Baby Musk Turtles

[yhaneef]

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).

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.

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

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

[Stephen P]

Do you know which type of musk? Also what is the temperature on the basking area? How deep is the water?

Perhaps you could separate them for feeding - possibly as the bigger one is more confident put him into a separate container (with water) then the other one might eat. If you take the timid one and put him into a separate container that would probably stress him even more.

What are you feeding them?

Also you say you've had them a week but the tank has been stable for 3 years? Is something else in the tank with them or has been in there before them?

Sorry for all the questions.

[Graham]

I'm a bit confused too, how many Musks in total do you have? You mention a bigger one?

Is it just the two hatchlings, one bigger than the other, and if so what is the size difference?

Bullying is quite common between Musks of different sizes, I've experienced it with mine, and the ones being bullied will often spend all their time out of the water avoiding the bully. Temporary seperation is usually the best solution, although it may need to be permanent if the situation doesn't improve.

[yhaneef]

I have two musks in total, both are hatchlings, the bigger one is prob 20 - 30% bigger than the smaller one, not sure which type. I don't think there is any bullying, because the bigger one stays away from the floating log untils time to sleep or feeding. And even when food is placed on the log he doesn't come to eat it until 10 - 15mins after the food has been put there.

I have them in a tropical aquarium, 120L, i was told at my LFS that they spend 70 - 80% of there lifes in the water so having them in the tropical tank will be ok.

[kazzy]

do you have the tank full with water? and do you have lots of plants and resting places for the musk apart from the log and do you have the lid on the tank and uvb and basking light for them? sorry lots of questions just trying to work out your set up maybe you could post a pic so we can all see whats what

[yhaneef]

Yep i have the tank pretty much full of water, lots of plants, amazon sword tails. I have a lid. I don't have a UVB light (both my lights are full spectrum lights) i was told by the guys at my Local fish shop (where i bought them) that they dont need to bask that much as they spend most of there time under water. ANd it is true with the bigger one, he spends all the day underwater and only comes out when it is time to sleep.

[Jazzy B Bunny]

They need half a tank of water6'' (some say less) as they are not great swimmers. They need UVB lighting, but I was told they didnt need a basking light.. only acsess to land.. My lil george doesnt come out to bask at all. They need lots of hidey holes and bog wood to cling on to. I'd lower the water level at least.

[kazzy]

lids are a no no when it comes to turtles and uvb is essential ,, theory varies on musks and basking but majority of musk owners offer basking facilities so that they have the option of basking.. im not a musk owner and im trying to remember what ive read from musk owners but i believe musks arent very strong swimmers so dont tend to need as much water as other species.

Are you a hundred percent sure there musks as pet shops often get it wrong maybe post pics to get a definate ID if your unsure

[Graham]

You're supposed to put the food in the water, not on the log, turts eat in water, in fact they need water to swallow because they can't move their tongues like we can.

Ignore what the shop told you about lighting, they do need a UVB lamp and a spotlamp for heat, you can prety much ignore anything the shop says as they very rarely know anything about turts, as any number of people on this forum will tell you from (often expensive) experience!

You need to remove the lid asap, it will cause high humidity which can be fatal for turts, it also makes it very difficult to mount the lights correctly.

[yhaneef]

Ok thanks everyone for your help. I will look at getting another tank just for the musks. In reply to grahams question, when i put the food on the log, the bigger musk just pick it up in his mouth and swims to the bottom to eat it.

But does anyone have any ideas what could be wrong with the smaller musk??