map turtles questions

[nick783]

1- on the edge of shells its going kind off transparent is this normal??
2- if u gonna put fish in with then what ones
thanx for all help!!!

[Graham]

1) Probably normal, it sounds as though it may be getting ready to shed, have you seen this before?

2) Ones that you don't care about, it's quite likely they'll get eaten or injured.

[James_T]

With the shell it's hard to say for sure without pics. Sound's like it's just new growth though. Whenever I have any cause to worry about the turts health, I review my setup and diet. They're naturally tough li'l things, and 9/10 anything wrong with them is our fault.

Fish are always going to be a potential meal, it doesn't matter if they're lightening fast, or bigger than the turts. However I have found small, fast, hardy fish like danios, have a fairly high chance of survival.

[nick783]

Originally Posted by Graham

1) Probably normal, it sounds as though it may be getting ready to shed, have you seen this before? No i got them in april and coming up 2 a year old and u can see that old shell pieces look like there gonna fall off! do they slow down on eating whist shedding?? is there anythin u can do to help?

2) Ones that you don't care about, it's quite likely they'll get eaten or injured. reason bieng is that they have slowed down on eating trying to temp them lol

thanks for replying quickly much appreciated

[Graham]

i got them in april and coming up 2 a year old and u can see that old shell pieces look like there gonna fall off! do they slow down on eating whist shedding?? is there anythin u can do to help?

That doesn't sound good, if you've had them nearly a year then they should have shed by now, at least a couple of times if they're that young.

What lighting and heating are you providing? What are the water and basking spot temps? What do you feed them? Is there a lid on the tank?

The main things you can do to help are to provide the correct conditions, ie correct temps, adequate UVB lighting, essential vitamins and minerals, and a low humidity atmosphere.

[nick783]

Originally Posted by Graham

That doesn't sound good, if you've had them nearly a year then they should have shed by now, at least a couple of times if they're that young.

What lighting (uvb 5%)and heating(no heating) are you providing? What are the water(at about 70 and it doesnt drop at night) and basking (never measured) spot temps? What do you feed them?(a mixture of complete turtle food live river shrips occationlly a cricket cooked chick and bit veg) Is there a lid on the tank?(glass sliding lid witch stay open at eiter end) if all off these are wrong they will be changed instantly this is the setup the reptile/aquarium shop said to have. first problems we have had. they generally seem there selfs if anything not basking as much can take pic if required or made easier or add me on msn with addy below and i can talk on htere thanks

The main things you can do to help are to provide the correct conditions, ie correct temps, adequate UVB lighting, essential vitamins and minerals, and a low humidity atmosphere.

thanks

[Graham]

A 5% UVB is the absolute minimum, and if it's more than a few months old it's probably quite ineffective, they need changing every 6 months anyway. A 10% compact would be much better.

You must provide a spotlamp as well, the UVB on it's own produces very little heat, and the basking spot should be 32-35°C which you won't achieve without a spotlamp.

The tank needs to be completely open topped for maximum ventilation, otherwise the atmosphere will be too humid which will prevent them drying out fully when basking (especially with no heat!), if they don't dry out then they will probably suffer from scute retention, which it sounds as though yours are now if they haven't shed in a year.

Can you post some photos of the turts and your setup?

Also have a read of this basic caresheet The Terrapin Tank • View topic - Map Turtles.

[nick783]

have u msn as cant get pics on here ???

[James_T]

To post pics on here, you need to sign upto an image hosting site (ie photobucket). Then paste the image code into the body of the post.

[Graham]

No I don't have MSN, why can't you post pics on here?