Mud Turtles

Right now I have one small Mud Turtle, two Musk turtles, a red-eared slider, two yellow-bellies and a map turtle. I got the Mud turtle when she was just a few months old and about an inch long. Now she is about two inches long, and she is about two years old. The turtles are presently in a twenty gallon reptile aquarium (long tank) filled almost to the top with water. I have a Tetris 1 water filter. The turtles have a couple of areas where they can bask in the sun and/or lamplight. Even though lamp light is not the same as the sun, it seems to have a positive effect on the turtles' health.

The Red-Eared Slider, one of the Yellow-Bellies, and the Map turtles are about four inches long, and their shells are thick, hard, and wide. One of the Yellow Belly turtles, and the Mud and Musk Turtles seem to be growing at a slower pace. I feed the turtles a variety of foods like Reptomin, Tetramin, Goldfish Crumbles, moist Turtle Treats, and three other jars of hard Turtle food. The turtles are great eaters, and the little Mud Turtle and the two Musk Turtles always seem to be eating too, but they just seem to grow slower. Turtles get to know the people who are regularly feeding them, and they react when any of us walk by since we are the only ones who feed them. They get very excited and swim to the top, and look for food sticks. They like to be fed by hand.

This aquarium also has guppies, Neons, Tetras, Mollies and I just added some glass shrimp. Unfortunately, it seems like the turtles are snacking on the shrimp so there may not be too many of them left. Aquariums are a lot of fun to maintain once you get one set up and the water is settled and clear. An aquarium with turtles is even more interesting, as turtles have a lot more personality than fish! However, turtles demand more care than fish, and they are more difficult to keep healthy.