New stink pot or musk turtle

[Poptart]

I Have a musk turtle.
And I am going to keep him outside.
I have him in a large box with about 8 inches of water.
Stone slabs that form a hiding place and a basking platform.
And de-chlorinated tap water.
I have been putting small feeder guppies in for him to eat.
When they die I leave them in there for him to eat.
(Should I do that?)
I also have been cleaning the water every 4-5 days...


Now to the questions:

What all should I feed it?
How do I sex it?
Can I trim its claws?
What should the Ph of the water be?
How long does it live in captivity?
How much shade should I offer it?
What temp should the water be during the day?
And what temp at night?
Can I keep it outside? (If not would my sun-room be better?)
What time are they most active?
What are some tips?
How often should I clean its tub?
Am I missing any thing?

Anyways I am asking alot and I know it will take a very long time to answer but please do!
Until then I'm not quiet sure what to do with it!
Thanks lots!!!

 

[jonathan512]

ur doing good so far with de-chlorinating the water keep changing the water as u were if u dnt have a filter. with feeding reptomin or most other reptofauna products are good for them as well as mazuri pellets ,for treats u can feed em meats like ham ,bologne ,fish etc i give my treats a rinse b4 throwing it in the tank . temperature should be 80 degrees for a hatchling and bought 75 if its a juvenile or adult (theyre generally hardy turtles in that range they should thrive nicely) .if its an adult u can sex the turt by the size of the tail ,if its large and kind of fat its a male but if its small its a female (pics would be great if u cant tell). i wouldnt trim its claws its natural for the turt to have long claws usually if its a male they will ,its really up 2 u but i wouldnt feel right trimming any of my turts claws. in captivity ive heard of them living up to 20 yrs but ive also heard 50 so not to to sure on life span. as for shade these turts like to hide alot so fake or live plants to hide in im sure it will love ( mine do lol ). theyre most active at night i hear but i see my 2 swimming around during the day time all the time with the occasional nap here and there. im sure it would be fine living outside i have mine out in a 55 gallon in the backyard ,it doesnt get 2 cold here at all in Tx. i hope this helps

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Poptart:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

I think your username is very inventive. I like it. But what can we call you? and may we know appx. where in the world you are?

Mud turtles aren't very good swimmers, and you should try to make it easy for him to get up to the top of the water to get his air. Mud turtles are omnivorous - They eat insects, snails, fish, carrion, algae and plants. If you can get him to eat pellets occasionally, that's ok too.

 

[Poptart]

ur doing good so far with de-chlorinating the water keep changing the water as u were if u dnt have a filter. with feeding reptomin or most other reptofauna products are good for them as well as mazuri pellets ,for treats u can feed em meats like ham ,bologne ,fish etc i give my treats a rinse b4 throwing it in the tank . temperature should be 80 degrees for a hatchling and bought 75 if its a juvenile or adult (theyre generally hardy turtles in that range they should thrive nicely) .if its an adult u can sex the turt by the size of the tail ,if its large and kind of fat its a male but if its small its a female (pics would be great if u cant tell). i wouldnt trim its claws its natural for the turt to have long claws usually if its a male they will ,its really up 2 u but i wouldnt feel right trimming any of my turts claws. in captivity ive heard of them living up to 20 yrs but ive also heard 50 so not to to sure on life span. as for shade these turts like to hide alot so fake or live plants to hide in im sure it will love ( mine do lol ). theyre most active at night i hear but i see my 2 swimming around during the day time all the time with the occasional nap here and there. im sure it would be fine living outside i have mine out in a 55 gallon in the backyard ,it doesnt get 2 cold here at all in Tx. i hope this helps

How do I get him to eat pellets?
Also I found out he is a male!
What Should I name him???

