#freshwater reptiles

[uncharismatic-fauna]

An Affinity for the Southern River Terrapin

The southern river terrapin (Batagur affinis), also known as the tungtung or the royal turtle, is a species of freshwater turtle residing, as its name implies, in the southern part of the Malaysian Peninsula, particularly along the western coast. They reside in estuaries, portions of large rivers that are regularly exposed to ocean tides.

While initially plain in appearance, the southern river terrapin can be visually striking. The body and shell are entirely black, or dark brown in females. The only spots of color are carried by males: bright yellow or white eyes and orange inner cheek flaps that are exposed when the mouth opens. Batagur affinis is also quite big, with females (the larger of the two sexes) reaching an average length of 62 cm (24 in) and a weight of 38 kg (83 lbs).

The tungtung is an omnivorous species. Its serrated beak allows it to feed on a variety of plants like grasses, algae, and fruits, as well as freshwater invertebrates like crustaceans and mollusks. Due to the high salinity of their habitats, they often leave the rivers and forage for food on land. The large size and thick shells of adults deters most predators. However, eggs and hatchlings are vulnerable to monitor lizards, otters, birds of prey, and crocodiles.

Mating for Batagur affinis occurs from October to February. Males and females remain relatively solo throughout the rest of the year, although they aren't overly territorial. Once a male locates a female, the two touch noses and he pulses his jaw to emphasize his bright orange cheek pouches and the white stripes on the inside of his throat. After copulation, the female lays a clutch of 20-40 eggs in nests dug in the sandy river bank. Young royal turtles hatch anywhere from 60-120 days later, depending on the temperature of the nest. Juveniles can take 18-22 years to reach maturity. Adults regularly reach ages well over 45, and individuals as old as 100 have been recorded.

Conservation status: The southern river turtle is considered Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Over-harvesting of both eggs and individuals has decimated populations, and those that remain are threatened by habitat destruction. However, both local and international conservation efforts have been underway to preserve the species and its ecosystem.

If you like what I do, consider buying me a ko-fi!

Photos

Eng Heng Chan

Paul Calle

Thorn Sophun

[sunfish-exotics]

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: red-eared slider

It's turtle time, everybody! Today's topic, the red-eared slider turtle, is one of three subspecies of the pond slider, Trachemys scripta. The other two subspecies, the yellow-bellied slider and Cumberland slider are similar and I will mention them, but this post will largely be about the red-eared slider. Red-ears are the most popular pet turtle and as a direct result of that, is the most invasive turtle in the world.

(Image: a red-eared slider basking on a log. It is a small turtle with a dark green upper shell striped with yellow and brown. Its body is a very dark green, almost black, with yellow stripes. A red stripe runs behind the eyes. End ID)

Trachemys scripta elegans is knows as the red-eared slider because of the red markings on the sides of its head and its ability to quickly slid into the water when threatened. They are freshwater turtles who reach an average of 15 - 20 cm (6-8 in) in carapace (upper shell) length, but can grow over 40 cm (16 in) in good conditions. The shell is composed of bony, keratinous scutes and varies in appearance as the turtle ages. The carapace starts out as a strong green color with variable markings and darkens to a brown color as the turtle ages. The plastron (lower shell) starts out yellow with darker markings and can darken to a red color with age. The turtle's skin is green with yellow stripes and also darkens with age. The shells and skin are always covered with stripes and irregular markings that help camouflage the animal by breaking up its silhouette. They have no external ear canals. Instead, the ear is covered with a disc of cartilage called the tympanum. During winter, they enter a state called brumantion, which is similar to hibernation but requires the turtle to occasionally wake up to eat and breathe.

(Image: a juvenile red-eared slider in a tank. Its shell and skin are a lighter green and still heavily striped. The toes on one foot are spread, showing off the webbing between them. End ID)

It can be difficult to tell male and female red-eared sliders apart, especially when they are juveniles, but there are a few tells. Females usually get larger than males while the males have longer claws used to grab onto the female's shell while mating. Males also have a slightly concave plastron that helps them balance on the female's shell during mating. The biggest tell is the cloaca, which is located on the tail. In males, the cloaca opening is close to the tip of the tail, while in females it is close to the base.

