Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I have a nice Mississippi Mud. Got it about a month ago. I know they like to have a large land area but I can't think of a natural way to setup my tank. My turtle doesnt bask. Is it because she is afraid? Does she need plants on the land area too. To feel more secure? She is an adult female by the way. She is about 3.5".

She is in a 33 gallon tank right now. And I would like some ideas to set it up better.

Setup:
Tank is a 33 gallon aquarium.
Filter is a Fluval 404.
Heater is a Tronic 100W.
Soft River rocks for substrate.
Big rocks for basking spot.
Four fake plants.

The current setup:

The tank.

The basking area.

The other end of the tank with her pot where she likes to hide.

The basking area again.

Her old setup: (She was not basking so I tried to change it)

And here she is.

Ok, all's I want to say is that is a nice tank setup. And also, don't get worried, but, Mud Turtles don't really bask. Sometimes they do but don't count on it. I've had Musk Turtles and Mud Turtles plenty of times. They don't like to bask, they do just fine in a shoreless aquarium.
Michael Fedzen
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they may remain *alive* in a shoreless aquarium but they do wander and they do bask if given the opportunity.. you just need to have one for a few years. My miss muds are in a pen like that for wood turtles. Large box of soil with cement mixing tray inside for water. filtered with crappy submersible filter. They spend almost as much time on land as in water. Wild studies bear this out and it is well known. K subrubrum is really more likea semi terrestrial than asemi aquatic or aquatic.

I don't know about Miss. muds, but my eastern muds will bask - but not on a log. I have a lot of plastic plants attached to the glass with suction cups, and they like to climb on top of them to hang out, besides hiding in them.

Katrina

both subspecies are known to estivate on land and do signiifcant wanderings between water bodies, apaprently out of water for many days at a time. I have both and they spend almost as much time i'd say on land as in the water and i can seem to correlate it with the weather.