saw something cool today

[joedarat]

stopped by a petland on lunch break.. and saw this
soft shell turtle (big) in an african cichlid tank.. first off, i never even heard of this type of turtle.. and when it popped its head out of the sand, i thought i was in loch ness.. crazy looking head.. long neck , and it's got a little nozzle, sorta lika snorkel .. and the shell.. looked like the body of a stingray..
anyone else know about it?

 

[Andos99]

I have no idea....but it sounds cool!

 

[Guest]

oops double post, hate when that happens

 

[Guest]

sounds like a soft shell snapping turtle... they're all over the place down here, my Cousin's lake is full of them. Well, they aren't really snapping turtles, that's just what we call them becuase they really do bite.(just not quite as bad as the more common snappers) I think the ones here are called the Florida Softshell Turtle.

does it look anything like these pictures?

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turtle2.htm#soft
http://pelotes.jea.com/AnimalFact/Reptile/softturt.htm
http://www.floridanature.org/species.asp?species=Apalone_ferox#photos

 

[Veneer]

The females of some Apalone ("Trionyx") spp. (the genus most typically available in the hobby) can attain carapace lengths exceeding two feet (at which point they are more than capable of severing fingers); all species should ideally have a haul-out platform and herpetile lamp for basking.

That being said, male Apalone (and the females of certain species, or regional morphotypes thereof) are somewhat more amenable to ownership by the typical aquarist.

See this link for an excellent introduction to soft-shells.

 

[joedarat]

that's it ... that's Nessy! Looked just like this,

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheetpictures/spinysoftshell-7.jpg

thanks for the links..

 

[Pacifico]

Ahh, cool looking turtle. Before it was identified, I was going to guess it as a Fly River Turtle.

 

[Toirtis]

Love 'em (although they are not anywhere near as funky as the Indian softshells)....clean up that tank of all those annoying cichlids in no time, too.