Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ive got a razorback musk turtle that ive had for about 5 years. it is full grown at 5 1/2 to 6 inches (carapace size). i keep it in a 20 gallon long with excellent filtration, a plastic (rubber treaded) basking ramp, 1/2 inch of lerge gravel, flourescent lighting, a few fake cabombas (plastic plants), a half of a terra cotta pot as a cave, and about 8-9 inches of water.

heres my questions:

1-never once have i ever seen my turtle basking on its ramp. is this at all normal?

2-how can i sex my turtle? i believe that its a female. at one point, i raised a rescued common slider in the tank with my razorback. after the slider got about 6 inches long, it started to try the nose tickling bit with my razorback. am i correct for thinking that a slider wouldnt do this with a male?

3-besides meats like fish ,shrimp, raw beef, cooked chicken, crickets, mealworms and pellets, what else should i/could i feed it?

4-does anybody know a link that they could direct me to that has a good amount of information/caresheets for razorbacks (besides here)?

i thank you in advance for any and all ifo that i may recieve.

paul

I know at least 1 and 2. I've never seen any of my musks bask either. It's good to give them an option, but if they choose not to, they don't seem to need it! The difference between male and female is all in the tail length. It's kind of tough if you don't have another to compare it to. But males have longer tails than females.
-----
Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

first off, a 20 gallon long is barely enough room for the musk its self, to have a slider and a musk in it together in a space like that will cause a lot of problems, sliders do that tickle thing for teritory, if the musk is in a spot where the slider wants to be he will keep one doing that, and you really need to get a bigger tank!!!!

thanks for the reply,

while i appreciate your concern, i dont house the slider with her anymore. shortly after the slider reached 6 inches, i let him go into one of my local turtle ponds. hes almost full grown now and gets fed plenty of pellets by the surrounding neiborhoods families.

why do you say that my musk cant do well in a 20 long? she barely uses the whole tank that shes in. also, ive got an excellent cannister filter that pumps at a rate of 15-20 times filtration per hour. since shes been healthy for 5 years in a 20 long, i will have to respectfully disagree with you.

are you positive that the sliders tickling isnt some sort of mating behavior. ive read that it is. especially because right after the tickling, the male will settle in behind the female (on his hind legs) to get a good angle for penetration. with that being said, ill have to disagree with you again (respectfully). unless i read otherwise, that is.

so, i ask you, is your source of information reliable? if you think so, could you refer me to the information that you speak of? i just dont like to be misinformed and if youve got a good source, id like to know.

sincerely,

paul

A 20 long is good for some people, but all types of musk turtles like a lot of space, and the more you give them they will use, I also have a twenty long, i guess i have just had a different experince iwth a 20 long then you, I have red ears for a very long time, and have had as many as 10 at a time, I have had 2 tanks of females and all they do is tickle, lol i dont not think my turtles were gay, but what ever, you got rid of it, what are some of the other questions you had?

hah! you crack me up, man!

i wonder why the caresheets that ive read say that the males are the ones that "tickle". they also say that it helps the male put her into submission while he jockeys for position. and now your telling me that your tank full of heterosexual females (heh.)were doing this to each other? now im somewhat confused.

yeah, i can understand what your saying about needing a bigger tank for her. ive been checking out 40 gallon breeder tanks lately and have my eye on one at my local shop. im sure shell like it better than her old one.

anyway, i was mainly concerned about the fact that she never, ever basks on her ramp. its very accessable for her and has ample space to move around on. i guess if she feels the need to, she will.

anyway, i appreciate your help and wish you luck with your chelonians.

paul