 

[jonathan512]

ur doing good so far with de-chlorinating the water keep changing the water as u were if u dnt have a filter. with feeding reptomin or most other reptofauna products are good for them as well as mazuri pellets ,for treats u can feed em meats like ham ,bologne ,fish etc i give my treats a rinse b4 throwing it in the tank . temperature should be 80 degrees for a hatchling and bought 75 if its a juvenile or adult (theyre generally hardy turtles in that range they should thrive nicely) .if its an adult u can sex the turt by the size of the tail ,if its large and kind of fat its a male but if its small its a female (pics would be great if u cant tell). i wouldnt trim its claws its natural for the turt to have long claws usually if its a male they will ,its really up 2 u but i wouldnt feel right trimming any of my turts claws. in captivity ive heard of them living up to 20 yrs but ive also heard 50 so not to to sure on life span. as for shade these turts like to hide alot so fake or live plants to hide in im sure it will love ( mine do lol ). theyre most active at night i hear but i see my 2 swimming around during the day time all the time with the occasional nap here and there. im sure it would be fine living outside i have mine out in a 55 gallon in the backyard ,it doesnt get 2 cold here at all in Tx. i hope this helps

How do I get him to eat pellets?
Also I found out he is a male!
What Should I name him???

once the pellets are in the water he'll smell it and eat at his leisure also u can feed him algae wafers (plecos food) that stuff sinks down to the bottom so it will be EZier for him get . thats awesome ive got a female and the other is 2 small to sex my 2 lil turts names are Turbo and Turles

---

maybe Touga ? lol is a good name tortouga is spanish for turtle ^^

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Munchkin and Turkleton r Kool names 2

 

[Poptart]

ur doing good so far with de-chlorinating the water keep changing the water as u were if u dnt have a filter. with feeding reptomin or most other reptofauna products are good for them as well as mazuri pellets ,for treats u can feed em meats like ham ,bologne ,fish etc i give my treats a rinse b4 throwing it in the tank . temperature should be 80 degrees for a hatchling and bought 75 if its a juvenile or adult (theyre generally hardy turtles in that range they should thrive nicely) .if its an adult u can sex the turt by the size of the tail ,if its large and kind of fat its a male but if its small its a female (pics would be great if u cant tell). i wouldnt trim its claws its natural for the turt to have long claws usually if its a male they will ,its really up 2 u but i wouldnt feel right trimming any of my turts claws. in captivity ive heard of them living up to 20 yrs but ive also heard 50 so not to to sure on life span. as for shade these turts like to hide alot so fake or live plants to hide in im sure it will love ( mine do lol ). theyre most active at night i hear but i see my 2 swimming around during the day time all the time with the occasional nap here and there. im sure it would be fine living outside i have mine out in a 55 gallon in the backyard ,it doesnt get 2 cold here at all in Tx. i hope this helps

How do I get him to eat pellets?
Also I found out he is a male!
What Should I name him???

OMG what Luck!
I actually just bought a Pleco fish today along with some algae wafers!
And I also bought pellets for him!
Touga...
I'll think about it!
(I'll have to run it by my family fist though!)
Thanks!

 

[jonathan512]

Awesome ha ha I'm glad that worked out

 

[Poptart]

Awesome ha ha I'm glad that worked out

Ummm...?
He's not eating any of them!
How long can he go without eating?
I have a couple of fish in the tank for back up...
Should I be worried or does it always take this long?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Poptart:

Did you read my suggestions in my post up above?

"Mud turtles are omnivorous - They eat insects, snails, fish, carrion, algae and plants. If you can get him to eat pellets occasionally, that's ok too."

 

[jonathan512]

Awesome ha ha I'm glad that worked out

Ummm...?
He's not eating any of them!
How long can he go without eating?
I have a couple of fish in the tank for back up...
Should I be worried or does it always take this long?

he'll eat when he's hungry i wouldnt worry 2 much about it ,he may be eating when ur not looking. my muskies arent piggies like my res and my dbt's but they will steal food from the other turts though lol, they steal it hide in a corner and eat at theyre own leisure

 

[nicoleandrocky]

Welcome to tfo!

 

[jonathan512]

id get him used to the pellets and wafer before u try and feed him treats ,but if u really wanna c him eat then try throwing in a lil ham or fish just be sure to rinse any of the treats u give him (any meats i mean) my muskies demolish ham and fish i think thats theyre favorite