Murray river turtle

[roxiebarb]

Hi,

Just received a murray river turtle just over a month ago, found out that he is very under weight also had a paracite infection, so now he is a sick little turtle, I am doing my best to get him to the size that he needs to be, he is about 13 months old and not much bigger than a 50 cent piece. I am trying to feed him blood worms & some live fresh water bait, I have him in a tank with guppies but they are too fast for him. I just want my turtle to be happy & healthy. if there is anyone that can give me some tips, I would be very thankful.

 

[Bugsy]

wudnt guppies stress the lil guy out? im not a turtle person, but jus a guess..and if he has the infection, wudnt the guppies hav it too? my suggestion wud b to clean out the water, tank, and anything like logs or rocks, thoroughly...and seperate the turtle n guppies? but like i sed im not a turtle person, i may b totally rong...

 

[roxiebarb]

I have cleaned everything out with boiling water, I have taken him to a vet, but the paracite just does not seem to be clearing, I was told that because he was so underweight (about 10 grams, he is 13 months old) He will have trouble fighting the paracite. somebody at the zoo told my mum that he may not make it through the month because he is very underweight. The guy I got him off had about 30 other little guys the same age as the one I got all in a tank together, he told me to only feed him every 2nd day. Just very upset by all this, want the little fella to be ok.

 

[Eastern Snake Neck]

Hi roxiebarb,

Don't boil everything. That will kill off the beneficial bacteria. Leave the tank to 'cycle' so that the 'good' bacteria can get established.

Forget the bloodworms - they have little nutritional value. Replace them with mosquito larvae (wrigglers). Leave some containers of water outside for a weeks or so and you will have a ready supply.

Go to the FAQ section of my web site for some more suggestions on appropriate foods.

The freshwater fish are excellent. However, the turtle will not catch them. You will need to kill them off, one at a time (leave them out of water until they die, or whack them over the head) and put them back into the tank for the turtle to eat.

Regards,
Michael.