General Care Discussion :: Softshells

[joeybsmooth]

Has anyone ever had one for these . I am really thinking about getting one. They just look so odd they are cute .

First I am pretty sure I am going to get a new tank for it. ( at least at first ) TO make sure that he is not sickly. I may be him in with Spaz but someone has talked me out of it for the most part.

[Daniel3507]

dont keep them together. you should research them for a few months before you get one so you know how to care for it and everything

[Bumby's Mom]

I thought soft shelled turtles had to have lower water with a higher salinity level.... not sure though.

[joeybsmooth]

Yeah I am thinkig about getting a different type. Now that I have read up on them.

[ScrewZoo]

i had one bout 4 inches.

[untsmurf]

if you go to austin turtle page they have basic caresheets for basically every kind of turtle, I suggest you start there and you can start weening out the ones you can't give proper care to.

[drtweak]

mikey (RIP) had a soft shell but i knew he wasnt being fed right (food that was being given to him had NO CALCIUM WHAT SO EVER!) so we just kept feeding him. Him and spike were together before (gfs cuz had them) and we got them at seprate times but we had mike is a smaller travel tank.

it took him a while before he started to eat the pellets. but once he did his shell got WAY harder. i mean after a week or two of having him a big improment was notices. Gezz he even ate 3 of the 5 guppies we had!!!

Keep him seprate, make sure the water temps, ph, all the levels are good. Then make sure he is getting enough calcium and a good diet. The pellets we used were the Nurtafin which our turts like a lot! but they are only treats now (maybe 2-5 a day) and he munches on his big leaf of red leaf lettus now.

Just feed him a good diet, make sure his enviroment is good. Mikey also started to eat more once we got a UVB light as well. so just watch him. give him a month of good food and he'll get better ^.^

[joeybsmooth]

I should have been more clear. I am talking about the spiny soft shell turtles. Not my normal turt having a soft shell . Sorry some times I don't explain things well.

[Raphulk]

i currently have a florida softy.
absolutely adorable, they are like otters and dolphins of the turtle world, really really fun and playful.

unfortunately i am giving them back to their original owner because i can afford to maintain them like i do with my RES.

a couple things that are different than with raising RES is two fold:

the water level and the substrate

1) the water level needs to be as high as the turtles neck can reach to breath without swimming to the surface. if you have their water level higher, however, they will not die its just recommended. their necks are really long

2) the substrate must be sand, or some really really fine gravel, sand is recommended. the sand is meant for the softshell turtles to dig underneathe and hide. they do this often.

UNLESS you are really going to commit into having softshell turtles, i dont recommend getting them. although they are awesome turtles, and not exactly hart to maintain, they do recquire a little more care (than RES, in my opinion)

theyre water has to be very prestine because their softshells are very sensative and vulnerable. also, with the hiding in the sand, they sometimes dont eat as often, i sometiems have to force feed them but putting them in separate tanks.

because they have sand as substrate, you need to have a really good filtration that wont jam from the sand. also because they hide in the sand, the UVB rays arent so beneficial sometimes.

its really up to you though, from my experience, i would just stick with RES, unless youre up to it.

ALSO they can reach lengths up to 17 - 20 inches. large, unless you have a pond.