(Image: a red-eared slider seen from the front. It is identifiable as a male by its long claws. End ID)

Red-eared sliders are native to lakes, ponds, and slow-moving streams and rivers of the American midwest (which, for those of you who don't know, is on the east side of the country) and northern Mexico. They are omnivorous, feeding on aquatic and shore plants as well as aquatic invertebrates and small fish. They are not social, but tolerate each other's presence as long as there is enough food for everyone. In lean times, they will compete over food. Red-eared sliders are almost entirely aquatic, but they need to leave the water to warm their bodied by basking in the sun. Pond sliders can often be seen basking on rocks or logs sticking out of the water. They will bask in groups and even climb on top of each other. When they see danger, they will retreat into the water.

(image: a group of 6 red-eared sliders basking on a rock. One of them has partially climbed on top of another. End ID)

Mating season begin in spring and lasts until summer. Males will perform a courtship dance for females. He swims around the female while touching her head with the backs of his claws. This may help direct pheromones toward her. If the female approves, she will sink to the bottom and become receptive to mating. Otherwise, she will chase the male away. Courtship can take almost an hour, but the mating itself is short, lasting no more than 10 minutes. The time between fertilization and egg-laying can vary and females can hold onto sperm to fertilize herself later. Before laying eggs, females often have a change of diet and will spend extra time basking. The female will also spend more time on land, looking for a good spot to build a nest. The nest is a shallow pit dug in sand or loose soil. The female will lay between 2 and 30 eggs in the nest and bury them before leaving. A female can lay up to 5 clutches in a year. Incubation takes between 60 and 112 days. The temperature of the nest determines the sex of the hatchlings, with warmer soil producing females. The hatchlings use an egg tooth to break out of the egg, which will fall off a few hours after birth. Hatchlings are born with an external yolk sac attached to the bottom of the plastron that will provide nutrition for days after birth. The yolk sac being damaged or jostled enough to introduce air is fatal. The juvenile turtle needs to fully absorb the yolk sac and allow its plastron to fully fuse before entering the water, which takes about 21 days. Juveniles born late enough in the year may brumate in the nest and not emerge until next spring. Red-eared sliders reach sexual maturity at about 5 years of age and a turtle that survives its two years can live up to 30 or 40 years. Red-eared sliders can hybridize with the other pond slider subspecies.

(Image: a pair of juvenile red-eared sliders being held in someone's hand. They are small enough that both together don't take up the full palm. End ID)

Red-eared sliders are classified as least concern by the IUCN, meaning they are not at risk of extinction. They have become popular pets due to being cheap with low maintenance costs and not getting too big. They are the world's most commonly traded reptile thanks to the pet trade, though they are also eaten by some people. Release or escape of pet red-eared sliders had led to them becoming an invasive species in many parts of the world as their fast maturation allows them to outcompete local species. They have also been responsible for spreading diseases and parasites to native turtle populations. Red-eared sliders are also asymptomatic carriers of salmonella and need to be handled with caution. I leave you with a fun fact: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are, in at least one continuity, red-eared sliders

(Image: a pair of red-eared sliders standing in shallow water. their necks are extended and they are looking upwards. End ID)

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

Can you do a Mata Mata? Or any turtle really :)

Who could pass up a chance to share the mata mata!! Magnificent choice.

Both photos thanks to the Smithsonian's Reptile Discovery Center.

[raichukaiju]

The Reptile House was always one of my favourite places when I was a kid, I can't believe it took me this long to get back in there! It's almost exactly how I remember it too, there's just some more updated signs~

Freshwater Crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni) Phillippine Crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) Rhinoceros Iguanas (Cyclura cornuta cornuta) King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus)

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Freshwater crocodile. Location: Townsville, Queensland.

Photograph: Elliott Budd

[aeriona]

look at this Funky crocodile ft. This turtle who is looking very intently

[billionneuronscurious]

The Indian flapshell turtle (Lissemys punctata).

Conservation Status: VULNERABLE.

[pochqmqri]

Freshwater crocodiles at Billabong Sanctuary near Townsville, QLD, Australia

[elf-indulgent]

The teeth of a freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni). Kununurra, Western Australia.

