BastardFish;3457050; said:
Planning on keeping a male or female?
Also, just curious, what is the plan for the other two?
Turtle's in their Tank
- Thread starter BastardFish
- Start date
Planning on keeping a male or female?
Also, just curious, what is the plan for the other two?
heres my 2 cents on this matter.
i ussually tend to stay out of online arguments just for the plain matter of. well you cannot fix stupidity. if there are people on this site telling you how to make your animals living enviroment better wouldnt it make sense to listen to them? we arent trying to come off as bad people. we are just passionate about keeping herps and we like to see them setup in the best possible way.
If they are telling you sand better to have over gravel. then why not swallow your pride and make the switch? it doesnt take long. i use sand in all of my fish tanks. so what if it takes me a few hours on a saturday to wash it out? its worth the effort. providing your animals with a natural and SAFE enviroment is something you have to provide as a responsible owner. if you dont want to deal with that than you shouldnt have these animals in your care.
not only is the gravel not a natural thing to them but it is also very dangerous to have in there enclosure. if they eat it then they will most likely get impacted and die. not exactly something you want to happen.
so do your turts a favor and switch them to sand
Mike D
i ussually tend to stay out of online arguments just for the plain matter of. well you cannot fix stupidity. if there are people on this site telling you how to make your animals living enviroment better wouldnt it make sense to listen to them? we arent trying to come off as bad people. we are just passionate about keeping herps and we like to see them setup in the best possible way.
If they are telling you sand better to have over gravel. then why not swallow your pride and make the switch? it doesnt take long. i use sand in all of my fish tanks. so what if it takes me a few hours on a saturday to wash it out? its worth the effort. providing your animals with a natural and SAFE enviroment is something you have to provide as a responsible owner. if you dont want to deal with that than you shouldnt have these animals in your care.
not only is the gravel not a natural thing to them but it is also very dangerous to have in there enclosure. if they eat it then they will most likely get impacted and die. not exactly something you want to happen.
so do your turts a favor and switch them to sand
Mike D
The reason is they can have an opinion all they want sure and I am good with that but when it comes down to it. There is absolutely no reason why I have to and it will in no way shape or form effect their health, so I choose not to. I truly do not care about a preference to dig so long as it does not effect growth or health and it does not. Plus tan the burry themselves and I do not see them as much. Jut because people put there two cents in does not mean one needs to do what they say especially in this case where it makes no difference in the long run. Also trust me when I say they are very happy with their care as they are super active and eat like pigs. They have tun's of space and all they other things the actually need that is that done with the debate..
Also it's not my first rodeo with them so I take good advice if it's to do with care but the smart mouth of a 14 year old of another member I have 0 respect for especially when they are not able to hold a valid point to health as it was started originally
BastardFish;3450716; said:thanks guys for the comments and yeah they are very healthy, but the sand thing nope I do not think so. I could care less if they like to dig they do not need to has nothing to do with being healthy and sand is a pain in the ***! I do have places where they can come up out of the water though. There are two fingers from the wood and floating plant that they are able to get up on and bask. I know it is a bit of a debate on here and while they do like to come out of the water they do not have to this I knowbut still I provide the spots where they can
They are real cool turtles though very owner responsive and smart also eat like pigs!
Actually, sand does effect their health. It reduces stress by allowing them to do what's natural to them.
Stress can cause a variety of problems. Many animals can live in a wide range of captive environments but soft shells have specific needs (A more narrow range) that you are ignoring. You wanted soft shells, now it's your responsibility to give them what they need. Not sure why you have a problem with that.
well said, while tha habitat you porvided for your turtles is better than what most have, it prevents them from carrying out a very natural behaivor for their species, its like how in the early 1900's zoos would keep bears in concrete pits, and tigers in cramped prison cell like enclosures. while the animals survived and in some cases even breed in these conditions, they no longer acted as their wild counter parts would, how many wild tigers do you think spend their days pacing back and fourth, how many wild bears do you think dance on their hind legs hoping to be thrown morsals of food. likewise how many wild softshells do you think do not burrow in to the sand on a regular basis. what i mean is, physically your turtles are more than likely very healthy, but mentally they may not be so healthyBrooklynella;3460436; said:Actually, sand does effect their health. It reduces stress by allowing them to do what's natural to them.
Stress can cause a variety of problems. Many animals can live in a wide range of captive environments but soft shells have specific needs (A more narrow range) that you are ignoring. You wanted soft shells, now it's your responsibility to give them what they need. Not sure why you have a problem with that.
Brooklynella;3460436; said:Actually, sand does effect their health. It reduces stress by allowing them to do what's natural to them.
Stress can cause a variety of problems. Many animals can live in a wide range of captive environments but soft shells have specific needs (A more narrow range) that you are ignoring. You wanted soft shells, now it's your responsibility to give them what they need. Not sure why you have a problem with that.
i agree 100%. if they naturally hide with in the sand then i would consider it a natural thing for them. how would you feel if we just eft you with the bare essentals and nothing more. stick you in a house thats not adequate for what you need? bet you would feel out of place and stressed.
my monitors are arboreal so i give them branches to climb on. do they need them. nope. is it beneficial for them, you bet it is.
it is our responsibility as reptile keepers to do our best in recreating a natural and stress free enviroment for our animals..
it doesnt matter how long you have been around keeping fish and reptiles. i have been keeping herps for about 15 yrs now and i am always learning and adapting my enclosures from what i learn.
and i dont beleive we have many smart mouth 14 year olds on here. in fact if we do most of them tend to take our advice fairly well
