Establishing a Freshwater Turtle (Emydura subglobosa) Laboratory Line (FTLL) as a novel model species for research and education

The Jardine River turtle (Emydura subglobosa) was selected as a potential model species
for studies on freshwater turtles and general reptile physiology. Attempts to establish a
freshwater turtle laboratory line were made when an adult pair of E. subglobosa was received
in 2016 by the Laboratory of Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture (Poznań University of Life
Sciences). The first generation of offspring was obtained in 2017, and the second generation in
2023. In each generation, unrelated specimens were added to the animal cohort to avoid
inbreeding. Husbandry regimes were established, and a basal diet for nutritional experiments
was developed and manufactured by two methods, producing extruded feed and a gelatinesolidified variant. The establishment of the Freshwater Turtle Laboratory Line (FTLL)
provides an opportunity to improve the development of husbandry techniques, increase
knowledge of reptile physiology, and use laboratory-raised animals as model species for
research and education.