Basking help.please

[Graham]

It's not that unusual for Musks not to bask, they are generally not such avid baskers as some other species, although in my experience young Musks do seem to bask quite a lot.

It may take them a while to get up the courage to come out of the water though, you don't say how old they are or how long you've had them, I guess not very long though?

[too chey]

You are right, we have only recently got them. And we don't know
the age,which is a shame.
One is bigger than the other, being about 4 inch. The smaller one about three inch.
We got them for free,as we only wanted the tank. But we have fell in love with them and cannot give them away now. And we are thinking of getting two small musks now to go in with them.

[Turtle Jo]

3 and 4 inches is quite well grown (are you talking carapace lenght or nose to tail?), they only get to 6 inch max, but are slow growers

I wouldn't add any more musks... musks can be quite aggressive to their own kind... and you could end up having to house all of the adults separately.

It is also never a good idea to mix turtles together of greatly differing sizes.

Razorback musks can handle deeper water a lot better than common musks and you could happily house them with a slider/cooter or map turtle, if you want a new addition.

[too chey]

Yeah, we thought they were relatively old.
And the shells are 3 and 4 inch long.

Thanks for the advice. Are slider/cooters easy to get in the midlands?

[AnythingWithAShell]

You'll get a slider or cooter easy as pie, but be aware if it's a girl sliders grow to 12", cooters can be even bigger! There are loads for rehoming so you may be able to find a confirmed male, which stay smaller than girls.

Good call Jo, I meant to mention the temps. I was too preoccupied giving money saving tips on temporary reflectors

[too chey]

Would it be best then, to wait and see if a similar sized Razor becomes available for re-homing?
After having these two for a while, we thought it would be great to
get some smaller ones to go in, as we'd be able to watch and help them grow.Never mind.

[Turtle Jo]

Good call Jo, I meant to mention the temps. I was too preoccupied giving money saving tips on temporary reflectors

Oh we like money saving tips!

[Turtle Jo]

Originally Posted by too chey

Would it be best then, to wait and see if a similar sized Razor becomes available for re-homing?
After having these two for a while, we thought it would be great to
get some smaller ones to go in, as we'd be able to watch and help them grow.Never mind.

No... as already said, housing multiple musk turtles together is risky as they can be aggressive to their own kind... particularly if overcrowded. They have strong jaws/beaks and can do each other extensive damage.

If you want more razorback musks, look at getting another tank for them.

If you want to add a turtle to your existing tank, then you need to look at a different compatable species. I keep map turtles with my razorbacks

Also, do you have room in the existing tank to add another turtle comfortably?

[AnythingWithAShell]

Yes, money saving tips are good

Only thing I'd add to what Jo said above is to check out this sticky from Graham. It's fab, and is invaluable for deciding whether you can introduce any more to your existing tank. Don't be fooled by the tank simply 'looking' like it has plenty of room. Remember adult sizes as well, if you had planned for your existing tank to be their lifetime home.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/shell...tion-info.html

[too chey]

Originally Posted by AnythingWithAShell

Yes, money saving tips are good

Only thing I'd add to what Jo said above is to check out this sticky from Graham. It's fab, and is invaluable for deciding whether you can introduce any more to your existing tank. Don't be fooled by the tank simply 'looking' like it has plenty of room. Remember adult sizes as well, if you had planned for your existing tank to be their lifetime home.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/shell...tion-info.html

Thanks,i had already read, and used the calculater! from there.
Our tank is 37 gallons, that's just over 140 litres, so
it is quite spacious.