Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have no sand in the tank where I keep my Spiny Softshell; would that be a problem?

Problem? That's a strong word. It could be. I would just say that you should provide it simply because most Softshells love it so much. It helps to make them feel secure. You'll get much better results in general if you provide sand throughout, with a special area where the water is shallow enough for the turtle to bury in the sand with its snout above water.

In addition, it's a lot of fun to watch them do what they do naturally. To see them disappear into the sand in a matter of seconds is just plain cool.

I agree. I had a Spiny and used sand as a substrate in his aquarium. He spent all day digging around in it. Makes it more difficult to clean the tank, but I think its worth it. Just be sure to wash the sand well before putting it into the tank, otherwise your going to have a mess. Also, you may want to put something over the inlet of your filter. Sand is known to eat the motors of filters up. I just used a piece of pantyhose that I rubberbanded around the intake.

-Chris
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Currently in the US Navy so I have sold off my collection. But over the years I have had dozens of turtles, fish, geckos, and other lizards. Cant wait to get back in the hobby once im out though!

i found for hatchling soft shells that sand sometimes is the reason they dont eat. i've had several softies just sit in the sand all day and ignore food. most of them were wild caught hatchling spineys but a few floridas as well. i have a very fine gravel that most hatchlings cannot get all the way through but cover themslelves just enough to feel secure and that seems to work the best for me. once they are fat and healthy i switch them to sand. just my 2 cents

That's interesting. I'm glad you shared that. As long as they seem to feel secure and can dig in the gravel, that's the most important thing. Also, the gravel would have to be VERY smooth.

It sounds like baby box turtles. If you give them the deep and soft substrate that they love, the darn things hide 24/7. Like you, I just give them enough to settle them down and keep them from getting restless.

you could not have made a better comparison than with young box turtles. they will just burry themselves and never come out on their own. the gravel i have in my hatcling/yearling soft shell tank is smooth, very fine gravel. i've only found it at 1 pet store so far, and its about 22 dollars for a 50lb bag. i'd say its 1 step above sand, fine enough for them to just get a few pieces over their shell so they feel safe, but big enough that they cant burry themselves and never come out for food. i also catch my spiny soft shell basking quite a bit. he's now big enough to burry himself completely under the gravel yet he stays most of his time swimming and basking with my hatcling sliders and cooters