Brand new here and never been part of a forum, hope im doing this right. Just acquired a mud turtle hatchling and put him in a 20gallon long tank with one of those tetra fauna viquarium. The turtle stays on land more than water and never swims to the bottom. Is this normal?
Mud turtle question
- Thread starter Rmayes
- Start date
Not familiar with turtles, but welcome to the forum! Someone will be able to help you out.
Welcome! Can you post some pictures of your aquarium so we can offer feedback? And we love cute hatchling photos [emoji16]
I don't have any experience with mud turtles but I'm sure someone will be along soon to offer input.
Ive had him for about 10 days, she had him in a smaller tank for several weeks.
Not sure how to post a picture
Also could I put a fire belly toad in this tank, if not any recommendations on what I could put with the turtle
My experience is only with painted, red eared sliders, and map turtles, but I would not think it would be a good idea to introduce a fire belly toad.
@Toddrickfl1 any suggestions? can't remember if you have a mud turtle
@Toddrickfl1 any suggestions? can't remember if you have a mud turtle
Wow that's awesome... Looking forward to seeing your updates
I do have a mud turtle, I would like to put something in there with him since half of the aquarium is land.
What happens when you put him in the water?
Mud turtles aren't good swimmers. Can he easily climb out of the water? Has he eaten? Because he's a baby, there should be a lot of floating greenery in the water for him to hide in.
Mud turtles aren't good swimmers. Can he easily climb out of the water? Has he eaten? Because he's a baby, there should be a lot of floating greenery in the water for him to hide in.
He swims well and yes he eats everyday. He is also a very good climber. Right now he spends most time on land and burrows in the rocks down to the water. He is pretty active. I will be putting a cave in the water for him that has another place for him to climb on.
Hi, rmayes! Congratulations on your little cutie! GOSH, he's tiny!!!! I also have a mud turtle. Mine is an Eastern Mud Turtle, and I got her as a juvenile- just a bit bigger than yours.
Sharing some ideas from my experience with my baby mud.
1) They really, REALLY appreciate LOTS of places to hide! Hiding is a critical survival instinct for them because they are a high quality protein source for SOOOO many animals.
2) Your turtle can only eat in the water, so it's good that you have half land and half water.
Well done!!!!
3) I keep my water just deep enough that my turtle can stand on her back legs on the bottom and reach her nose to the surface to breathe. Because your's is SO LITTLE, IF it was me, I would lower the level of the water in that tank some. Even if your turtle is a good swimmer, the mud turtles most comfortable method is climbing on plants and logs in muddy shallows or crawling on the bottom.
4) If you give your turtle lots of "furniture" in the water, he can use it to climb to the surface as well as swim, which helps conserve energy. Having lots of things like plastic plants gives the places to hide.
Believe it or not, turtles can, and sometime do, drown. Mine actually had a near-drowning incident when she was stuck under a basking platform and couldn't reach the surface. The only reason it wasn't a FULL On drowning, is that I found her in time. She was unresponsive but I did turtle CPR.
Turtle CPR is just 2 things:
1) First, hold them head down and firmly but gently, shake them downward like you would a ketchup bottle, but NOT that vigorously. Drops of water will come out the mouth and nose.
2) When the drops of water stop, put them down and grab 2 of their legs, (or all 4 if you have someone to help you) pushing them in and out at the same time, like bellows. This pushes air in and out of their lungs to try and get them breathing again. To see if they are still alive, gently touch the eyeball. If they blink, then they're obviously still alive. With any luck, this will never happen to you, but it helps to be prepared!
The sooner your little turtle feels safe, the sooner it'll feel confident and show by its behavior.
And I really, REALLY like your set-up!!!!!!! VERY nice job!!!!!
I've got a thread on my turtle called Jacques the Eastern Mud Turtle. You're welcome to have a look!
Congratulations again, on your little cutie!!!! Mud turtles are TOTALLY ADORBS!!!!!!
Sharing some ideas from my experience with my baby mud.
1) They really, REALLY appreciate LOTS of places to hide! Hiding is a critical survival instinct for them because they are a high quality protein source for SOOOO many animals.
2) Your turtle can only eat in the water, so it's good that you have half land and half water.
Well done!!!!3) I keep my water just deep enough that my turtle can stand on her back legs on the bottom and reach her nose to the surface to breathe. Because your's is SO LITTLE, IF it was me, I would lower the level of the water in that tank some. Even if your turtle is a good swimmer, the mud turtles most comfortable method is climbing on plants and logs in muddy shallows or crawling on the bottom.
4) If you give your turtle lots of "furniture" in the water, he can use it to climb to the surface as well as swim, which helps conserve energy. Having lots of things like plastic plants gives the places to hide.
Believe it or not, turtles can, and sometime do, drown. Mine actually had a near-drowning incident when she was stuck under a basking platform and couldn't reach the surface. The only reason it wasn't a FULL On drowning, is that I found her in time. She was unresponsive but I did turtle CPR.
Turtle CPR is just 2 things:
1) First, hold them head down and firmly but gently, shake them downward like you would a ketchup bottle, but NOT that vigorously. Drops of water will come out the mouth and nose.
2) When the drops of water stop, put them down and grab 2 of their legs, (or all 4 if you have someone to help you) pushing them in and out at the same time, like bellows. This pushes air in and out of their lungs to try and get them breathing again. To see if they are still alive, gently touch the eyeball. If they blink, then they're obviously still alive. With any luck, this will never happen to you, but it helps to be prepared!
The sooner your little turtle feels safe, the sooner it'll feel confident and show by its behavior.
And I really, REALLY like your set-up!!!!!!! VERY nice job!!!!!
I've got a thread on my turtle called Jacques the Eastern Mud Turtle. You're welcome to have a look!
Congratulations again, on your little cutie!!!! Mud turtles are TOTALLY ADORBS!!!!!!
Thanks for giving me a heads-up on this post, vladimir!! MUD TURTLES ROCK!!!!
you're welcome! I know everyone loves Jacques and I figured you would be a good person to point @Rmayes in the right direction.Thanks for giving me a heads-up on this post, vladimir!! MUD TURTLES ROCK!!!!
Just a couple of questions:
1) What do you use for your UVB light source?
2) What are the temperatures of the water, the land, and the basking area?
1) What do you use for your UVB light source?
2) What are the temperatures of the water, the land, and the basking area?