Photo by Matt Summerville [x]

[its-nice-its-different]

Macquarie short neck turtles

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Feeling Out the Florida Softshell Turtle

The Florida softshell turtle (Apalone ferox) is a species of softshell turtle that resides only in the southeastern tropics of the United States, especially along the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. Within this range, they can be found in a number of freshwater environments, including ponds, lakes, swamps, marshes, and urban catchments; they may occasionally also occur in the mouths of slower moving rivers and streams. They generally prefer more muddy bottoms, in which they can bury themselvesand forage for food.

Florida softshell turtles have a highly varied diet, obtained through both active predation and scavenging. When hunting, they may bury themselves at the muddy lake bottom and wait for potential prey to come close enough for an ambush. They are largely carnivorous, feeding on fish, insects, crustaceans, frogs and mollusks, as well as the occasional aquatic plant. Adults are primary predated upon by alligators, while juveniles and eggs may fall prey to foxes, raccoons, birds, and large fish.

Although A. ferox is almost entirely aquatic, adults will readily move overland to find more suitable habitat. They are also frequently spotted basking on rocks or logs. Adults are highly aggressive, and will attack anything they percieve as a threat, including birds, fish, other turtles, and people. In addition to their ferocious bite, they also emit a foul-smelling musk to drive away potential predators.

Mating for the Florida softshell turtle occurs once a year, in the spring from March to July. After mating, females lay their eggs along river or lake banks in clutches of 9-24 eggs. Although they only mate once, females may lay anywhere from 2-7 clutches in a single year. Each clutch incubates for 56 to 80 days, and are immediately independent. Males reach maturity at only 2 years old, while females take 5-8 years; both sexes may live to be over 20 years old in the wild.

Although perhaps not the most attractive turtle, the A. ferox has a very striking appearance. They have a large, flattened body which is covered-- limbs and shell both-- in leathery, olive green or brown skin, with a lighter underside. The shell may also sport darker spots, which help the individual blend in to the muddy substrate. The head is specially distinctive, with a long neck and flattened skull, terminating in a pointed, tubular nose. Individuals may use their extended nostrils to breathe without exposing their body above water. Female Florida softshell turtles are much larger than males; 40.1 cm (15.8 in) in length and 6.65 kg (14.7 lb) compared to only 35 cm (14 in) and 2.68 kg (5.9 lb).

Conservation status: The Florida softshell turtle is considered Least Concern by the IUCN. However, they are threatened by harvesting for meat and the pet trade, as well as habitat loss.

If you like what I do, consider buying me a ko-fi!

Photos

Andrea Westmoreland

Paul Cools

J.D. Willson

[sunfish-exotics]

Another batch! they ended up eating the first clutch a few hours after I made the post- maybe they'll do better this round!

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: alligator snapping turtle

This will be a shorter WBW than usual, as I forgot to prep a post in advance and am writing this on short notice. Today's topic is the alligator snapping turtle, a beast from the bayou almost looks like a dinosaur. Macrochelys temminckii is the only member of its genus and, along with the three members of the genus Chelydra, is one of the four living snapping turtle species. Some scientists suggest splitting it into three species, but this is still a matter of debate. Snapping turtles are large, predatory turtles known for their very sharp beaks, extreme bite forces, and alleged aggressiveness.

(Image ID: an alligator snapping turtle sitting on gravel. It is a large, brown turtle. Its shall has three spiked ridged running down it. The head is large and angular, with a very sharp beak. It has small, brown eyes. Its mouth is open in a threat display. End ID)

The alligator snapping turtle is one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world, surpassed only by a few species of rare Asian softshells. The alligator snapping turtle can be distinguished from the common snapping turtle, whose range overlaps with that of the alligator snapping turtle, by the three spiky ridges going down its shell. These ridges, along with its powerful jaws, are often compared to those of an alligator, hence the common name. The turtles grow through their entire lives and can reach truly huge sizes. In the wild, adult males (who are larger than females) range between 35 and 80.8 cm (13.8 to 31.8 in) in caprapace (top shell) length and weigh between 8.4 and 80 kg (19 to 176 lbs). Sometimes, a true giant will be found, usually an old male. Reported weights of giant males include 113, 107, and 135 kg (249, 236, 298 lbs). The tail is longer and thicker than in most turtles. The head is large and thick and can deliver bites with a force averaging 159 newtons. This is less than the bite force of the common snapping turtle, but still enough to bite someone's finger off. The inside of the mouth is brownish and the tongue has an appendage that looks like a worm on it. Unlike most turtles, the alligator snapping turtle cannot withdraw into its shell. The plastron (lower shell) covers less of the body than in most species and cannot cover retracted limbs, heads, or tails.

