the largest freshwater turtles. Their shells can measure 18 inches in length at maturity. Females are generally larger than males. Very young Mata Matashave a salmon coloring to their plastron and the carapace and neck are dark brown. However, when they get older, the plastron turns to yellows and browns. The carapace of the mature Mata Mata is contorted and coarse to the touch. One can gauge the age of these tortoises by examining the growth lines present on each scute. The scutes themselves are conical, and the growth rings are easy to see. The Mata Mata has a long, flat neck and head. The head is shaped like a broad triangle. The head and neck are covered with ridges, warts, tufts, and other protuberances. Tufts are flaps of skin. The exact purpose of the tufts is a subject of debate. The tufts stay in the water and drift as the turtle moves; the movement of the tufts gives the appearance of weeds or algae. These tufts possess many nerve cells, which convey sensory information to the turtle, the debate seems to be how the turtles use and process this information. Their mouths are extremely wide, allowing them to swallow food whole. Its snout is long and slender. Atop the snout are two very small eyes.

Complete List
African helmeted terrapin	Australian snake necked turtle	Big Headed Turtle	Black Marsh Terrapin	Blanding's Turtle
Bog Turtle	Box Turtle - Chinese	Box Turtle - Eastern	Box Turtle - Gulf Coast	Box Turtle - Indonesian
Box Turtle - Keeled	Box Turtle - Ornate	Box Turtle - Three Toe	Cogwheel Turtle	Diamondback Terrapin
East African Side Necked Turtle	European Pond Turtle	Florida Cooter	Fly River Turtle	Honduran Wood Turtle
Leaf Turtle	Map Turtle	Mata Mata Turtle	Musk Turtle	Painted River Terrapin
Painted Turtle - Eastern	Painted Turtle - Western	Red Eared Slider	Reeve's Terrapin	Snapping Turtle
Softshell Turtle - Black Rayed	Softshell Turtle - Eastern Spiny	Softshell Turtle - Florida	Spotted Turtle	Wood Turtle - Central American
Wood Turtle - North American	Yellow Spotted Amazon River Turtle	African Spurred Tortoise	Aldabra Giant Tortoise	Bow-Sprit Tortoise
Burmese Brown Tortoise	Chaco Tortoise	Desert Tortoise	Egyptian Tortoise	Elongated Tortoise
Forsten's Tortoise	Galapagos Tortoise	Gopher Tortoise	Greek Spur Thighed Tortoise	Hermann's Tortoise
Hingeback Tortoise - Bell's	Hingeback Tortoise - Home's	Impressed Tortoise	Leopard Tortoise	Leopard Tortoise - South African
Marginated Tortoise	Pancake Tortoise	Radiated Tortoise	Red Foot Tortoise	Russian Tortoise
Star Tortoise	Yellow Foot Tortoise

Latest news about Yellow Foot Tortoise

New to this - Tortoise Forum .org

[attachment=4118] Hi everyone! I just bought my first Yellow foot tortoise this past weekend. I am learning alot form this website, thanks for everyone's help in advance!! Find all posts by this user · Quote this message in a reply ... Continue reading

New yellow foot tortoise- have questions - Tortoise Forum .org

We bought a Yellow Foot tortoise last Friday. They say she is about 12 yrs old. She was with a male before and when we went to go buy her he was gone. We were going to buy them both. Now I feel bad because I think she is even more ... Continue reading

Rosie – Yellow Foot Tortoise

Rosie is a Yellow Foot Tortoise. She is 41 years old. She was surrendered about 3 years ago. Her previous owners could no longer keep her. She had an abscess in her mouth that needed attention but was easily healed and she recovered ... Continue reading

FS Sale on Reptiles MFK ONLY, CT pick up & Ship ...

Yellow Foot Tortoise $125.00. Goliath Bird Eating Spider $89.00. Pink Toed Tarantulas $17.50. Emerald Tree Boas $255.00. Red Foot Tortoises $150.00 Adults Dwarf Caiman $199.99 ONLY SHIPPED WHERE LEGAL Cooks Tree Boa $30.50 ... Continue reading

South American Yellow Footed Tortoise, Brazilian Giant, Forest ...

As the co-owner of Jungle Jewels Reptiles, we attend most reptile shows in the NE United States, and wild caught yellow-foots are now fairly common to see at shows as of 2009. We even rescued one,that had been left out back, ... Continue reading

Can a Red-Footed/Yellow-footed tortoise live outside in Arizona?

Hi, i wanted to know if my tortoise can live outside here, i am getting it soon, and will keep it in a tortoise table, with a misting device/water. Continue reading

Yellow footed tortoise care

Yellow footed tortoises are very popular as pet and are commonly known as South America tortoise and South American forest tortoise. The average size of this tortoise is 41 cm in length and 11 kg. It is a good choice for beginners ... Continue reading

Yellow Foot Tortoise

How does the yellow foot tortoise sleeping? Does his/her head is hiding or not? Is yellow foot tortoise can sleep in the dark or bright habitat? Continue reading

Past to Present

WHITE FACED WHISTLING DUCK WHITE MOUSE WHITE TAILED EAGLE WHITE THROATED MAGPIE / JAY WHITE THROATED MONITOR WOLF X Y YACARE CAIMAN YAK YELLOW BACKED LORY YELLOW FOOTED TORTOISE YELLOW MANTLED WIDOWBIRD YELLOW MONGOOSE YELLOWHAMMER ... Continue reading

The Reptile King's Latest News: Red Footed Tortoise Care

Other tortoise species, most notably the closely related and sometimes sympatric yellow-footed tortoise (Geochelone denticulata), have different challenging head movements. Red-footed tortoises have challenging head movements that are a ... Continue reading

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "_Mata_Mata_Turtle".