Common Musk Turtle

[ipreferaflan]

Hey guys,
My brother was thinking about getting a turtle for Christmas. Is a musk turtle reasonably easy to care for? Plus, is there anywhere in the UK we can order one from?
Cheers.

[berkshirereptile]

dont get me started on a rant about how cool musks are. there little hardy and easy to feed and look after. baby ones though like every thing else need a lot of care.
musks show up at shops occasionally or occasionally on classifieds ect

[1985kaz]

any type of turtle will require a fair amout of time and effort to care for. There are several forum members who may be able to help you out with sourcing a turtle. they'll want to be sure that you're able to provide the correct setup and care for it though.

[Graham]

Musks are an excellent choice for a first turt, or a second, third etc...!

They are quite easy to care for, hardy, entertaining, but you have to get their setup right and feed them correctly the same as any species.

[ipreferaflan]

yeahyeah of course.
obviously i'll do a lot of research before purchasing one.
i did read a few care sheets which said they were hardy turtles.
a lot of care sheets said red eyed tree frogs were good starter frogs and when i posted on the forum about them; a lot of people disagreed.
just wanted your opinion.
how big a tank do they need?
the biggest exo terra turtle terrarium big enough?

[Graham]

Terrariums are not great for turts, a normal aquarium is better and cheaper, but for a hatchling Musk something like a plastic tub might be a better choice to start with, they are so tiny they tend to get lost in anything much bigger than a shoebox size!
My two hatchlings are still living quite happily in a Tesco's plastic boot storage box which cost all of £4, I'll probably move them on to their first proper tank in a few weeks when I have a reshuffle, which will be a 24 x 12 x 12 which should last them at least until next summer.
A single adult would be fine in something about half as big again.

[HABU]

yes... a world class turtle IMO... small and mellow... not fussy at all...

one of my first aquatic turtles... we got those box turtles here all over... but a musk is so cool... easy...


can't ask for much more... easy for beginners and well liked by the more advanced... what's not to like?

and they are temperate critters...