Anybody here keep mud turtles?

[Moozillion]

A friend has some baby Mississippi mud turtles and is going to give me one!
I've never kept aquatic turtles before, so am researching heavily before I start buying tank and equipment.

Some sources recommend coarse sand substrate, some recommend fine sand and some recommend river rocks. Any opinions?

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

How does it feel to be young again ( out playing in the mud ) I'll bet it's been a long time beshire to post Picts of you in the mud !

 

[Turtlepete]

My only experience is raising a hatchling musk once, but the husbandry should be fairly similar, so here goes...

My musk loved burrowing into sand, so I would recommend a decent sand substrate. Not too coarse, not too fine. If you are able to grow plants, then fantastic. What I did is do a thick layer of sand on one end, with about 3/4" of water over it for the turtle to be able to walk to along the bottom and breathe with ease, then the sand sloped off til' where the water was about 3" deep. Here was filled with small pieces of driftwood to allow the turtle to climb easily to the surface. I also had the tank filled with small plants….Baby amazon swords, anacharis, moneywort and the like. They are not fantastic swimmers so you want to fill the tank with objects that allow the turtle to easily reach the surface.

Here is a pic of the setup

Everything was designed to allow the turtle to reach the surface with ease, but still submerge under a few inches of water. Spaghnum moss strands along the bottom were appreciated. The turtle commonly foraged among the moss and hid in it. The moss creates a lower pH environment as well, which can be beneficial. I had a filter, but if you only have one or two baby turtles in a decent sized setup with plants, a filter really isn't necessary.

As far as feeding, I fed mine bloodworms when it was very young and then it graduated to sliced fish and earthworms. They are typically a high-protien-diet kind of turtle, so aim for meaty, live foods. Any decent turtle pellet should do as a supplement.

 

[Moozillion]

My only experience is raising a hatchling musk once, but the husbandry should be fairly similar, so here goes...

My musk loved burrowing into sand, so I would recommend a decent sand substrate. Not too coarse, not too fine. If you are able to grow plants, then fantastic. What I did is do a thick layer of sand on one end, with about 3/4" of water over it for the turtle to be able to walk to along the bottom and breathe with ease, then the sand sloped off til' where the water was about 3" deep. Here was filled with small pieces of driftwood to allow the turtle to climb easily to the surface. I also had the tank filled with small plants….Baby amazon swords, anacharis, moneywort and the like. They are not fantastic swimmers so you want to fill the tank with objects that allow the turtle to easily reach the surface.

Here is a pic of the setup

Everything was designed to allow the turtle to reach the surface with ease, but still submerge under a few inches of water. Spaghnum moss strands along the bottom were appreciated. The turtle commonly foraged among the moss and hid in it. The moss creates a lower pH environment as well, which can be beneficial. I had a filter, but if you only have one or two baby turtles in a decent sized setup with plants, a filter really isn't necessary.

As far as feeding, I fed mine bloodworms when it was very young and then it graduated to sliced fish and earthworms. They are typically a high-protien-diet kind of turtle, so aim for meaty, live foods. Any decent turtle pellet should do as a supplement.

Thanks so much for your info!
Because money is a factor, I want to put the little guy in his permanent adult sized aquarium- I'm thinking 40 gal long. Obviously the water would be especially LOW while he's a baby, increasing to maybe 6 inches deep once he's grown. I was figuring on having some fish: Cory catfish, maybe.
Would I need a filter since I'd be including fish, and expecting him to grow to adulthood?
I love water plants and intend to have a BUNCH!

 

[Moozillion]

How did you keep the sand from all slowly shifting down the slope until it was level?

 

[Turtlepete]

How did you keep the sand from all slowly shifting down the slope until it was level?
What kind of plants are in that photo?

What you describe happened, but very, very slowly…..Four-five months probably. It wasn't much of an issue, I just piled it up on one side. As time goes on you can add more sand to the "shelf".

You would probably want a filter eventually, so if you are setting it up for adulthood, you might as well just go all the way. I might would consider raising him in something smaller just for the first few months to get some size on him. Even a simple container would do (thats what I did it in). The reason here is hatchlings are so tiny that they prove very difficult to find in a 40 gallon, and you likely won't have a clue whether the turtle is eating, growing, or otherwise doing well.

The main plants I used were baby amazon swords (taken from my adult plants), some tiny water lettuce floating on the surface and anacharis.

 

[Moozillion]

What you describe happened, but very, very slowly…..Four-five months probably. It wasn't much of an issue, I just piled it up on one side. As time goes on you can add more sand to the "shelf".

You would probably want a filter eventually, so if you are setting it up for adulthood, you might as well just go all the way. I might would consider raising him in something smaller just for the first few months to get some size on him. Even a simple container would do (thats what I did it in). The reason here is hatchlings are so tiny that they prove very difficult to find in a 40 gallon, and you likely won't have a clue whether the turtle is eating, growing, or otherwise doing well.

The main plants I used were baby amazon swords (taken from my adult plants), some tiny water lettuce floating on the surface and anacharis.

Thanks again!!!
I'll be back with more questions, I'm sure!

 

[Randi]

I'd recommend not using Cory Catfish. Catfish have venomous barbs on the pectoral fins (I believe it's pectoral) and it hurts! The area that's been hit will swell up, turn red, etc. They aren't the best swimmers so they would likely become a snack. A painful snack.

 

[Moozillion]

Thanks, Randi!

 

[dmmj]

Rocks will make cleaning difficult. Make sure they can't be swallowed.

 

[Moozillion]

Rocks will make cleaning difficult. Make sure they can't be swallowed.

I was thinking of a large rock that slopes out of the water. The person I'm getting my baby from says he looooves to climb out of the water onto his big rock. I was also considering a few smooth river ricks that will be the same size as an adult mud.

 

[Moozillion]

Anybody use fluorite as a substrate? It's supposed to be great for rooting plants and for bacteria.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Anybody use fluorite as a substrate? It's supposed to be great for rooting plants and for bacteria.

I would be concerned about the digestibility of it. Hopefully someone knows

I'd like a mud turtle someday. Definitely up there.

 

[Anthony P]

I've kept Kinosternon. I preferred not to use any substrate at all, for ease of cleaning. For adults, there always ended up being substrate in the water portion of the enclosure, since they would drag it in the water from the nesting area.

I am a big fan of Mississippi Muds, and all subrubrum subspecies for that matter. Good luck.