Soft Shell Turtle

[mlawson]

The magazine is edited by Karen Youngs. The team of editorial staff includes technical writer Jeremy Gay and website editor (and former technical editor) Matt Clarke. Regular contributing authors include Nick Fletcher, Mary Bailey, Dr Peter Burgess, Dr David Ford, Dr Sean Evans, Dr Neale Monks , Dr Phil Hunt, Dr Heok Hee Ng, Ian Fuller, Peter Cottle, Richard Hardwick, John Rundle, Chris Ralph, Daphne Layley, James Allison, Les Holliday and Pete Liptrot. Former editors of the PFK include Steve Windsor and Nick Fletcher

A quick google search I suppose...

I knew it, look at this wikipedia website. Word for word...

 

[ALEXBLINGYJING]

that's merely a coincidence. And anyway, in my old age I forget some names. It's not a crime to just check is it?
Stop being so eager to critisize me, im only being friendly.

 

[Dannyc]

thell grow depending on your tank

They won't grow to the size of the tank you keep them in- you should be especially careful about buying turtles, the asian soft shelled specimens for example can reach 36inchs in length.

I have been trying to find the artical but I can not.
I was thinking of getting a small guy they are around an inch long.
See I only have an Aquastart 320 to house them in so I dont want one if they grow too big!
The adult I saw was 5 inches and it was digging in the gravel!

Emma x

What is the dimensions this aquastart 320 and what equipment comes with it exactly?

A quick search on google turned up some decent site on them, there are numerous types of soft shelled turtles so you need to actually find out what type of softshell turtle you want first;

http/www.anapsid.org/softshell.html

if you keep them in a small tank they will stop growing,,,,, put them in a big one and they will start growing again thats a fact

i dont have a sofe shell turtle so have no idea how to look after one, but if what you say is correct, they stop growing depending on the size of the tank, surly that cant be good for them, its like having a goldfish in a small bowl, it stunts the growth causing earlier death. to be honest i think thats cruel, in the wild they would grow to be full sized so why should so stop them from doing that just so it can fit in your tank,
i dont want to start an argument, nor am i tying to be aggressive, but i felt i had to say something

fishboy i totally agree with you it would be wrong for any one to do this i was just pionting out that this was fact as someone had said it was untrue

 

[ALEXBLINGYJING]

well done Fishboy, old chap!!

 

[Dannyc]

thell grow depending on your tank

They won't grow to the size of the tank you keep them in- you should be especially careful about buying turtles, the asian soft shelled specimens for example can reach 36inchs in length.

I have been trying to find the artical but I can not.
I was thinking of getting a small guy they are around an inch long.
See I only have an Aquastart 320 to house them in so I dont want one if they grow too big!
The adult I saw was 5 inches and it was digging in the gravel!

Emma x

What is the dimensions this aquastart 320 and what equipment comes with it exactly?

A quick search on google turned up some decent site on them, there are numerous types of soft shelled turtles so you need to actually find out what type of softshell turtle you want first;

http/www.anapsid.org/softshell.html

if you keep them in a small tank they will stop growing,,,,, put them in a big one and they will start growing again thats a fact

i dont have a sofe shell turtle so have no idea how to look after one, but if what you say is correct, they stop growing depending on the size of the tank, surly that cant be good for them, its like having a goldfish in a small bowl, it stunts the growth causing earlier death. to be honest i think thats cruel, in the wild they would grow to be full sized so why should so stop them from doing that just so it can fit in your tank,
i dont want to start an argument, nor am i tying to be aggressive, but i felt i had to say something

fishboy i totally agree with you it would be wrong for any one to do this i was just pionting out that this was fact as someone had said it was untrue

 

[ALEXBLINGYJING]

is it just me or did Dannyc just post exactly the same post. Are you emphazizing a point, Danny, Old boy?

 

[Dannyc]

is it just me or did Dannyc just post exactly the same post. Are you emphazizing a point, Danny, Old boy?

sorry about that i posted it a was expecting it to come up at the bottom and it went in the mid so i reposted it il get the hang of it one day

 

[RESGuy]

[/quote]if you keep them in a small tank they will stop growing,,,,, put them in a big one and they will start growing again thats a fact
[/quote]
PLEASE do not post incorrect information on here. This will give newbies the wrong idea and they will get a soft shell turtle put it in a 10 gallon tank and get ashtonished when it exceeds a foot in length TURTLES WILL OUTGROW YOUR TANK. I believe one of the smallest turtles that can be kept in captive will grow to about 5 inches and will need AT LEAST a 50 gallon tank, btw this turtle costs $100 on sale

AND BY THE WAY IF YOU KNOW THE EDITORS THEY GIVE YOU FREE SECRET ISSUES SO

BS.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Pretty sure common musk turtles only get to 5 inches and can be kept in 30g minimum, if you wanted a smaller turtle. Stinkpots are pretty easy to take care of as well, whereas softshells are sensitive to water quality and need a certain PH, I think. (not to criticize you or anything, RESGuy, just thought of it while reading the thread, before I saw your post. )

Here's some care sheets for you to look through, good for IDing and picking a species of turtle you want to keep. Very accurate.

 

[RESGuy]

Well, actually the rule of thumb for turtles is 10 gallons per inch of turtle, so a 5 inch musk turtle (or stinkpot) will still need a 50 gallon tank minimum And I agree Soft Shells are much more difficult to keep and are most definetly NOT a beginner's turtle. Just ask Paul, he has a Chinese Soft Shell (how is Pancake btw? )

 

[n3ont3tra]

But a 5 inch turtle is a bit smaller than a 6 inch turtle... cause they get wider too. I think musks can be okay in a 30, but of course if you have a bigger space then that's better. Besides, isn't the only standard tank size between 30 and 50 45? Which is the same footprint as a 30? Just higher. So I think if you have a good canister for filtration, it would be okay. Unless I'm totally off with the tank dimensions.

 

[RESGuy]

But a 5 inch turtle is a bit smaller than a 6 inch turtle... cause they get wider too. I think musks can be okay in a 30, but of course if you have a bigger space then that's better. Besides, isn't the only standard tank size between 30 and 50 45? Which is the same footprint as a 30? Just higher. So I think if you have a good canister for filtration, it would be okay. Unless I'm totally off with the tank dimensions.

I have mine in a 55 gallon I really do think a 30 gallon is too small. I suppose a 45 gallon tank would be OK for a 5 inch turtle though And for optimum usage of swimming space you can always build an above tank basking area

 

[Dannyc]

[

BS.
[/quote]if my info is wrong im sorry i got this info from one of many books i bought prior to geting a turte. I would not recomend any one do this, i was just repeating info i had got from a book,,,,turtles in the terrarium by gerhard mueller ,, hes supposed to be an expert

 

[colbat0]

36inches whoa

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

36inches whoa

Yes exactly. Which is why you shouldn't advise people about things you have little idea about. Listen to and learn from RESguy, he knows what he is talking about when it comes to turtles and things.

PLEASE do not post incorrect information on here. This will give newbies the wrong idea and they will get a soft shell turtle put it in a 10 gallon tank and get ashtonished when it exceeds a foot in length TURTLES WILL OUTGROW YOUR TANK. I believe one of the smallest turtles that can be kept in captive will grow to about 5 inches and will need AT LEAST a 50 gallon tank, btw this turtle costs $100 on sale