hey guys, im just getting into reptiles and figured i would be best to start off with a stinkpot. if anyone has any experience i have a couple questions about them, are they hard to get onto pelleted turtle food? they do not need a uvb lamp, right?any help would be appreciated, thanks
common musk (stinkpot)
- Thread starter le patron
- Start date
Stinkpots straight from the wild will usually take pellets, no training needed. You should have no problems. There seems to be some argument on whether stinkpots need UVB; I do not supply mine with UVB and they seem fine, but I do take them outside periodically during nice weather to catch some unfiltered sunlight.
thanks noto! i wasnt planning on putting in uvb in the first place from all the opinions i've heard, but i just wanted to hear some arguments. hopefully i will be getting one next spring, after i set up a tank and equipment. what do you recommed for substrate? sand? and also, i have a 10g set aside for one ,but i will upgrade eventually, and i have a pretty powerful filter on it for my juvenile bluegill. will the fish tank filter work or do i need another one? i was thinking about elongating the tube of the filter if i end up lowering the water level any more. just throwing it out there, the bluegill will be removed from the tank when the turtle moves in. last but not least, how much water do i remove during water changes and does it need to be treated before coming into contact with the turtle like water for fish?
reptech;2485204; said:
really cause i cant get mine to eat
p.m. and help if you got the time cause i dont want to derail the thread.no its ok maybe i can help kill two birds with one stone
what are you tryin to feed it ??
whats the set up like ?? (water temp,basking spot,and air temp)
what are you tryin to feed it ??
whats the set up like ?? (water temp,basking spot,and air temp)
Good advice so far. Because they are a more nocturnal species and do very little basking, UVB lighting isn't required however, it can't hurt. I have always offered my Stinkpots UVB lighting just for the heck of it.
Wild caught individuals can be switched on to pellets pretty quickly. Newborns however sometimes can be stubborn. If you're purchasing a stinkpot try to get one that is at least a few months old and eating well. Make sure to ask the place you buy it from what they are feeding it. My pair is on a diet of Reptomin, cichlid and koi pellets, freeze-dried shirmp, frozen shrimp, crickets, earthworms, dubia roaches, pond snails, earthworms, fish filets and shrimp pellets.
These guys can be really active and really do enjoy the space to poke around and explore. They're not much of swimmers so a shallow tank is fine plenty of rocks and driftwood to climb on. A 40 gallon breeder aquarium is a good size of the life of the turtle. I keep my pair in a 100 gallon rubbermaid tub. You should supply a basking spot for the turtle especially if it's young even though they may not use it at all. For babies to yearlings it's best to keep the water temperature in the high 70's and for adults the mid 70's is fine. They are messy just like all water turtles so whatever your volume of water is I recommend you double the filtration.
Wild caught individuals can be switched on to pellets pretty quickly. Newborns however sometimes can be stubborn. If you're purchasing a stinkpot try to get one that is at least a few months old and eating well. Make sure to ask the place you buy it from what they are feeding it. My pair is on a diet of Reptomin, cichlid and koi pellets, freeze-dried shirmp, frozen shrimp, crickets, earthworms, dubia roaches, pond snails, earthworms, fish filets and shrimp pellets.
These guys can be really active and really do enjoy the space to poke around and explore. They're not much of swimmers so a shallow tank is fine plenty of rocks and driftwood to climb on. A 40 gallon breeder aquarium is a good size of the life of the turtle. I keep my pair in a 100 gallon rubbermaid tub. You should supply a basking spot for the turtle especially if it's young even though they may not use it at all. For babies to yearlings it's best to keep the water temperature in the high 70's and for adults the mid 70's is fine. They are messy just like all water turtles so whatever your volume of water is I recommend you double the filtration.
Also, as far as substrate, I'd go with none. It will be easier to clean. As far as water changes, I'd do pretty big ones. You don't really need to treat the water as IME chlorine doesn't really bother turtles and should evaporate pretty quickly, but it will hurt the biofilter, so I'd recommend it
Some video I took the other day of my Stinkpots. The first video is my Northern male Stinkpot and the second video is my Florida female Stinkpot.
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