Musk turtle very limp

kyle123

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Hi my 8 year old musk turtle has been very weird the last day or so. I moved him to his new tank with my over musk (they have been together sinse I first got them). Sinse I put him in this new tank he doesn't seem to be moving very well. He's very slow and just doesnt look to be moving right. He's spent alot of time of out the water hidden under the sand. The temperature of the tank is the exact same. Everything is the same apart from a larger filter and larger tank. I just thought I'd post some pictures on here to see if I'd obviously done something stupid. I've moved him tanks many times and not had any issues before. He's always been more reserved than my over turtle but never this layed back. I'm picking him up and is not taking any notice to me. Usually he'll be hissing and trying to bite. Any ideas would be great thanks20190204_155141.jpeg20190204_154655.jpeg20190204_154641.jpeg20190204_154649.jpeg20190204_154554.jpeg
 

Cheryl Hills

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I don’t have musk turtles but his plastron does not look good to me. Usually redness like I am seeing is sepsis. Again, i don’t raise these. Does he have red areas on the top too?
 

Markw84

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She looks fine to me. Not problems with plastron - that looks normal. However, they way you describe she is acting is an important sigh something is not right.

What is your water temperature? Day and night?

How long are the lights on daily?

Musk turtles live in thick vegetation. I always go turtle hunting with my grandson and we find lots of musk turtles while everyone else around there say they never see nor can find any. We know to look in the overgrown parts of the pond and poke in the water plants. When we see movement, we grab and see if we can feel a turtle shape.

With my turtles, I keep a lot of artificial plastic plants in the tank. The water is nearly 1/2 filled with plant. The turtles love to hide and hang near the surface whenever they are not patrolling the bottom. They also are turtles that prefer to bask by hanging in plants near the surface. They rarely use a basking platform if given a choice.

Your turtles will do better if you give them plenty of plants to hide in and feel secure and more natural.

And... yes this turtle is a SHE.
 

Cheryl Hills

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She looks fine to me. Not problems with plastron - that looks normal. However, they way you describe she is acting is an important sigh something is not right.

What is your water temperature? Day and night?

How long are the lights on daily?

Musk turtles live in thick vegetation. I always go turtle hunting with my grandson and we find lots of musk turtles while everyone else around there say they never see nor can find any. We know to look in the overgrown parts of the pond and poke in the water plants. When we see movement, we grab and see if we can feel a turtle shape.

With my turtles, I keep a lot of artificial plastic plants in the tank. The water is nearly 1/2 filled with plant. The turtles love to hide and hang near the surface whenever they are not patrolling the bottom. They also are turtles that prefer to bask by hanging in plants near the surface. They rarely use a basking platform if given a choice.

Your turtles will do better if you give them plenty of plants to hide in and feel secure and more natural.

And... yes this turtle is a SHE.
Thanks
 

kyle123

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Sorry I have a boy and a girl but always get them mixed up. I have the temperature set at 22 degrees on the heater but I get 20.5 on my thermometer. The lights are on for 10 hours at the moment. I'm not hibernating them but have let the water get a bit cooler to like 18 degrees at points this winter and have had the light down to 8 hours a day to give them a cool down to hopefully promote more natural behaviour. I will definitely add some plastic plants though. I've not put any in as I have avoided putting a substrate in any turtle tank I've had because it makes it so much harder to keep them clean. I think I'll buy the weighted ones and put them in their loose. I used to have some wood in with them but I took it out after reading stories on the internet of turtles drowning. I still have alot to learn with keeping them but I should hopefully have the perfect setup done over the next few months
 

Pastel Tortie

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You can find some bushy vine-like artificial plants that attach to the aquarium wall by suction cups. Zoo Med and Exo Terra both have good selections that are reptile friendly.

I usually end up using a combination of artificial and real plants in my turtle enclosures. For an aquatic setup, research plants that don't have to be planted in substrate, but can either float at the surface or possibly attach to one of the tank walls. Anacharis is a good option if you can find it. So is pothos, actually. Pothos is a common houseplant, usually potted in soil, but it can survive (and even thrive) indefinitely in water, bare root. You could even plant some pothos in the nesting box or land area, and it would probably make for some happy musk turtles.
 

Markw84

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The problem with a "slow down" is you are leaving the turtles in between and active and a brumation state. They can do neither. With the photo period that short, they will definately slow down and want to prepare to brumate. However, with water temps in the 17°-20° range, they will still need food and their metabolism will be slow but active. I personally do not like to have turtles in that in between state unless it is indeed on the way to cooler temps where they can truly slow down. That would be more in the 10°-12° range and lower. So you have your turtles with a deep winter photoperiod, but a fall/spring water temperature. It is really hard to give turtles a slow down in an indoor setup for that reason. You just don't get the water cool enough. If you really want to give them that brief brumation, set up an outdoor tank or small pond and leave them outdoors next year and just take them back in in Dec or Jan. Than put them in a non-heated tank at room temp - 20° or less for a week, then bump it up to normal levels with the heater the next week.
 

Markw84

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I use a plastic plant garland. They are about 6 feet long and I get them at a craft store chain here. I pick the one that looks the most like a water plant to me. I then stick that in the tank, cutting some off if a small tank. Doubled back on itself, it fills the water column nicely and is not anchored at all. It gives a nice dense cluster they can climb and hang in.

If that is a nesting area you are providing, I would put some plant there too. Pothos is a very good choice as it grows anywhere. I also use creeping jenny. That is a favorite nesting location for my musks (and spotted). The like to push under the plant to lay.
 
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