(Image ID: a close-up of the head of an alligator snapping turtle with its mouth open. The tongue is visible, which has a pink, fleshy appendage that looks like a worm. End ID)

Alligator snapping turtles live in the southeast USA in rovers, streams, and lakes, preferably with deep water. They spend most of their lives in the water, only leaving if in search of a new home or when laying eggs. They are nocturnal, but may still hunt during the day. The turtles are passive ambush predators who sit perfectly still with their mouths open and tongues exposed. The worm-like appendage on the tongue is used to attract prey, which the turtle will bite down on quickly and with extreme force. This is a form of aggressive mimicry. You may be wondering what they eat and the answer is just about anything. Fish, amphibians, and snails appear to be the most common prey, but they will also feed on crayfish, insects, snakes, worms, birds, small mammals, other turtles, and even small alligators. Basically if it can fit in the turtle's mouth, it will be eaten. While not active predators, they will dig up burrows in search of food. They also feed on carrion and will sometimes eat aquatic plants. A turtle can go 50 minutes between breaths and they sit still so much that most individuals will have a thick layer of algae growing on their shells. The algae helps them camouflage as rocks when not moving. Fishermen tales often say that alligator snapping turtles can depopulate all of the fish in a body of water, but this does not appear to be true. Adult alligator snapping turtles have no natural predators while juveniles are eaten by fish, birds, raccoons, and other snapping turtles.

(Image ID: an alligator snapping turtle underwater in an aquarium. Picture from the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. End ID)

Mating takes place in spring, earlier in the season in more southern climates. Laying takes place around two months later. The females will leave the water and travel around 50 meters inland. The distance is to prevent the eggs from being flooded, which would kill them. She will build a nest in sandy soil and bury the eggs. No further care is provided. Clutches consist of between 8 and 60 eggs at a time. After 100-140 days, the eggs hatch. The hatchlings are fully independent and must make their own way in life. The sex of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature of the soil they are incubated in. Soil of 29-30 degrees C (84.2 to 86 F) results in primarily females, 25 to 27 C (77 to 80.6 F), results in primarily males, and anything in between results in a mix. Individuals become sexually mature after about 11-12 years. The maximum lifespan of wild turtles is unknown, but individuals in captivity can live over a century.

(Image ID: two baby alligator snapping turtles held in a person's hand. They are smaller than the person's palm, but otherwise look no different than the adults. One is on its back, displaying the small plastron. End ID)

(Image ID: alligator snapping turtles hatching in captivity. The eggs are small white spheres that look like ping-pong balls. The number 19 has been written on them in what appears to be sharpie. Several of the eggs have already hatched. In the middle of the picture, a turtle is pertially emerged from its egg. End ID

Alligator snapping turtles are classified as vulnerable by the IUCN. Their primary threat is habitat loss as wetlands are drained and dammed. They are also hunted and used as food by humans. This is common enough that some states have had to pass laws protecting the turtles. Despite being characterized as aggressive, alligator snapping turtles rarely attack humans and only in self-defense. Because they cannot retract into their shells, the turtles defend themselves by facing a potential threat with their mouths open as a warning. This has furthered its reputation as an aggressive animal. Because the turtles take so long to reproduce, restoring populations is a very slow process. Alligator snapping turtles are sometimes used as pets, though they need expert care due to their sheer size and the potential danger of handling them. Use in the pet trade has resulted in the turtles being introduced outside of their native range. They have become an invasive species on some places, notably in southern Africa.

(Image ID: an alligator snapping turtle next to a human man. The human is holding it up by the front of the shell to show its size. End ID)

[aquariuminfobureau]

The large compound island of New Guinea, and adjacent, tropical areas of Australia, are home to a remarkable turtle species, that is an outlier in at least four ways - its lack of close living relatives, its location, and its locomotion. This is the pig nosed or Fly River softshell turtle, also known as the pitted shell turtle, and Carettochelys insculpta. This curious freshwater turtle is now a common zoo exhibit, and occurs in the pet trade especially as cute juveniles, although it's size and cruising habit, make it problematic as a pet turtle. Fortunately care of C. insculpta is very well understood, and not problematic other than their requirement for living space.

