new turtle keeper

[Vicious_Fish]

Lol, are you talking about canned then? Can I feed him RAW tuna and other fresh/saltwater fish?

And can the worms be nightcrawlers from the baitshop?

hey and vicious_fish, I think you already answered this but, what is the diet of a wild sonora mud turtle? his main diet.
can you answer too loconorc?

Sonora Mud Turtles have mainly a carnivorous diet and feed on insects, snails, small fish, worms and carrion. Some aquatic plant material like duck weed will also be eaten as well.

I was talking about the canned variety of tuna but like Miguel said, you can also feed your turtle raw FW fish fillets.

You can use bait shop nightcrawlers if you clean them off first and soak them in water for a couple of minutes. It's probably a good idea too if you decide to feed baitshop nightcrawlers to squeeze the dirt out of the worm. Who knows what they've been living in. I prefer to dig up my own worms from pesticide/insecticide free areas.

 

[loconorc]

You CAN feed them anything you want, sure. They'll eat doorknobs, shark poop, staplers.... Anyway, see what works for you and ask people with mud experience, I have only a little. Know what you HAVE TO feed him first, then worry about what you CAN feed him. Same principle applies to all aspects of herp keeping.

 

[loconorc]

Guys, when did I say a varied diet is bad? Its just that some people get really carried away with it, and stop feeding the essentials. If you can feed a variety and still keep the healthy essentails, good on ya! Keep the turt on its toes. I didn't say it's bad, but you have to do it right. Sorry if I made it sound like that earlier, it wasnt my intention.

 

[loconorc]

At2, I hope you still pay attention to the thread even if you are leaving it, you might just learn somethin'

But we do wanna see pics when you get it!

 

[JEAE21]

Sonora Mud Turtles have mainly a carnivorous diet and feed on insects, snails, small fish, worms and carrion. Some aquatic plant material like duck weed will also be eaten as well.

I was talking about the canned variety of tuna but like Miguel said, you can also feed your turtle raw FW fish fillets.

You can use bait shop nightcrawlers if you clean them off first and soak them in water for a couple of minutes. It's probably a good idea too if you decide to feed baitshop nightcrawlers to squeeze the dirt out of the worm. Who knows what they've been living in. I prefer to dig up my own worms from pesticide/insecticide free areas.

haha, i want to get worms in my yard but i think we treat it..

hey and in the wild, are mud turtles diurnal or nocturnal?
and when hunting are they the kinda sit&wait type or chase&eat turtles?

 

[loconorc]

You can catch worms from a clean source. But where you live that might be hard to find. There is some way to thuroughly 'cleanse' them, but its probably not worth the effort. Try a bait shop. Ask them if the worms are treated in any way. And there is one worm to NOT use, not sure which. Look that up befor eyou buy/catch.

Mud turtles are both sit and wait and chase and eat. All turtles are both, just most lean towards one more than the other. Snappers will actively chase down swimming ducklings (seen it) and RES will eat any little fish or whatever that swims buy if theyre hungry. Turtles, or any animal with some exceptions, arent diurnal or nocturnal. They become active when the conditions they need to survive are met, which can be any time. Nothing goes by the books in nature.

You dont have to feed the varied diet. It doesnt hurt, but it doesnt do anything special, and just makes more problems for you. And lots of animals from outside sources have who knows what in them...

 

[Vicious_Fish]

They can be active at anytime, it just depends on the temperatue and conditons. I've seen wild stinkpots during the late afternoon into the evening hours. My baby stinkpot becomes active right after I turn off his lights in the evening. As for thir hunting pattern, well they can do both. Their opertunistic and will eat whenever they get a chance. But I think they do a lot of active hunting too.

 

[at2]

well it looks like the turtle experience is going to get bumped back a few more weeks. I woke up this mornign to find my female dovii layin eggs. so if this is a successful batch, i am going to have my hands full with the fry over the next few weeks. wish me luck

 

[loconorc]

Good luck! Now you have even more time to work out your decision. Maybe in the next few weeks your daughter will find something she loves even more.

 

[AdriannaRose]

a good friend of mine had a box turtle, she kept it in a big tub uf dirt that she kept under her bed so it would stay cool and dark, I got to watch it for a few weeks while she was away one time and i set up one of those big plastic kiddie pools inn my back yard and let him swim around in it and eat bugs, i don't know much about turtles but that one seemed very happy