Razorback musk Turtle review

[Guyb93]

By not providing an appropriate UVB lamp, you run the risk of the turtle developing metabolic bone disease. This is usually evidenced by softening of the shell. By the time it is noticeable, it is usually fatal. While it's true that musk turtles don't always bask out of the water, they do bask in shallow water. In captivity, they should be provided both options.

Yes it does like to sit under the water level just a few inches on its log rather than being out of the water , I had no idea that the uv was for vitamin I thought it was for heat out of the water so thank you for that information il move it’s lamp over its log , my fish tank light is designed for growing terrestrial plants though could that work ? Or still safer to opt for the full reptile UV light ?

 

[kribensis12]

Thanks for your review guyb93.
Some folk are mistaking your review as some form of advice.I personally can’t work out their problem,but they do have a problem.

I think that the issue here, @Fishfinder1973 is that members and non-members alike scroll through this forum everyday. If I was new to the hobby, I might read this post (which to my knowledge does not state how long he has owned it) and say "Oh, I can keep turtles with my fish" which is certainly a recipe for disaster. See more below on this..

Yeah I’m just assuming some people have too much time to play around on the internet n that’s exactly that I acquired a turtle with no knowledge and very little to read online about them , still know nothing about them and I’m not telling people this is how to keep them it’s just a little bit of info that would of answered my original few questions

@Guyb93 I don't think it's a "too much time on our hands" issue, while the internet is certainly full of that. We all care for animals and can see how this is going to play out as the turtle grows. The concern is that others, who know nothing about turtles but want to know about them, would look at your post and then do the same which would be ill-advised.

With that being said I wanted you to know I appreciate that, after making the mistake of purchasing without researching, you are willing to learn and take advice from other members who have more experience. Hopefully your fish will thrive and this turtle will get moved into a habitat that better suits his nature.

 

[Guyb93]

I think that the issue here, @Fishfinder1973 is that members and non-members alike scroll through this forum everyday. If I was new to the hobby, I might read this post (which to my knowledge does not state how long he has owned it) and say "Oh, I can keep turtles with my fish" which is certainly a recipe for disaster. See more below on this..



@Guyb93 I don't think it's a "too much time on our hands" issue, while the internet is certainly full of that. We all care for animals and can see how this is going to play out as the turtle grows. The concern is that others, who know nothing about turtles but want to know about them, would look at your post and then do the same which would be ill-advised.

With that being said I wanted you to know I appreciate that, after making the mistake of purchasing without researching, you are willing to learn and take advice from other members who have more experience. Hopefully your fish will thrive and this turtle will get moved into a habitat that better suits his nature.

I agree completely I’m not giving advice at all .. I know nothing about turtles and don’t pretend to know just what iv experienced , honestly iv spend more than iv planned to on this turtle which isn’t the worst thing just I’m not going to let my mistakes take a life without some sort of prevention, it has its own turtle tank 150 litre which I bought with everything needed second hand and it looked depressed , silly to say but soon as I moved it back to my tank it was more active ,ate more and just generally seemed happier using the fish as a guide to when food is available and when danger is about , I’m under no illusion that my fish tank is a permanent home but for sure a grow out for this turtle with my stock ,,,, for anybody reading this thinking it’s advise .. it’s not !
These are my specific experiences with my specific fish stocking what I’m experiencing may not be what everyone in my situation will experience but can a Razorback musk turtle live in a fish tank while you set up and cycle a suitable turtle tank I’d say yes 100%

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I agree completely I’m not giving advice at all .. I know nothing about turtles and don’t pretend to know just what iv experienced , honestly iv spend more than iv planned to on this turtle which isn’t the worst thing just I’m not going to let my mistakes take a life without some sort of prevention, it has its own turtle tank 150 litre which I bought with everything needed second hand and it looked depressed , silly to say but soon as I moved it back to my tank it was more active ,ate more and just generally seemed happier using the fish as a guide to when food is available and when danger is about , I’m under no illusion that my fish tank is a permanent home but for sure a grow out for this turtle with my stock ,,,, for anybody reading this thinking it’s advise .. it’s not !
These are my specific experiences with my specific fish stocking what I’m experiencing may not be what everyone in my situation will experience but can a Razorback musk turtle live in a fish tank while you set up and cycle a suitable turtle tank I’d say yes 100%

See quotes below (emphasis added mine) for why it could be taken as giving advice, based on owning an impulse-bought turtle for one week, and while going against advice from a herp collector in the previous thread, and the many reptile folks in the US especially who have experience with keeping musk turtles.

