First Time On Turtles

[mixmaster jay]

they will need a seperate tank for baby minimum 2ft but you WILL need to upgrade in the future (around a year) you will also need a uvb bulb or tube a minimum of uv rating 5.0 but 10.0 is alot better you will also need a basking area which they can get out and fully dry out with a heat lamp over the basking area around 6" above the height ot there shell a common household spotlight would be ok(we use one) we use a r 80 60watt spotlight bulb (a pack of 4 for £1:99 at B&Q) note that the uvb bulb/tube will need to be replaced every 6 months maximum as they lose there uv capabilities and they are just a normal light then. musk turtles give off a smell when they are intimidated hence the name and turtles in general are quite skittish so that could be alot lol you would need the tank 3 quarters full as thy are good swimmers no substrate as they WILL eat it and this causes impaction and this is deadly to any turtle you could use large beach pebbles as a substrate as they can't eat them or 45mm slate chippings and they are available at any garden centre for around £4 you will need a large external filter as an internal will not cope with the amount of waste they produce. if you have any q's on any species of turtle pm me and we will answer them quite happily for you or anyone for that matter. Have a look at my other post on here there is a couple of links to care sheets on there

 

[mixmaster jay]

an aquatic turtle of any kind will eventually eat the fish. if you do try this, make sure there is a safe place for the fish to go where the turtle wont be able to ge to them. yu will most likely lose some fish, but others will become "turtle savvy" and know how.where to hide from the turtle.

ours wont touch live fish lol its in the pond with goldfish/comets/koi/weather loach small and very large but most would have a go at them while young mainly and i have a reed fish in the night tank (i live in a crappy area lol) it wont even eat live guppies it just ignores them lol

 

[mixmaster jay]

i am currently setting up a website about turtles there is 11 care sheets for them a forum,members pics and links (currently one not got the rest of the prmissions yet) im am going to do fish and amphibians too the site is only up and running today but still under construction (only started it today lol so check it out

http/theturtletank.webs.com/

 

[kher83]

i was also looking at turtles, more specifically the musk turtle, but i didnt know whether they could survive
underwater completely?? or whether they need a part of the tank out of water, like frogs? does anyone know?

I have a 60litre tank, with mostly small fish (see sig) will they be able to live together?? or do i need a
seperate tank for the turtle??

any help is greatly appreciated!!!

musk turtles are considered bottom walkers who spend most of their time below but will come up to the surface for air so do u need a land area? the answer is yes. they are not frequent baskers like most turtles but they will come out of the water once in a blue moon. as for food anything they can catch and is edible is fair game to them. they are not great swimmers so the water level shouldn't be too high especially if it is a baby.

 

[loraxchick]

an aquatic turtle of any kind will eventually eat the fish. if you do try this, make sure there is a safe place for the fish to go where the turtle wont be able to ge to them. yu will most likely lose some fish, but others will become "turtle savvy" and know how.where to hide from the turtle.

ours wont touch live fish lol its in the pond with goldfish/comets/koi/weather loach small and very large but most would have a go at them while young mainly and i have a reed fish in the night tank (i live in a crappy area lol) it wont even eat live guppies it just ignores them lol

juvi and sub adults like to eat meaty foods. as they get older and bigger their diet changes to whre they prefer veggies.