Anyone Know Which Amphibians Are Available In The Uk..?

[fall-apart-dave]

The African helmeted turtle, also known as the Marsh Terrapin, is a small turtle (6 to 7 inches as an adult) with an olive-green or brown carapace (shell). The tops of the tail and limbs are a grayish brown, while the underside is yellowish. The male turtle is distinguished by its long, thick tail. Females tend to have a shorter tail and a broader carapace. Hatchlings have a shell size of about 1 and 1/4 inches in length, and are olive to black in color. It also has two small tubercles under the chin and musk glands in the sides of the carapace. The African helmeted turtles posses a hinged plastron (lower shell) which they can, using muscles, close to cover their head and front limbs.

The African helmeted turtle is omnivorous and will eat almost anything. Some of the main items in its diet are insects, small crustaceans, fish, earthworms, and snails. They may also feed on carrion. The fine claws on its feet help it tear its prey apart. Groups of these turtles have been observed capturing and drowning doves when they come to drink.

The range of Pelomedusa subrufa spreads over a large portion of central and southern Africa. It can be found as far west as Ghana and as far south as the Cape of Africa. It has also been found in Madagascar and Yemen. They are semi-aquatic animals, living in rivers, lakes, and marshes, and rain pools.

In spring, during courtship, the male will follow the female and extend his head touching her hindquarters and vent. If she is non-responsive he will nip and snap at her legs and tail. After mounting her carapace, he extends his head over hers swaying it in front of her face while expelling water from his nose.

The female will lay 13 to 16 eggs on average, however this can go up to as many as 40, normally during late spring and early summer. The eggs are covered with slime when laid, and placed in a flask shaped nest that is about 4 to 7 inches deep. The eggs hatch in 75- 90 days.

Searching for smaller ones!

 

[fall-apart-dave]

BINGO!!!!!

Kinosternidae is a family of mostly small turtles that includes the mud and musk turtles. The family Kinosternidae contains 25 species within 4 genera, but taxonomic reclassification is an ongoing process so many sources vary on the exact numbers of species and subspecies. They inhabit slow-moving bodies of water, often with soft, muddy bottoms and abundant vegetation.




Most kinosternids are small turtles, between 4 and 6 inches with a heavily domed shell that has a distinct keel down its center. The genus Staurotypus gets much larger, to 12 inches. Females are generally larger than males, but males have a much longer tail. They can be black, brown, green, or yellowish in color. Most species do not have shell markings, but some species have radiating black markings on each carapace scute. Some species have distinctive yellow striping along the sides of their head and neck.

The musk turtles are so named because they are capable of releasing a foul smelling musk from glands under the rear of their shell when disturbed. They are native to North and South America.

From here:

http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinosternidae

Most species between 4 and 6" max! Them be the ones methinks!

 

[Luketendo]

Ah I see how it would be good for mudskippers etc now. Two pools with an island in the middle.

 

[Davo86]

I have never heard of the African helmeted turtle, the aquatics were i work list 3 or 4 species of turtle

You could have a look at map turtles, (males usually get to around 5 inches and females get to around 8 inches)
with the turtles you would need a basking area ideally under a uv lamp.

An alternative could be African Land Crabs, also known as Rainbow Crabs. These get to about 5 inches.
Rainbow Crab

Also you could add cherax crayfish,

at work in the past we have kept crayfish and rainbow crabs in the same tank and not had any casualties so this may be a possibility.

 

[fall-apart-dave]

Still trying to decide! I do like rainbow crabs... A couple of those in there would look lovely! Maybe with a crayfish too!

 

[SJ2K]

Tree frogs/poison dart frogs Paint the back black, make an edge around the 'island' so you can have a substantual bed of earth/bark. Have the long bamboo/stems coming from the water to the top for them to climb. Perfect.

Had those fellas before, very colourful if kept right.

 

[fall-apart-dave]

I thought about tree frogs with maybe a few neons in each body of water?

 

[SJ2K]

Worth a thought poinson arrow frogs would also look great in that kind of set up.

 

[fall-apart-dave]

Well my options that I am seriously considering are:

A very small number of rainbow crabs

A pair of mud turltes (done my homework and they only grom to about 4-5" for most species)

A colony of fire bellies with a small number of minnows and maybe one or two hillstream loaches in each body of water

Tree frogs with bamboo growing out of the water, tropical plants growing on the island and maybe a small number of Neons or similar size fish in the bodies of water

And I love each of these ideas equally... So I just can't make up my mind!!!

 

[fall-apart-dave]

Ah, I see I have been moved! I only posted in Tropical Chat because of such a poor response in the inverts and amphibians forum (guessing because it has less traffic).

 

[madgap]

Why have a body of water at all?
Keeping tree frogs is a fantastic hobby. With some imagination you could create a wonderful rain forest. You could get one of those waterfall things for humidity. Some imitation creeping vine. Nice.

 

[Mikaila31]

With the frogs, would it be possible to have different levels of water on each side? Like one side full and the other empty or only half full. That might make it look cool or just weird .

 

[fall-apart-dave]

Damn you both... Damn damn damn you both!!!!!

I have just found musk turtles local to me for sale, a pair, they only grow to around 5 inches so would be fine in my tank... So I talk the missus round to them, then you throw a spanner in the works with a wonderful idea like that... I hate you both... lol!

Waterfalls, frogs and a mini rain forest... What an idea! I love it... FANTASTIC idea!

Now, turtles or frogs? Hmmmmm...

 

[madgap]

Possibilities are endless.
You have to go with your gut feeling. After all, it is you who will be looking after them.
I would spend a little time considering how you would clean them both out. Just to get an idea of what might be the easiest to look after.

 

[fall-apart-dave]

Have foudn tree frogs and musk turtles. Now I just have to figure out how aggressive the musks are, and if they will bother with frogs... Though I could always seporate them with a vivarium net of some sort? Definately getting musk turtles, they stay relatively small (5-6"), just gotta hammer out a deal with the LFS.

Do you think this is a fair trade?

3 large Silver Sharks
3 large tiger barbs
4 smaller tiger barbs
2 bristle nose catfish
3 medium clown loaches
1 large angel fish
1 columbian tetra

-FOR-

Two baby musk turtles (about 20mm shell width as it is)
Basking reptile light
Some feed for said turtles

???