Softshell Questions.

[Horiyoshi III]

I was just wondering if they NEED to be in sand, or can I keep it on bare bottom?
Thats pretty much it as I have their diet figured.

I looked on the net, but found typical misinformation, including this frightening care sheet.I highlighted the really bad part.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n274/DanielDumile/untitled-2.jpg



Wouldn't want to see the fungus on the softie that was kept like that.


Any idea what kind it might be?

 

[MyFishEatYourFish]

florida or spiny softshell. i'm pretty sure they're the same thing or close. i have one that i got at that size and have had for a few years, he is 1 foot now. they really do prefer a deep sand bed with an area they can be completely burried and still be able to stretch their neck to breath. that being said i have kept mine a few ways and though he prefers it that way he has done fine in deep sand, bare bottom, and gravel with water height ranging from 4" to 24". start him in sand and shallow water with a varied diet, heated water to about 80 with a dry basking spot and a uvb bulb. they do get aggressive and don't ever keep a male with any other male turtles, mine tried to casterate my snapper before i knew any better. now i keep him in my 300 gallon fish tank and hes doing really well.
be prepared, softshells are very susceptable to shell rot, mine had a small spot i didn't know about when i got him and it soon grew. i was told by a few people there's nothing i could do about it. i cured him in a couple weeks by removing him from his tank leaving him in a dry bowl and putting saltwater aquarium salt directly on the rot, be ready, this will sting like hell and he will try to bite. i'm not sure if this is the right way to do it but it worked. good luck and i would wait for some more experienced turtle keepers to chime in as well.

 

[MyFishEatYourFish]

4 feet, haha, never. whoever wrote that care sheet needs to be slapped.

 

[coura]

I was just wondering if they NEED to be in sand, or can I keep it on bare bottom?
They dont need to be on sand but fine and soft sand is a good thing to ad for their well being as they love to dig, specialy small ones and acts as biological filtracion with time. I use washed beach sand on my chinese softy
Thats pretty much it as I have their diet figured.

I looked on the net, but found typical misinformation, including this frightening care sheet.I highlighted the really bad part.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n274/DanielDumile/untitled-2.jpg
That "care sheet" defenetly is insulting our inteligence as keepers Dont lissen to it For good care sheets on a variety of species go to places like anapsid.org there is were the good stuff hails
Wouldn't want to see the fungus on the softie that was kept like that.


Any idea what kind it might be? Its a spiney softshell Apalone spinifera Dont forget females of this get HUGE!

 

[coura]

4 feet, haha, never. whoever wrote that care sheet needs to be slapped.

Well they didnt refer to any softshell species in particular (even if there was the image of a florida softy) so in that particular point (the rest is absolutley atrocious specialy the part in wich they say they will only grow to the size of their tanks) I have to say that in soft shell turtle world 4 feed legth is only in the largist average length Amyda cartilaginea (hope Im spelling rigth) easily reaches that. Then there are the absolute behemot species mostly from stouth east Asia that can compete in size with marine turtles Species like Chitra chitra, Pelochelys sp, Rafeus sp,etc. Unfornatly all of thouse are heavily hunted for their meat and body parts. Rafeus swimoei (Hope Im spelling rigth) the shangai giant softshell turtle has the terrible destincion of being the most endangered freshwater turtle on the face of the earth Only 3 males and 1 female remain

 

[coura]

florida or spiny softshell. i'm pretty sure they're the same thing or close. i have one that i got at that size and have had for a few years, he is 1 foot now. they really do prefer a deep sand bed with an area they can be completely burried and still be able to stretch their neck to breath. that being said i have kept mine a few ways and though he prefers it that way he has done fine in deep sand, bare bottom, and gravel with water height ranging from 4" to 24". start him in sand and shallow water with a varied diet, heated water to about 80 with a dry basking spot and a uvb bulb. they do get aggressive and don't ever keep a male with any other male turtles, mine tried to casterate my snapper before i knew any better. now i keep him in my 300 gallon fish tank and hes doing really well.
be prepared, softshells are very susceptable to shell rot, mine had a small spot i didn't know about when i got him and it soon grew. i was told by a few people there's nothing i could do about it. i cured him in a couple weeks by removing him from his tank leaving him in a dry bowl and putting saltwater aquarium salt directly on the rot, be ready, this will sting like hell and he will try to bite. i'm not sure if this is the right way to do it but it worked. good luck and i would wait for some more experienced turtle keepers to chime in as well.

Good advice However florida softys Apalone ferox belong to a diferent species