turtle hatching care:

[flame_fish]

okay so I'm back with more questions :b
okay so people have said when it comes to having turtles with fish, it's not a good idea, & I agree. but also I was told that having hatching turtles with fish such as live barriers, they give the fish a better chance of survival. And what ever keeps my fishes alive & happy, i'm down for it. so now the question is, how do you care for hatchling turtles?? Main turtles are stinkpots & razorback musks. now I know that hatch lings are a bit harder to care for since they are so tiny & fresh from their eggs, I wouldn't know how to get them to eat & what not. so any one have any info or experience on how to care for these little guys? it would be helpful please & thnk you.

 

[Nomadu571]

How young are your hatchlings going to be? What type of advice are you after, setup and care? I don't see how they will benifit any breeding species as they are likely to hunt fry, but if you have been told otherwise then fair enough, but are you getting them purely to help the fish? Because I'm sure there are cheaper easier ways to help the fish. Musks live for 50+ years when cared for properly, so make sure your prepared for looking after them for life, don't get them just to help the fish.

Care wise, getting them to feed is a matter of putting small chunks, no bigger than the size of their head in front of them, instinct does the rest. Miel Worms and reptomin hatchling sticks/pellets are your best option. They love them.

Setup wise there are a lot of factors and expenditure.

Lighting: they need a UVB lightbulb with a minimum of 5% UVB. They also need basking areas both cool and warm. Warm should be round 28-30c. UVB are specialist bulbs and depending on size can be expensive. The basking light can be a normal 40-60w light bulb or a basking lamp made for reptiles. There should be no glass or plastic between the tank and lights as this will stop UVB radiation from breaking through. The musk should be exposed to this for the whole time in the tank, so position is important to make sure they benefit.

Water: the temp should be kept around 24-26c for hatchlings, and when they reach around 6months you should drop the temp slowly to around 20-24c. They are messy so water quality is important with regular 60-80% weekly changes.
The water level should be only 4-6" deep for hatchlings making it deeper slowly over a year to your desired depth.

Ambient air temp: most forget that turtles come out the water and so the ambient temp is also important. The air inside the tank should be free moving with no build up of condensation, so for this reason many owners prefer to have an open top tank so the air can circulate around the tank. There should be NO condensation, this will improve the chances of shell rot and respiratory diseases. The ambient temp should be around 17-20c roughly.

Decor: there should be as many ways to reach the surface as possible and areas where they can 'hang' at the waters surface. And areas warm and cool out of the water.

Light cycle: very important as musks are active at night mostly. 10-13 hours daylight. Lights should be no closer than 7-10 inches.

Feeding Miel worms should only be done once a week as a treat because of the amount of protein, reptomin sticks are ideal as they provide all nutrients including calcium.

 

[flame_fish]

woow thank youuu thank you thank you haha. This was really helpful