(Lawrie Arends, Brett Baldwin, Brandon Scott, personal communications, 2020)
Shelters and enclosures
- Large pool for swimming
- Water temperature: 79-81°F (26-27°C)
- Spend more time in the water as adults
- Commonly rest with head at surface and body vertical in the water
- Tree branches and rocks for hiding, resting, and sunning
- Palm fronds for cover/shelter
- Housed with freshwater turtles and cichlid fish
Social interactions
- Can be housed together, if raised together
- May compete for food (see "Enrichment and training," below)
Diet and feeding
- Diet items
- Small rodents
- Croc biscuits
- Enrichment
- Feeding at San Diego Zoo
- Younger individuals fed more invertebrates and molluscs, compared to adults
- Juveniles fed 3 to 4 days per week; adults fed 1 to 2 days per week
- Females consume more food during breeding
Captive breeding
- Breed easily in managed care
Enrichment and training
- Very responsive to food, especially when young
- Offered puzzle feeders, such as boomer balls with favorite foods inside
- Target training used for feeding sessions (prevents competition between dominant and subordinate individuals)
- Live in mixed-species zoo-habitat spaces
- Rocks or sandy areas available for sunning
