Terrapin Musk Turtle Small
Live Animals Are Click and Collect Only
Please note that we do not ship live animals. You can order online and collect in store.
How to care for Musk Turtle
Housing:
Musk turtles require a turtle tank as their enclosure. This is because they will need fully submerged sections without risk of warping or leaking. The musk turtle can grow to 100mm (4-4'') long and needs a proportional amount of space to live happily. For this reason we suggest a tank with at least 60cm in width.
The tank should also be tall enough to provide areas for the turtle to swim so we suggest a minimum height of around 300mm. A ramp and dock should be used to ensure the turtle has a space to get out of the water and bask.
Heating
Although they are not prolific baskers, they should have a warm area to allow them the option, and the temperature in these areas should around 90 degrees fahrenheit. The water temperature should be kept at around 80 F. If you are using water heaters to maintain this temperature, be very careful to ensure that the water does not evaporate and expose the heater. This can result in overheating, and it can be dangerous for your turtle.
They also need a heat lamp and a UVB light. We recomend: Arcadia Solar Basking Spotlight 50 Watts as well as Arcadia D3 Compact Bulb and 2x Arcadia Small Clamp Lamp Fitting
Filtration and water quality
Musk turtles spend most of their time in the water so keeping it warm and clean is a priority. These turtles can be quite messy due to their high protein diet so require quite a strong filter to keep them clean. If you have a powerful filter you should only need to check it once a fortnight and clean the entire enclosure once every 3 months or so.
Water should always be treated before being introduced to the turtles enclosure to remove the chlorine. If you do not do this trace elements in the tap water can disturb the biological pads in your filter and even effect your pet.
We recommend Eheim Pickup 60 Internal Power Filter as well as API Stress Zyme 120ml and Esha Tortufit 10ml to help with water conditioning. Please notice, you have to run the tank for, at least, two weeks before put the turtle in.
Food and Water
In the wild, the Common Musk Turtle would eat a wide variety of water fish and insects. They are primarily carnivorous, although they do sometimes eat certain algae. In captivity, providing a varied diet will help to ensure that they remain happy and healthy. Commercial turtle pellets fed alongside high-protein foods such as earthworms, crickets, fish and shrimp are a good choice. Some Stinkpots may also enjoy grazing on leafy greens too, but don't be offended if they turn their nose up at them.