Need help on How to care for a baby turtle!

Thomas tortoise

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Jan 26, 2022
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661
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Arkansas
I have a baby stinkpot musk turtle! And I got it from a friend who did not know what she was doing. In the past I have kept a soft shell turtle but that was a long time ago so I don't remember if I should heat my musk turtles water? And what should I feed him? Right now I feed him dried shrimp and dried mealworms! I do have a heat and uvb light in one and some sand for him to go up on and I keep him in a cement mixing tub.
 

methos75

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Lawrenceville, IL via Walker, LA
I keep my Mississippi Mud turtle at 80 degrees, I've found that to be the best temp. A 40 galleon breeder or where he is now will suffice for a mud or musk turtle since they stay small as long as you have adequate filtration. I keep mine in a stock tank. I would remove the sand, I don't use substrates at all with my turtles, sure it looks nice but it makes cleaning a pain and it just traps bacteria in the enclosure. Heat and UVB should always be supplied, but bare in mind that they aren't heavy baskers, especially babies. Dry shrimp and meal worms are treats, not food. Get him some zoomed aquatic turtle diet for hatchlings and Ultra fresh baby turtle nutri stick, these are imo the best foods for baby aquatic turtles, even more so than Mazuri
 

Thomas tortoise

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Joined
Jan 26, 2022
Messages
661
Location (City and/or State)
Arkansas
I keep my Mississippi Mud turtle at 80 degrees, I've found that to be the best temp. A 40 galleon breeder or where he is now will suffice for a mud or musk turtle since they stay small as long as you have adequate filtration. I keep mine in a stock tank. I would remove the sand, I don't use substrates at all with my turtles, sure it looks nice but it makes cleaning a pain and it just traps bacteria in the enclosure. Heat and UVB should always be supplied, but bare in mind that they aren't heavy baskers, especially babies. Dry shrimp and meal worms are treats, not food. Get him some zoomed aquatic turtle diet for hatchlings and Ultra fresh baby turtle nutri stick, these are imo the best foods for baby aquatic turtles, even more so than Mazuri
Thank you!
 

DoubleD1996!

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The cement tub is fine for now, but you always want to give them the most space you can. A 40g will suffice. Dried shrimp and mealworms really aren't that great when it comes to nutrition. For musk turtles you want some aquatic snails, you can find these little dudes in ponds then they just breed like crazy in your tank. You can also feed live mealworms, worms, superworms, raw shrimp, clams, some shiners and fat heat minnows, pieces of tilapia and duckweed. The key is variety when it comes to diet. Sand can be difficult to clean so you could go with a gravel bottom. Good filtration and water quality is important to prevent skin diseases and shell rot. 80-84 degrees F works great for water temps and aids in motivation to eat and digestion. And lastly you want a place for it to bask, get completely dry under that heat lamp and uvb. Musk turtles, from my experience, are pretty secretive with basking, i usually see them at dawn and dusk, but mid day sometimes. Hopefully this helps .
 

Thomas tortoise

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Joined
Jan 26, 2022
Messages
661
Location (City and/or State)
Arkansas
The cement tub is fine for now, but you always want to give them the most space you can. A 40g will suffice. Dried shrimp and mealworms really aren't that great when it comes to nutrition. For musk turtles you want some aquatic snails, you can find these little dudes in ponds then they just breed like crazy in your tank. You can also feed live mealworms, worms, superworms, raw shrimp, clams, some shiners and fat heat minnows, pieces of tilapia and duckweed. The key is variety when it comes to diet. Sand can be difficult to clean so you could go with a gravel bottom. Good filtration and water quality is important to prevent skin diseases and shell rot. 80-84 degrees F works great for water temps and aids in motivation to eat and digestion. And lastly you want a place for it to bask, get completely dry under that heat lamp and uvb. Musk turtles, from my experience, are pretty secretive with basking, i usually see them at dawn and dusk, but mid day sometimes. Hopefully this helps .
Thanks
 
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