Pelomedusa subrufa, African helmeted turtle, habitat

Distribution:
The African helmeted turtle, Pelomedusa subrufa, is the
most wide spread species of fresh water turtle in Africa
found throughout all of sub-Sahara Africa as well as
western and southern Madagascar.

It inhabits both temporary and permanent bodies of
water (marshes, swamps, ponds, creeks, rain ditches),
and watering holes sharing these habitats with
everything from crocodiles to large mammals.

There are reports of Pelomedusa cleaning the parasites
off of hippos, which I am fairly certain occurs
considering they also use them as basking sites (see the
video below). It should be noted that Pelomedusa are
seldom found in heavily forested areas.

It might be said that the best
way to provide proper housing
in captivity for an animal is to
observe it first in its natural
environment and then try and
"replicate" those conditions as accurately as possible.

The windows below are of Pelomedusa in their natural
environment. These however are only snapshots of the
daily/annual cycles of a single environment in which
Pelomedusa inhabit. If you would like to observe the
natural cycle 24/7 year round follow the link to the
Nkorho Africam, you'll be amazed at what happens in a
day in the life of these turtles.