Meet Jacques! :)

[Moozillion]

Jacques (named after Jacques Cousteau) is my new juvenile Mississippi mud turtle!!!!
I got him Saturday (12/5) and he's still VERY spooky. The lady I got him from says he's very shy. Part of the reason he's shy is he was being bullied by the other juvenile mud turtle in their tank- that one got most of the food. So far he only ate a little bit on Saturday, and hasn't eaten since (I count the number of pellets and dried shrimp I leave him).
We seldom see him move, but we keep finding him in different areas of the tank: sort of like "Elf on the Shelf" but with a turtle!

 

[Moozillion]

When we first put him in the tank, the sand was very smooth. He hid in the "shelves" on his big acrylic log all day and didn't BUDGE. But in the morning we found the bottom of the tank totally covered in ADORABLE, teeny, tiny mud turtle footprints!!!! He'd been all over that tank during the night!!!
The tank he was raised had a bare glass bottom, which made it easier of the lady to clean after them. So this is his first experience with sand, and he seems to be LOVING it!!!! His favorite sleeping place is where he has dug himself a little nest under a low area of his "log."
CUTENESS EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!!

 

[harris]

Congratulations! I LOVE the tank set up! Just perfect. And don't you worry, he'll come around. They're a fairly hardy species. He looks alert and healthy in the pics.

 

[Moozillion]

Congratulations! I LOVE the tank set up! Just perfect. And don't you worry, he'll come around. They're a fairly hardy species. He looks alert and healthy in the pics.

Thanks, Harris! This is my first aquatic turtle, so I'm a bit of a Nervous Nellie right now!

 

[Yvonne G]

What a cute face. I can see why you wanted that one.

 

[kathyth]

Jacques is adorable!! I love mud turtles!! The set up is fabulous.
What kind of filter are you using with the sand??
Congratulations!!

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Looks great from what I can see!

(More pics! More pics!)

 

[Moozillion]

Looks great from what I can see!

(More pics! More pics!)

He hides A LOT. He may be slow on land but he can really scoot there in the water! Every time I get near him, he dashes back under his log.
I WILL be posting more pictures, but it takes a while to catch him. My cell phone doesn't have a "zoom" feature on the camera!

 

[Moozillion]

Jacques is adorable!! I love mud turtles!! The set up is fabulous.
What kind of filter are you using with the sand??
Congratulations!!

I have a canister filter that hangs on the side of the tank. The intake is more than 2 inches above the sand, so I haven't had any problems yet. The filter is rated "up to 20 gallons" and moves 80 gal per hour.
I hope this helps.

 

[Berkeley]

Nicely done! Good looking tank you've got there.
Enjoy Jacques!
--Berkeley

 

[Moozillion]

Nicely done! Good looking tank you've got there.
Enjoy Jacques!
--Berkeley

Thanks bunches!!!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

When we first put him in the tank, the sand was very smooth. He hid in the "shelves" on his big acrylic log all day and didn't BUDGE. But in the morning we found the bottom of the tank totally covered in ADORABLE, teeny, tiny mud turtle footprints!!!! He'd been all over that tank during the night!!!
The tank he was raised had a bare glass bottom, which made it easier of the lady to clean after them. So this is his first experience with sand, and he seems to be LOVING it!!!! His favorite sleeping place is where he has dug himself a little nest under a low area of his "log."
CUTENESS EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!!


View attachment 158193

Completely adorable.
Very gorgeous looking turtle.
Be extra nice to dear Elsa or she'll start suffering from turtle envy!

 

[Carol S]

ADORABLE!!!

 

[Mac1967]

Nice tank setup! How big do they get?

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Nice tank setup! How big do they get?

See my avatar ?

 

[mike taylor]

So you finally got one good for you ! You are going to really enjoy him .

 

[Moozillion]

Nice tank setup! How big do they get?

Max size is 3-4 inches; females tend to be larger than males. He is a little over 2 inches long and is 8-9 months old.

 

[Moozillion]

See my avatar ?

HAHAHA!!!!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

HAHAHA!!!!

You're going to have to get a bigger tank, Bea!

 

[wellington]

Such an adorable face. Love the home you gave him. I'm sure once he realizes its all his he will come around.