C. insculpta is the only living Catettochelys species that is recognized. Very large individuals of this species reportedly have a carapace length of nearly 60 centimeters, or 24 inches. Yet more commonly they are around 25 centimeters, or 14 inches. In New Guinea this species is found only in the southern lowlands of the island, whereas in Australia it is found in Northern Territory. The exact distribution of C. insculpta is uncertain as regards both New Guinea and Australia, but the species is limited to the tropics.

The size of T. insculpta varies by geographical origin, with those from the Kikori area weighing 10 kilograms more than those from the Daly River. In spite of this, no morphological evidence has been presented to justify supposed subspecies distinctions. The great similarity between New Guinea and Northern Territory Carettochelys turtles, and their limited Australian distribution, indicate they dispersed to Australia from New Guinea at some time during the Quarternary.

Carettochelys are found in rivers and streams with soft bottoms and slow currents. Such habitats are rich in leaf litter and wood debris. They are also present in still water bodies in New Guinea. Hatchling Carettochelys can be found in New Guinea river deltas, but as adults they are migrated upstream. Australian populations do not frequent estuaries at all, and are thus more strictly freshwater. These Australian Catettochelys have more habitat available in the wet season, when they are able to move into nearby creeks, and exploit flooded floodplain environments.

Oftentimes people object that Caretrochelys are not true softshells, on the grounds that they are not members of the trionychid clade, that is named for Trionyx, an African softshell turtle. But Catettochelys is their definite sister, and together with the trionychids, they comprise the clade Trionychia. The first trionychians were already softshells, and the morphological status as softshell is inherited by both Carettochelys and its trionychid sisters.

The presence of a northern type turtle, like Catettochelys, in the Australasian realm is a bit of an enigma. Although there are no longer native carettochelyids in the northern hemisphere today, ancestral carettochelyids during the Eocene epoch, appear to have exclusively inhabited northern continents. Therefore ancestral Catettochelys must have reached island Australasia prior to their extinction in Asia. It is not known when carettochelyids arrived in Australasia, and there is currently only one species.

Some other New Guinea turtles, that are members of the trionychid group, are also of Asian affinities. All other Quarternary turtles in New Guinea and Australia, are either pleurodires or meiolaniids. Both these clades are descended from ancestors that were present since the breakup of Gondwana in the Cretaceous and Early Palaeogene. Northern type turtles in Australasia are much more recent arrivals in Australasia, and they are limited to the northern continental mainlands.

Australia has a well deserved reputation for her unique animal life, having evolved in isolation from those of their inhabited continents. However her isolation has not been total, and as she has been carried north towards Asia by forces below the earth's shallow crust, new kinds of animals have arrived on her shores from Asia, including murid rodents, and agamid and varanid lizards.

Although the biota and ecology of Australasia is distinct from that of Asia today, there is overlap between the animal and plant life of these continents, despite the lack of land connections between the continental masses of 'Sundaland' and 'Sahulland'. In fact the climate is an effective barrier, with drier and more season climates in eastern Indonesia, working with the sea to separate the rainforests on the Sunda shelf from those on New Guinea.

Climate zones within Australia largely limit New Guinean faunal and floral components, which include more Asiatic elements than those of Australia, to the north of Australia. The fauna and flora of which, cannot easily be demarcated apart from those of southern New Guinea. Indeed two land bridges across the present Torres Strait, had connected the island continents during the Pleistocene, during which time the sea levels were lower, allowing migration between what are now discontinuous land masses.

Although Catettochelys is unrelated to Holocene sea turtles, it swims with an unusual motion intermediate between the fore and aft rowing of typical, plesiopodal freshwater turtles, such as the red eared slider, and hydropodal sea turtles that swim by employing vertical strokes, or underwater flight. Like the sea turtles, Catettochelys makes more use of its deltoideus muscle in its swimming stroke, creating better forces of lift that facilitate pelagic abilities.

