Smallest Turtle?

bellazeus

bellazeus

AC Members
Feb 7, 2008
88
0
0
46
Australia
Whats the smallest breed of turtle that could be kept by a beginner turtle keeper?
My husband is begging for a turtle for his bday and im contemplating the idea.. but I dont want to end up with a monster on my hands!
So thought I would try and find a breed that can be kept here and find out info before i make up the decision in 2 months.
 
I believe that the best beginner turtle by far would be a member of the musk or mud turtle family. If you can find a Stinkpot Musk Turtle ([SIZE=-1]Sternotherus odoratus), you'll be set. Don't let the name fool you, they don't really smell. They are also one of the smallest species of turtles in the world and a big one might get to 5 inches in shell length. You can also keep them for life in something like a 40 gallon breeder aquarium or a rubbermaid tub. They are a non basking species so UVB lighting is not really important but I still provide it for mine as well as a basking spot even though he never uses it. They are very personable turtles and mine constantly begs for food when he sees me coming. Sliders are really a bad species of turtle to start off with because they can get so big and need a lot of room to swim around. I really wish people would give mud and musk turtles a try because they are much more rewarding in the end and are much easier to care for.

[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]

Here's a link to my musk turtle setup with pics.
http://herpden.4.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=123

[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]
Stinkpot-13-1.gif

Stinkpot-14.gif

Musk-Turtle-2.gif

Musk-Turtle-5.gif


[/SIZE]
 
Oh what a cute turtle. I was thinking of getting one of those sliders till
I saw how big they get. I look into seeing about these guys.
 
+1 for the musks & muds...

What a cute little guy you have there VF!! I never thought you could keep cons with them, though. It looks interesting!

Are you saying you can keep these turtles without a basking spot, special lighting, or a landing? :perv:
 
Dwarf Puffers said:
+1 for the musks & muds...

What a cute little guy you have there VF!! I never thought you could keep cons with them, though. It looks interesting!

Are you saying you can keep these turtles without a basking spot, special lighting, or a landing? :perv:
Click to expand...


Thanks for the compliments guys, he is pretty cute (- one man point).

There are very few aquatic turtle species that can live with out a basking spot. Those would be the Fly River, Alligator and Common Snapper and the softshell turtles. My Musk Turtle hasn't used his basking spot since he was as big as a quarter but I still provide it anyways. They're not the best swimmers so it's good to have a place for them to rest where they can reach the surface of the water. That's also one of the reasons why I keep anacharis in my turtle tub. For eating and resting on.

Most of the time fish and turtles don't mix but so far so good in my case. My Musk Turtle shows no interest in the fish what so ever. He'll even climb over that female convict if she is in the way and she follows him around everywhere in the tank. I think she thinks he's her mate, lol.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom