Considering a Turtle

[pharmaecopia]

Considering getting some form of turtle again. There are a couple different ones that are available; Yellow spotted amazon sideneck, Chinese thread turtle, razorback musk turtle, and reeves turtle as well as some of the more commonly available varieties.

Those 4 are the ones I find a little more interesting and am leaning towards. Anybody have any experience with these species? Which would you go for?

 

[Andrew1002]

Considering getting some form of turtle again. There are a couple different ones that are available; Yellow spotted amazon sideneck, Chinese thread turtle, razorback musk turtle, and reeves turtle as well as some of the more commonly available varieties.

Those 4 are the ones I find a little more interesting and am leaning towards. Anybody have any experience with these species? Which would you go for?

Id say a razorback musk. Ive kept a couple before and they are awesome. They look prehistoric and they just kind of skim the bottom of the tank. Good to keep with fish too as they are really small and stay at the bottom.

 

[pharmaecopia]

Id say a razorback musk. Ive kept a couple before and they are awesome. They look prehistoric and they just kind of skim the bottom of the tank. Good to keep with fish too as they are really small and stay at the bottom.

Out of those 4 the musk is the one that I like the least. But it would be one of the most practical with it's small size. Next comes the reeves as far as suitability.

I'm kinda leaning towards the unifilis, the yellow spotted sideneck. A vegetarian turtle that's relatively fish safe from what I've been reading, yet they get huge.

 

[Andrew1002]

Out of those 4 the musk is the one that I like the least. But it would be one of the most practical with it's small size. Next comes the reeves as far as suitability.

I'm kinda leaning towards the unifilis, the yellow spotted sideneck. A vegetarian turtle that's relatively fish safe from what I've been reading, yet they get huge.

Ya there is always a catch lol no matter what some weird thing will threaten your stock or your turtle

 

[pharmaecopia]

Bump for more replied. Thee is also another species available, Chelodina mccordi.

 

[snakeguy101]

Get what you want if you are able to properly care for it. If you go with what other recommend you will regret it later.

 

[pharmaecopia]

Get what you want if you are able to properly care for it. If you go with what other recommend you will regret it later.

I guess more what I am looking for is peoples experiences with the species. How do they behave, are they active, do they hide, how aggressive are they, etc. So that I am fully aware of what I'd be getting into before hand, and can make the appropriate decision at this time. Especially with how turtle prices are up here, turtles are not cheap for anything aside from the common species. Would hate to invest a good chunk of change to be bored with the species and not find them entertaining.

 

[archers]

I would get the mccordi, my cousin has one and he is awesome he's laid back and isn't afraid of people that come to check him out.

 

[pharmaecopia]

I would get the mccordi, my cousin has one and he is awesome he's laid back and isn't afraid of people that come to check him out.

They are definitely a cool turtle, I myself am currently thinking about either these or the unifilis as what I am most likely to get. Unfortunately they are also the priciest of the bunch and I'd probably be trying to get a pair if possible.

 

[snakeguy101]

The musk turtles are the only ones that I have had any extensive experience with. They do not require the typical UV lighting and do not need as large of an area to bask as other turtles such as sliders (an area to dry no larger than the size of the turtle will suffice). This makes them ideal to keep with fish but the larger species of mud/musks like the loggerhead do get big enough to take down the largest of aquarium fish if they wanted to. Most of them will not bother but I would not place them with my favorite fish without experimenting with similar "tester species" first.