These turtles are quite catholic omnivores, consuming both plant and animal food resources, but their feeding habits become increasingly vegetarian as they mature. They feed extensively on tropical fruits such as Ficus, Sonneratia, and Nypa, that fall into the water where Carettochelys feed, and they also consume a broader diversity of waterside and aquatic plant material, such as the eelgrass Valisneria and algae.

Their aquarium diet should therefore include algae wafers and fresh fruits and vegetables, such as banana, melon, and lettuce. Dried preparations can be fed to these turtles, but it is much preferable to choose those with a rather low protein content. Usually they prefer to eat at the bottom so sinking pellets are a better choice than floating sticks. They will also readily eat defrosted and fresh meaty items. Respecting their omnivory, their diet should be varied and its vegetable component should make up about 2/3 of the diet of adult Carettochelys.

The animal prey that are consumed by Carettochelys are benthic and slow moving, including snails and crayfishes. Therefore these turtles are not suited for sharing an environment with hard shelled potential prey. They are also likely also to consume some aquarium plants. Vertebrates are said only to be eaten as carrion, but opportunistic predation on small, slow or sleeping fish cannot be excluded, because this is normal benthivorous turtle behavior.

Although they are active and efficient midwater swimmers, Carettochelys are foragers and not hunters. Fishes that are significantly larger than their heads will be safe. This species is also peaceable towards other turtles, and is often housed in zoos alongside Australasian pleurodires, of the genera Chelodina, Elseya, and Emydura. Indeed Catettochelys is by now a very popular species in mixed species exhibits, having a good tolerance of other animals, and being much easier to accommodate than are marine turtles.

Im spite of this overall good tolerance, Carettochelys males can actually be aggressive to one another, and in horny condition can harass females with tail biting behavior. Rarely males can be aggressive towards other turtle species, and even fish sharing their environment, but this is a statistical tail end effect, and cannot be considered typical. Usually it is sufficient not to cohabit two males together.

The morphology of the Catettochelys humerus is most similar to that of the trionychids, yet it's shape is convergent upon that of sea turtles. Overall the forelimbs are more efficient hydrofoils than is normal for a freshwater turtle, although they still walk and swim using an alternate coordination of all four limbs, despite being well capable of a graceful, penguin-like underwater flight using the forelimbs alone.

Compared to the trionychid sister clade, Catettochelys possesses elongated autopodia, making the forelimb a functioning underwater 'wing'. This elongation is already described in the extinct, northern hemisphere carettochelyids, but it is thought to be unique among all of the non-marine turtles. The swimming style of Carettochelys gives it an advantage when competing against pleurodire turtles, because it is useful for finding food in low energy environments. The mystery is why no turtles swim like this today, in the tropical rivers of the Congo, Amazonia, or Southeast Asia.

Catettochelys even possesses salt glands, but they are degenerated, like those of the gharial Gavialis, a riverine crocodilian descended from marine ancestors. However it is not resident in brackish environments as an adult, and should be regarded as a truly freshwater turtle. This species visits estuaries only to nest on sandbanks, before returning upstream as they grow. Some Carettochelys juveniles reside in brackish water with salinities up to 21 ppt, or a specific gravity of 1.015.

Often animals and plants that outlive their relatives, in the sense of the geological timescale, have shifted to novel environments. Like the gharial, and the South Asian, Chinese, and Amazon river 'dolphins', of middle Cenozoic origins, Carettochelys appears to represent the phenomenon of atypical, freshwater subclades surviving longer that their marine cousins.

Depending on the location and the time of the year, Carettochelys in the wild may experience an approximate spectrum of pH from 6.5 to 8.5, although the average pH in the river channels is surely 7 to 8. During the wet months, when Catettochelys make use of flooding to access the floodplain, the water pH is lower, despite the strange but widely circulated claim online, that Catettochelys requires hard, alkaline water parameters.

The water temperature in river channel environments is in the middle and upper 20s degrees centigrade. In floodplain habitats the temperature may seasonally reach the upper 30s. If they are maintained at brackish salinities, which is not necessary, the specific gravity should not reach 1.02, and they will still need to drink freshwater, as do marine snakes and birds with functioning salt glands, that still drink rainwater.

[nixieofthenorth]

Baby Australian freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni)

📸@rusomaweera