Other Turtle Discussion :: SOFTSHELL TURTLE?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

ok,so today i went to the petshop a couple of blocks away from me.
i was browsing around looking at all the yellow bellied sliders and red eared that they have,but all of a sudden i see this brownish soft looking turtle with a sting like mouth rise to the top.i asked the pet shop owner what kind of turtle it was, and he said it was a soft shell turtle and he's selling it for 24 dollars..

i never seen or heard of a soft shell turtle,it looked realy strange yet very cool [=

has anyone else seen one of'em?

[flutterby]

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-spiny_softshell.htm

Most of the soft shells I've seen were these ones. But so much smaller and really cute.

[jenaero]

Yeah they're cute but get enormous and are notoriously vicious. $24 would be a really good deal for one in my area.

[z-chic]

I used to have a florida softshell. They can be VERY agressive. Mine was about 6 inches or so. They had some babies at the reptile show I went to and they were really cute.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

i was tempted to get one, but i realy dont know anything about them.
so i decided not to,the pet shop owner told me about them, but i dont trust pet shop owners.

im thinking of maybe getting one in the near future,either that or a tortoise.
but not anytime soon,i still have alot to learn about my current turtles [=

[industrial_girl_2000]

The baby/small softshells are no problem in terms of personality, but once they become adults they can become *very* aggressive (like a snapping turtle). These are fully aquatic turtles (as opposed to the RES's which are called "semi-aquatic", not meant to be messed with, and tend to sit on the bottom of the tank sulking, with their nose above water. Most won't bask in light like an RES either, so you don't get to see much of them.

They can also have the ability to grow bigger than an RES too. I have seen adult softshell turtles in the wild that grew to be about 15-18 inches long.

The adults have a really long neck, so you have to be very careful when you pick them up so they don't reach around and bite you!

[steve]

Those are excellent points industrial girl, those turts must be fascinating to observe.