Here are my findings on owning a razorback musk Turtle
Agree or disagree but here they are .
They are almost entirely aquatic even with crawling access to the surface it spends 23.5 hours under the water per day
they are social in my opinion and much prefers a tank with an active environment than a empty calm tank
they are compatible with fish the only time it’s involved in aggression with a fish it’s on the receiving end
They eat ... anything spending 20£ on a pot of “turtle food” was completely unnecessary as it much prefer a fluval cichlids bug bite
They do prefer slow moving water as they are not so strong swimmers a will walk and crawl where ever possible
Not spending much time out of the water a UV basking lamp isn’t required as long as kept indoors As most houses are kept in the 20-30c temp anyways
After a short owning period I have decided to keep the turtle named squirt in my 500l fish tank rather than its newly built expansive turtle enclosure as it’s much happier and active in the tank , these finding may be premature or exclusive to a specific but these not much info on these turtles on google and this maybe helpful to somebody who has acquired an unexpected razorback turtle .... (turtle is one inch in size )

Oh 100% a 6inch turtle would eat 80% of my fish stock but at one inch it’s the smallest in my tank I agree situation will change in a year but for people who are confused as to if these can temporarily grow out with fish and without other land access that other turtles require this may help , I have noticed that it likes follow the so called dither fish like my silver dollars but there is no way it could one eat a 5 inch fish and two being a weak swimmer catch them but as mentioned I haven’t owned the animal long and it is really small but so far it really does enjoy the fish tank rather tank the shallow turtle tank

Thanks for your review guyb93.
Some folk are mistaking your review as some form of advice.I personally can’t work out their problem,but they do have a problem.

I've never been a fan of people buying an animal before researching it at all. Some of us regard that as animal cruelty as well as irresponsible. But not the topic at hand either. Hardly mistaking it as advice when it's specifically given as advice.

Yeah I’m just assuming some people have too much time to play around on the internet n that’s exactly that I acquired a turtle with no knowledge and very little to read online about them , still know nothing about them and I’m not telling people this is how to keep them it’s just a little bit of info that would of answered my original few questions

 

[Herpin Man]

my fish tank light is designed for growing terrestrial plants though could that work ? Or still safer to opt for the full reptile UV light

Plant lights generally do not provide UVB, which is needed for the turtle to properly absorb calcium. The light needs to be situated so that it does not pass through glass, and is within 16" or so of the basking site- manufacturer's recommendations vary.
Also note that the UVB output diminishes over time, and the bulbs need to be replaced every six months or so.

 

[Fishfinder1973]

See quotes below (emphasis added mine) for why it could be taken as giving advice, based on owning an impulse-bought turtle for one week, and while going against advice from a herp collector in the previous thread, and the many reptile folks in the US especially who have experience with keeping musk turtles.





I've never been a fan of people buying an animal before researching it at all. Some of us regard that as animal cruelty as well as irresponsible. But not the topic at hand either. Hardly mistaking it as advice when it's specifically given as advice.

But it’s a review AdoraBelle,as the title says.
Sometimes being out in the field (hands on) is the best way to gain experience,not copying from a blackboard.
I’m sure Guyb93 would much appreciate offers of positive advice,as we all do.Let’s not forget the turtle belongs to his daughter,impulse buy or not,and I’m sure Guyb93 would need to move to another country if anything happened to the turtle.

 

[Guyb93]

But it’s a review AdoraBelle,as the title says.
Sometimes being out in the field (hands on) is the best way to gain experience,not copying from a blackboard.
I’m sure Guyb93 would much appreciate offers of positive advice,as we all do.Let’s not forget the turtle belongs to his daughter,impulse buy or not,and I’m sure Guyb93 would need to move to another country if anything happened to the turtle.

Yeah this turtle has been put on the protect species list my daughter monitors it hourly