Common Musk Turtle Tank Up Grade

[TortoiseWoman]

Hello all.
I have an about 1 yr old Common Musk turtle. Had him (no idea if male or female) from a hatchling when he was the size of a penny. He is now around ping pong ball size. He's still in the 20 gallon long he's been in all his life. I'm thinking it may be time to give him an up grade. I have a 55 gallon I could use for him. How deep would you recommend it be for him?

Also, I have a 110 gallon for my Northern Black Knobbed Map and Ouachita Map. The Black Knobbed is a 2 yr old male, about 4 in SCL. The Ouachita is about 1 yr old, appears to be female and is a little larger than the Black Knobbed. The tank is full as they have an above tank basking area. I hesitate to put my Common Musk in this tank as I worry that it's too deep for him (his swimming skills are no where near that of the Maps) and they're a lot bigger so I also worry they may pick on him. Am I right to worry about these things?

I read that they're good community turtle with Maps and such but I wonder how best to combine their tanks in a manner that will work for all. Keeping him separate isn't a problem and I can give him a larger tank if that would be better for him. The 20 gallon long he's in is usually only about half full, or a little more. Or maybe I should wait to up grade him until he's bigger?

I'm so full of questions!
Thanks!

 

[mark1]

here's a thread that probably speaks to your concerns , markw , anthonyp , and cdmay got some great experiences on this subject ....

911-now-now-now

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/turtle-911-now-now-now.162586/

 

[Markw84]

Musk turtles are actually really good swimmers. Look at their big webbed feet! They are not like mud or spotted turtles who barely have webbed feet at all!

I have kept musks in deep water tanks with no problem. I’ve had them for years on large, full aquariums with tropical fish. So although they love to walk along the bottom, they have no problem swimming to the top. In fact, with their dramatically reduced plastron, they are very agile and great climbers!

They are however notorious tail nippers. Any turtles you keep with them will normally end up with stubby tails! Other turtles normally don’t bother them at all.

 

[TortoiseWoman]

He does have big feet. And he does swim around. I guess it seems like he's not as good a swimmer cause it looks like it's so much more work for him to do what the Maps do in a few easy movements, haha! But he has gotten better as he's gotten older.

Good to know about the tail nipping. That may be enough to make me decide to keep him separate and just upgrade him to a 55 gallon. I don't want my Maps to have nubs! I also don't want to push the limits of my 110 gallon. The Black Knobbed is grown but the Ouachita is still growing and I don't know exactly how big she'll end up being. There's no up grading that 110 so I can't over fill it with turtles.

Do you have a heat bulb with UVB for your Common Musks since they're not big baskers? Mine has both and a small log to climb out on because the Ouachita was originally housed with him when they were hatchlings. Moved the Ouachita to the 110 though shortly after I got them because she was very pushy and ate all the food! When I upgrade do I need to keep the heat and UVB? Seems like I read that they don't need it but I'm not sure.

 

[Markw84]

He does have big feet. And he does swim around. I guess it seems like he's not as good a swimmer cause it looks like it's so much more work for him to do what the Maps do in a few easy movements, haha! But he has gotten better as he's gotten older.

Good to know about the tail nipping. That may be enough to make me decide to keep him separate and just upgrade him to a 55 gallon. I don't want my Maps to have nubs! I also don't want to push the limits of my 110 gallon. The Black Knobbed is grown but the Ouachita is still growing and I don't know exactly how big she'll end up being. There's no up grading that 110 so I can't over fill it with turtles.

Do you have a heat bulb with UVB for your Common Musks since they're not big baskers? Mine has both and a small log to climb out on because the Ouachita was originally housed with him when they were hatchlings. Moved the Ouachita to the 110 though shortly after I got them because she was very pushy and ate all the food! When I upgrade do I need to keep the heat and UVB? Seems like I read that they don't need it but I'm not sure.

I do keep a heat and UVB basking area for musks. They do not bask as much, but they will on occasion. They are however, cryptic baskers. They do bask hanging in plants near the surface. Most people don't seem to relate to UVB actually penetrates water quite well. Even at the bottom of the tank, they will get UVB exposure. I personally believe most turtles and definitely musk turtles do get a great protion if not all, of their D3 needs from diet. So if a good diet is provided, I am not as concerned about D3 production. However, I am a believer in the proper light spectrum. Since chelonians see UV light that we do not see, their world looks differently that ours. Much brighter colors. Much more contrast. Without the UV in the spectrum, they don't get to see that. Without UV, we are imposing a type of color blindness upon them!

I like the heat bulb to create a way for them to heat up more if desired as well. In a tank with heated water, the temp is extremely uniform. This gives some choice.

 

[TortoiseWoman]

Thank you for your help!

 

[Moozillion]

I do keep a heat and UVB basking area for musks. They do not bask as much, but they will on occasion. They are however, cryptic baskers. They do bask hanging in plants near the surface. Most people don't seem to relate to UVB actually penetrates water quite well. Even at the bottom of the tank, they will get UVB exposure. I personally believe most turtles and definitely musk turtles do get a great protion if not all, of their D3 needs from diet. So if a good diet is provided, I am not as concerned about D3 production. However, I am a believer in the proper light spectrum. Since chelonians see UV light that we do not see, their world looks differently that ours. Much brighter colors. Much more contrast. Without the UV in the spectrum, they don't get to see that. Without UV, we are imposing a type of color blindness upon them!

I like the heat bulb to create a way for them to heat up more if desired as well. In a tank with heated water, the temp is extremely uniform. This gives some choice.

I always learn so much from your posts!
[emoji2][emoji2][emoji2][emoji2][emoji2][emoji106]

 

[kyle123]

Just found this post and thought I'd ad my say. I have a 5 year old female map turtle and I keep her with two 3 year old musk turtles. They are all in a 100gallon tank with a basking area with a mercury vapour bulb. I haven't personally had any problems with nipping tails from any turtles. The only problem I have is getting the map turtles to eat without the map turtle eating it all.

 

[TortoiseWoman]

UPDATE: I upgraded my little musk turtle to his own 40 gallon breeder a few months ago. He has a stack of bricks under the heat/UVB bulbs and he actually basks quite a lot. Sometimes he will go to sleep on it and be there for hours. The tank is well over half full and much deeper than what he had before. But he really seems to love it and while he spends most of his time walking along the bottom, he figured out fast that he had to swim a little to get to the surface! He also has plants that he perches on and minnows to chase. So, he seems very happy and the maps get to keep to themselves their 110 gallon (and possibly their tails!). Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.