Murray Short Neck Turtles

[ldheav]

Turtles

Hi i have kept urtles for years
This very question came up in another forum

there is a short neck i think it was maquire which i beleive only grown to 18cm shell length

i would not put them together though untill they are at least 10 cm shell length as Murrys as you prob know tend to be a little bit agro at times

Hope this helps, and i like your setup

cheers

 

[Ristof]

I am pretty sure that the maquire is another name for the Murray Short neck

Yes I have noticed - it is not recommended to put them outside until they are big enough to be able to hibernate. The smaller ones don't have the body fat to survive

I would be keeping them inside until they get to big for their tank

 

[Strange1]

The Macleays river short necks only get to 18cm SCL

 

[cris]

IMO you shouldnt be mixing them with macleays its hard enough to keep them regonised as seperate things with them having the same name, breeding them together will just make things worse. Please dont do it or keep them seperately.

Go for another species, if you particularly want short necks you could try getting saw shells but there is a good chance they will be too agro and you may need to keep them seperate or sell them. Apart from that there are krefts but they arnt much smaller. Most long necks would probably be OK with them but they will be almost the same size or bigger depending on the species.

 

[Ristof]

Thanks for that

I like the short necks to the long necks
I will just get a couple more of the same and then there will 4 turts from two different parents/hatchings.

 

[sxc_celly]

Hornet Baby turtles should be fed twice a day. Anyway, they are HUGE for 18months. I would lessen the feeding. Ive bred turtles before and they are WAY oversized. Underfeeding and overfeeding isnt recommended. There is a nice average in the middle. Everyone has different opinions. If your worried or interestd to know why theyre so huge, go to yout local pet stores (that houses turtles/turtle products), and tell them what your feeding and doing. Ive got 2 little ones (a little bigger than a 50c piece) in a 4t tank. They get fed twic a day, a few frozen tablets (3-4) of BrineShrimp and Bloodworm. Ive also got Elodea in the tank for them to munch on. Everyone has different opinions, its up to you what you do with your turtles.

 

[cris]

A good way to check if your turtles are fat is to see if much fat is bulging out where their back legs are.

 

[Ristof]

I think it was more the fact of how much I was feeding them to how often,

The feeding amount has dropped over the last few months and now it is every few days

You guys have been a lot of help, and just to let you know they seem to be happy as ever. They don't look to be overweight just over size

 

[Ristof]

There is no fat bulging out of under their shells
The only thing you can see is their head and feet

 

[ldheav]

I keep Turtles
my adults get a meal once every 3 days
my smaller ones get it ever 2nd day

also, dont mix small turtles with big turtles remember that

 

[Ristof]

I keep Turtles
my adults get a meal once every 3 days
my smaller ones get it ever 2nd day

also, dont mix small turtles with big turtles remember that

I wasn't going too but thanks for the heads up

 

[Tatelina]

hey even if you are 'overfeeding' by the opinions of most people here...atleast they're healthy!

 

[ldheav]

yeh but the problem is is that they wont be in the future

 

[hornet]

it will shorten their life span, same with over feeding snakes

 

[expansa1]

Hi, overfeeding, regardless of whether it is deliberate or not can cause serious health problems including excessively rapid growth rates, obesity and hepatic lipidosis which is commonly referred to as fatty liver. Obese turtles store fat in their abdominal cavity as well as their organs. The most commonly affected organ is the liver. Over long periods of being overfed and not receiving proper exercise, as in the case of being kept in an aquarium, the liver can absorb so much fat that it ceases to function properly and may result in the death of a reasonably young animal! An excessively fast growth rate will also result in a shortened life-span.

It is always best to duplicate growth rates that animals would normally have in a good season with good food availability in the wild. Remember, turtles need to exercise lots to find, hunt and consume food in the wild. This is not the case in captivity!

Overfeeding and rapid growth rates can also be responsible for egg-binding in young females. Obesity may also result in egg retention. In males, a low sperm count can be the result of overfeeding.

As I mention in my caresheet, it is best to feed hatchlings a good sized meal once per day and adults only 2-3 times per week. Always add freshwater plants like Vallisneria sp (Ribbonweed), Azolla and Elodea etc. because hatchling, juvenile and adults will consume aquatic plants if they are slightly underfed or fed the correct amount( for short-necked turtles only). If you are always over feeding them ‘junk food’ like bloodworms and ‘Brine-shrimp’ then they will not be forced to eat natural, nutritional food like Ribbonweed!

If you are also always overfeeding your turtles a diet high in protein then shell deformities like pyramiding and other shell deformities may occur! Sometimes turtles will experience difficulty shedding scutes properly with a diet high in protein and low in keratin.

I have been breeding turtles for over 36 years and have bred many species for the first time in Australia. I have bred thousands of turtles during this time successfully with a high number being 3rd, 4th and 5th generation.



Craig
Below is a rather graphic photo of a turtle that has not been fed enough and the ignorant keeper was too stupid to realize that there was a problem! Unfortunately it was a turtle that I sold to someone who then passed it onto a friend who clearly did not know how to look after it properly!

 

[expansa1]

Bump

 

[ldheav]

I agree, its a balence but i would recomend that people that have their turts inside in tanks should take them out regulary onto grass or somthing and let them exercise


did that turtle die craig or did you nurse it back to health

i also think there is a hiddern problem with overfeeding, especially here in victoria, because the regulations are so tight as to legal sizes etc regarding turtle sales here in victoria, some breeders choose too overfeed to bring them up to sixe quickly, somethimes feeding 4-5 times a day

 

[mrdestiny]

I always prefer to see turtles of that size in a pond with some feeder fish where it will be more like in the wild and they get more exercise.
But getting back to the substrate issue in the tank, if you must keep them in a tank temporarily, you'll find that although it will look better with sand or gravel, things will be cleaner, and easier to keep that way if you use no substrate at all.

 

[expansa1]

I agree, its a balence but i would recomend that people that have their turts inside in tanks should take them out regulary onto grass or somthing and let them exercise


did that turtle die craig or did you nurse it back to health

i also think there is a hiddern problem with overfeeding, especially here in victoria, because the regulations are so tight as to legal sizes etc regarding turtle sales here in victoria, some breeders choose too overfeed to bring them up to sixe quickly, somethimes feeding 4-5 times a day

Unfortunately the turtle was too emaciated and couldn't even lift it's head up! It died 3 days later after coming into my care. I obviously tried everything that I could!

 

[hornet]

i always have feeder fish in with my turtles to give them excercise and feed them 2times a day, these are only young turtles i have and not all of them eat in the morning so they get theirs in the afternoon, it will be cut back shortly