Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought my soft shells at Wings- a souvenir shop in Myrtle Beach. I have been reading up on them. I have them in a 10 gallon tank with sand on the bottom and a log for them to sunbath on. They are only about 4.5cm wide. I'm currently feeding them "reptile food" that has a picture of a turtle on the front. (they are little pellets)Should I really be feeding them worms and other things like this? One of the turtles has turned a gray color, while the other one is still very dark. Is the gray one ok? He seems fine- swims and eats a lot. I take them out and play with them a lot- they crawl around and I hold them- is this a bad idea or will it make them friendlier? They also do not hide in the sand- when I walk in the room they come out of the sand and swim up on the glass towards me. They seem like very easy going, non-aggressive turtles- contrary to what I have been reading about them. I often find them face to face just starting at each other as well. I have the water level up way over their heads- they swim around easliy and it's fun to watch them- can I keep their water deep or is it really bad for them? Any other advice on keeping my turtles happy and healthy let me know! Thanks!

Sounds like you are on the right track to me. I dont know why one of your turtles changed color, but wouldnt worry about it as long as it is active and feeding. I have always kept baby softshells in a full tank rigged with a shallow area. They are strong swimmers, this works well for them. I advise keeping handling to a minimum, they don't seem to like it much. As for feeding, make sure the food you are giving them is fortified with calcium and vitamins. This is very important. I feed mine Reptomin pellets, along with treats such as dried krill (chopped fine), raw lean beef (chopped fine, with a vitamin/mineral supplement) and raw fish. A bit of variety in diet is good. Make sure you have good filtration and do a partial water change every couple of weeks. A UVB light source is also a good idea. Your turtles get along now, but don"t be surprised if one starts to bully the other later on. May or may not happen, it's a territorial thing.
Baby softshells are just to cute, huh?