Getting a Mud Turtle?

Question

Hi im new that owning a turtle and i was wondering
How big of a Tank i should get (Long or tall)
How much water and land do i put in it
What kind of food do they eat
What temp should the tank be at

And other helpful tips that might help me out

thanks a bunch

Answer 1

I have my 3.5" painted turtle in a 55gal fish tank. There are three basking spots that he an use. The substrate is cleaned sand(like you'd get at the hardware store). They seem to like this a lot more than rocks... Hachi(my turt) tried eating the rocks when they WERE in the tank.

Basically, though, you want a long tank so there can be more area for your turtle to swim. I would rather swim side to side than up and down :) A few basking spots should be good enough for land, as most aquatic turtles dont go on land unless they need to. We are working on a 'hide box' for Hachi that will be full of sand so he can crawl out of the tank on a ramp to get to it. Its a work in progress.

They love to eat live food, and if you get neon tetras, they will hunt them down mercilessly... I learned the hard way. Hachi lives with three rainbow sharks, five silver dollars, 6 baby mollies, and 5-10 neon tetras at a time. He only goes after the neons. Other options besides fish are crickets, mealworms, waxworms(only as a treat), baby cockroaches, other bugs, etc. The best place to find feeder insects for a VERY low price is FlukerFarms.com. They are VERY cheap compared to other places.

The tank should be at 78-83* F, and the basking spot should be 95. You should have two basking areas, one that is warm and one that is not. This way your turtle wont have to stay in the water if he's too warm.

If you have any other questions, I'd be glad to answer them. My email is [e-mail]

Answer 2

A 20 gallon long about half filled with water would be a good size for a mud turtle. You want the tank to be longer than tall, because you'll need to make a place on one end where he can get out of the water. This corner should also have a UVB and a heat lamp to get the temperature to around 85-90o in that corner.

In the wild they would eat crayfish, snails, and aquatic insects but you can probably get them to eat turtle pellets and give them some crickets, earthworms, and small crayfish as a treat.

The water temperature should be in the mid-70s - if it's not this temperature, you could add an aquarium heater. You might also get a water filter (submersible) if you don't get a tank specifically made for aquatic turtles (these have an opening about halfway up the side so you can use a hang-on filter like those used for fish). A filter will help your tank to look cleaner.

Here's a website where you can find more info on turtle care and a caresheet for mud turtles: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/1caresheets.htm

Answer 3

I am a turtle hobbyist, and I like Austin's turtle page. Here is a link to how to care for a 3-striped mud turtle (I have on of those).

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-3_striped_mud.htm

Mud turtles do not like deep water, and they need land to rest on even if they don't use it often. Vary boring turtle pellets with canned FRESHWATER river shrimp you find in pet stores (expensive, but mud turtles love them). Occassional fish (they can't catch live fish very easily, so I give mine store-bought catfish pieces or fresh sushi fish).

They also need UVA/UVB light so they won't get metabolic bone disease, and they need a heating lamp. Metabolic bone disease is very common among turtles because owner's don't want to spend the money on a good UVA/UVB light. The plant lights are NOT good enough. Vets recommend Active UV bulbs or Powersun mercury vapor lamps. They cost a bit, but they will save you on vet bills and they last for over a year!

Answer 4

Copperhead is right. Dang, I hate it when other people slip great answers in before me! :-)

Muds are pretty popular amongst knowledgeable turtle keepers. If you slip over to the forums at http://www.turtleforum.com you'll find a lot of other 'mudders' to talk to.

Answer 5

i don't know