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Post by TurtleMom on Aug 8, 2003 7:31:57 GMT -5
I took pictures of my turtle to our local nature center. And we now believe that he is a striped mud turtle from southern Florida. We were really surprised since he's been in Chicago for the past 15 years. Can anyone guide me on the care and habitat of this breed? I've read that you rarely see them in the wild since they don't bask. But our little guy seems pretty outgoing, probably from being in captivity. At times I think we could hand feed him.
As soon as I figure out how to download my pics from my digital camera I'll post them.
Thanks.
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Post by terje on Aug 8, 2003 14:57:29 GMT -5
I don`t know anything about that specific type of mud turtle, but I do have a mud turtle myself. He doesn`t bask very often, but he does bask occasionally. I keep mine, he`s 5.5" long, in a 40 gallon tank with lots of vegitation and a flat rock for basking. The rock is raised up so he can swim/walk under it as well. He`s not a very strong swimmer compared to sliders, so I keep the water level just an inch or so highher than the top of his shell. I feed him reptomin, trout chow, live fish, bloodworms, meal worms, nightcrawlers,shrimp and the occasional veggie. Also, I put a cuttle bone in there for extra calsium. As with all turtles, UVA/UVB lighting is important and keeping the right temperatures in and out of water. I keep his water at around 75 and the basking area holds 90 or so. My guy seems to love walking around on the bottom of the tank rather than swimming, so to have a somewhat "entertaining" environment for your turtle is important. I use big river rocks as substrate and I have larger rocks in there as well so he can explore a little. I also have tons of artificial plants in the tank and I have a 2" long pleco to keep algae away. Good luck
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