help me find a turtle for my brother

[Mike D]

ok heres the deal. i was up at my parents visiting yesterday and my dad and brother spring the idea on me that my brother wants to get a turtle. so i did some poking around with him to see what we could find that would work out well for him. and i must say i was fairly over whelmed with how many there were to choose from!

can anyone recomend a few that we could look into. my brother is 16 and has had reps before, a bearded dragon and he currently has a 75 gallon setup for his fish. i am not sure if he should go with a water type turt or a land based like a box turtle or somehting like that. i am thinking more land wise because its a) easier to setup b) general matience will be a little simpler due to not having to do super huge water changes and such

right now we are looking at setting it up in a 30 gallon and his price range is probably around 60-70 dollars

 

[Conner]

Mud and musk turtles are great pets, cheap, and stay fairly small.

 

[davdev]

Unless you plan on upgrading to a much larger tank, you really should only look into stinkpot or razorback musks. A small map might work as well (if you only do 1). Turtles typically need much larger tanks than that. For instance, an RES shouldn't be kept in anything smaller than 75 gallons for one.

 

[Noto]

I agree with the posters above. American mud and musk turtles (Kinosternon and Sternotherus species) are your best choices. African musks (Pelusios) are another possibility, but a 30 gallon is at the lower limit of suitability for them.

Tortoises and land turtles really need an outdoor enclosure to do well. They tend to suffer if kept in a tank year-round.

 

[coura]

A malaysian box turtle Cuora amboinensis or a chinese box turtle Cuora flavomarginata would be great choices as well, they get very tame, are on the small size and absolutley beautifull

 

[jc420]

Mud and musk turtles are great pets, cheap, and stay fairly small.

Common Musk Turtles are cool. They stay really small and are fun to watch, If you hide food under the sand they will dig around for it.

 

[Mike D]

thanks guys! ill mention some of those to him. he also said he doesnt have an issue with upgrading tank size as well. probably nothing bigger than a 75 though

 

[davdev]

thanks guys! ill mention some of those to him. he also said he doesnt have an issue with upgrading tank size as well. probably nothing bigger than a 75 though

Even a 75 is a bit too small for a larger RES or Eastern painted. A Southern or Midland painted would do well in that though. Or just about any Map, but they can picky about water quality.

You could probably get away with a small basker (like a Southern painted) and a mud/musk turtle in a 75.

 

[ReelBigFish]

Stinkpot. Haven't kept one, but everything I've read about them in captivity is nothing but positive. Definitely a turtle that should be more commonly bred too since it's so convenient for most people.

 

[Natalie]

I agree that a mud or musk species would be the best bet, given the tank size restrictions. I love my loggerhead musk!