Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello!

Well i went to the fish shop on saturday with the intention of just buying some frozen bloodworms for my tropical fish..but we ended up coming home with what ive been told are 2 map turtles! to be honest id never seen them before and dont know much about them ..but they were so lovely we just couldnt resist!!

anyway ive spent the last 2 days doing a bit of research on them and getting them settled into their new home! but i was wondering if anyone has any information about them/tips on keeping them for me!? I think ive managed to find out a fair bit but was just looking for tips from anyone with first hand experience! They are only about 1 and a half inches at the moment but im aware they will grow a lot bigger! they are currently in a smallish tank (its big compared to them at the moment but they will eventually outgrow it) and we will eventually transfer them into our other huge fish tank (only has a couple of fish left in it and theyre fairly old!) so basically...anything i should know?? any tips!!????

any help would be much appreciated!!

anyone!!!!??????

I'm no expert on aquatic turtles but have owned Ouachita? map turtles before. They are considered cold water turtles, but i've noticed that they are active in both hot (100f) and cold (30f) weather. The ones I had were very picky eaters and would not eat a lot in one sitting, compared to the common snappers I had at about the same size range.

First, I would put them in a kiddie pool or something a little larger than an aquarium. They are very good and very fast swimmers. So, they need a lot of space. Also, put in a place to bask and maybe some plants for hiding. I used water hyacinth and a brick in the middle of a small pool.

As far as feeding goes, if you want to try a commercial product, use reptomin. I've tried wardleys and several others, and hardly any of my turtles would even try them. Also, offer them some fresh greens and fruit once a week or so, along with a cricket, earthworm, mealworm, pieces of raw shrimp or fish, or cooked chicken or turkey. You might wanna even put a few live minnows in the enclosure.

Don't be discouraged if they don't eat a lot of meat, or right away for that matter. Mine only occasionally ate worms or crickets, mainly eating reptomin and occasionally biting on some of the fruit of veggies, by their own personal choice.