He's NOT FAT! (...IS he???)

Moozillion

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A person, who is not unkind, remarked that Nelson looks FAT. I'm not sure if he is or not.
He is a Razor Backed Musk turtle, known age of 4 years and 2 months. He's 5.5 inches long and weighs 495 gm.
Photos attached, including his adorable face!
 

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Moozillion

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A couple more shots...
 

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TammyJ

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He does look fat when he's "tucked in". I also have no idea how he should look though. Hmm.
 

Paschendale52

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My razorback musk Granny was maybe an inch or so shorter when she moved into my pond last year. The pictures I have don't have her sucked in like that, but there isn't as much hang over for sure. She weighed in at almost exactly 200 grams. I'll be interested to hear what the more experienced folks say about expected weight since Nelson is a bit over twice as heavy. My Southern painted turtles used to have a lot of extra skin when they tucked their legs in so I slowed down a bit on the feeding.
 

TammyJ

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Does Nelson have lots of space to swim around? What's the tank size? Is he active?
 

TammyJ

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Also, please give details of his diet, and how often the food is given. Then the experts will have more information.
 

Moozillion

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Does Nelson have lots of space to swim around? What's the tank size? Is he active?
He's in a 40 gallon breeder, which was fine when he was smaller, but I know it's too small for him now. I'll be changing him over to a 55 gal very soon.
Good observation!
 

TammyJ

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I am not familiar with these turtles but I would in your situation feed him once per day or every two days, and check the fat and protein content of the stuff you give him. If you can't move him yet to a bigger tank, maybe you could give him a "walkabout" each day in your garden, in good weather, for exercise?
 

wellington

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He's in a 40 gallon breeder, which was fine when he was smaller, but I know it's too small for him now. I'll be changing him over to a 55 gal very soon.
Good observation!
As with tortoises, if they have the proper room/space they can't get fat. I thought you had already upgraded the size of his enclosure. I would go with a 100 if possible. It's still only 5 feet long.
 

Markw84

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Musk turtles do look like that when tucked in. They do not fit in their shells and rely on their great swimming ability to get away from predators and hide. Yours does look like it has a bit extra, however. That is most likely a function of a bit too much feeding and not enough room in that small tank. Razorbacks are extremely active turtles. They spend a great deal if time patrolling the bottom of their habitat. In my 10,000 pond, I had them in at my old house, I would see them passing by all 5 of the 6 foot long widows in a matter of a minute as they patrolled back and forth. That's covering 30 feet in a minute - so think of that compared to what it can do in a 40 gallon tank.

As a result I would cut back on the amount of food. Feed once a day at most.
 

Moozillion

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Musk turtles do look like that when tucked in. They do not fit in their shells and rely on their great swimming ability to get away from predators and hide. Yours does look like it has a bit extra, however. That is most likely a function of a bit too much feeding and not enough room in that small tank. Razorbacks are extremely active turtles. They spend a great deal if time patrolling the bottom of their habitat. In my 10,000 pond, I had them in at my old house, I would see them passing by all 5 of the 6 foot long widows in a matter of a minute as they patrolled back and forth. That's covering 30 feet in a minute - so think of that compared to what it can do in a 40 gallon tank.

As a result I would cut back on the amount of food. Feed once a day at most.
Thanks SO MUCH, Markw84, Wellington, TammyJ for your very helpful suggestions!
as of today, Nelson is on a diet!!!
I am absolutely getting him a bigger tank, but space in the house will dictate size limit. I know I can have a 55, but am unsure about 100 gal…
nonetheless, he’ll have new digs coming up!
Thanks again! ❤️✨✨✨✨✨
 

wellington

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Thanks SO MUCH, Markw84, Wellington, TammyJ for your very helpful suggestions!
as of today, Nelson is on a diet!!!
I am absolutely getting him a bigger tank, but space in the house will dictate size limit. I know I can have a 55, but am unsure about 100 gal…
nonetheless, he’ll have new digs coming up!
Thanks again! ❤️✨✨✨✨✨
Get as big as you can if a 100 won't fit. As look for long not high ones. The long ones are sometimes labeled stock or breeding tanks.
 

jeff kushner

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Moo has a fat turtle......., just when I thought you couldn't surprise me!

LOL

All kidding aside, you cannot buy knowledge and we all just got a little bit for free!

Thanks
 

antlichao

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Seems as my mud trutle,did u have feed them seafood or dried shrimp(maybe contain salt ),the salt will be the reason of plump, the salt is Poison for water trutle,because they cannot metabolized it. Good luck!微信图片_20230414091501.png
 

Moozillion

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Seems as my mud trutle,did u have feed them seafood or dried shrimp(maybe contain salt ),the salt will be the reason of plump, the salt is Poison for water trutle,because they cannot metabolized it. Good luck!View attachment 356048
I feed him a commercial food called Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets. it is one of the foods that was reviewed by some academic forum members and was ranked high as having the proper nutrients in the proper ratios. I feed my mud turtle the same food and she's not fat. She's also not interested in eating as much as he is. I think he would eat all day, every day if he could!!! But my mud turtle only comes out to eat every other day or so.
So I believe the error is ME over feeding him! Oops!!!!
But I thank you for your input! :cool:
 

antlichao

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I feed him a commercial food called Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets. it is one of the foods that was reviewed by some academic forum members and was ranked high as having the proper nutrients in the proper ratios. I feed my mud turtle the same food and she's not fat. She's also not interested in eating as much as he is. I think he would eat all day, every day if he could!!! But my mud turtle only comes out to eat every other day or so.
So I believe the error is ME over feeding him! Oops!!!!
But I thank you for your input! :cool:
OK, If you can make sure the reason is over feeding, that is the best news! Hikari is a good brand for feeding water trutles, I am using it now. No salt in it, but sometimes take care of feeding Dried shrimp, some of them contain salt ,which is dangerous to water trutles!
 

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