Baby Musk Turtles

yhaneef · Feb 28, 2010

Hello

I bought a pair of baby musk turtles last week. One of them (the smallest one) just sleeps on the floating log pretty much throughout the day in my aquarium whilst the other is pretty active (digging in the bottom of the tank, hidding etc).

Anyone have any ideas why this turtle is so lazy?? (is this common, for baby musk turles)

star4 · Feb 28, 2010

Not kept musk turtles, but inactivity does not sound too good, is he/she eating ok?, they dont noramlly take too long to settle in to new homes. Where did you get them from pet shop or breeder? If pet shop were there lots kept in a small tank or something it could have picked up some sort of infection or virus (hard to tell). I am not an expert but a call to these people might be well worth while.

http

/www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/php/detail62_160463.php

ajs2294 · Feb 28, 2010

What your turtle is doing is basking. Most likely to help digest its food. Its very normal for turtles to bask during the day if they feel like being warmer. Whats you water temp?

VickiandKev · Feb 28, 2010

We have two baby musk turtles (owned them for a few months now) and they almost never bask - they're very active in the water and rarely come out - I believe it is less common for musk turtles than other commonly sold turtles to bask for long periods of time, although I have seen them bask in shops before.
It may be something or nothing - but may be worth checking the water temperature and keeping a close on it for a while.

yhaneef · Mar 1, 2010

Well water temp is around 26 Degrees. Is that about right?

I think he is eating, but probably very little, but then again he is alot smaller than the other one we have. The bigger one takes the food to the bottom of the tank and tears away at it.

We have to pick up and drop him in the water to encourage him to swim. He swims very near the surface for a bit and then back to the log.

star4 · Mar 1, 2010

Temperature sounds ok, although I have not kept musk turtles. They do bask, but over basking can be a sign of illness especially with youngsters, older turtles will bask for much longer, my 2 30 year old turts will happily bask for most of the day. Try taking him out of the tank and put him in something else to feed him to make sure he eats, a washing up bowl will suffice so long as you use some water from his tank, it doesnt have to be deep just enough for him to eat. What are his eyes like? are they bright and clear or is there any sort of discharge from the eyes or his nose (turtles can catch the equivalent of a cold) is his skin a good colour or is it pale compared to the other one?. Turtles can be sick for a long time but go down hill very quickly. The best place really for help would be rfuk (reptile forums UK) more turtle keepers on there, or the other link I posted earlier to a turtle rescue group who offer advice on all turtle care, or you could try Proteus they are located in the midlands they are also turtle specialists.

Davo86 · Mar 1, 2010

Musk Turtles should be spending a good 75-90% of their time in the water, As said they rarely bask completely out of the water and are much more likely to be seen resting just under with their head and neck stretched above.

What is the setup like? i.e. tank size/filtration, length of time setup etc..
Also what are you feeding?

yhaneef · Mar 2, 2010

The eyes are clear. I tried taking him out of the tank as suggested, he didnt seem to like it. He didnt eat. I think he is def eating as he wouldnt have any energy to swim if he hadn't eaten for the past week.

My tank set up is 120L, my water stats are pretty good and the tank has been stable for three years now.

I am feeding him turtle pellets, but i bought some frozen bloodworms to see if that will help.

star4 · Mar 2, 2010

Turtles can go quite a while without eating and still be fairly active. I would suggest some prawns aswell especially if you keep the shells on, only with youngsters I would remove the head and legs as they can get stuck. My 3 take prawns whole, legs and all. Keep a close watch if he wont eat out of the tank and make sure he is eating with the other one. Or remove the one that does eat at feeding time to make sure the little one gets some then put the bigger one back so he gets some food. He maybe snapping at food but not actually swallowing, this means he is hungry but cant eat and could possibly have a mouth infection (one of mine had this, the vet scrapped out the infection and it cleared up with antibiotic injections). Silly question do you have gravel in the tank? it is extreemly harmful as they can swallow it and cause an intestinal blockage, which unless operated on causes death.

-Craig- · Mar 2, 2010

Before i had fish i had 2 Baby Map turtles, i had to put a seperate to stop one of them from eating all the food which caused the other's shell to get soft and very weak, i had the same problem with that, then 2 weeks later is died so i didnt take mine to the vet because it started eating after i seperated it but it just died 2 weeks later. the other one was fine and still is at a pet store, they put it in a big tank with others which you can't buy, its got massive now.