Fresh water Turtles

[qwertie]

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about fresh water turtles, I saw them in a shop, the ones that I saw were called 'soft shelled turtles' I was wondering what theyre like and if theres anything I should know before I buy some, I am not definetly getting them, it is if I get a good SATS (stupid British exams which put 14 year olds under enormous pressure for no reason other than to say 'look how good we are we got all our students 8's' to cut a long story short, they should be binned)
result,
so if you know anything about soft shelled turtles please post it here,
thanks for your help
(please can we not bother criticising anyone for there grammar/spelling here? apart from it being ridiculous, all that counts here (a forum) is that we can all understand eachother, if you would like to see the rest of my arguing about grammar please go to http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewto...=372437#372437
And Please Please Please can we stick firmly to the subject?????

[ChileRelleno]

Well, if its a N.American soft Shell turtle then the number one hit on Google is this site, http://www.tortoise.org/archives/apalone.html , seems to have a plethora of pertinent information.

[Fluff]

Here is a link to some info on softshelled turtles. Any idea what species you were looking at?
I know there are several people on here that keep turtles and I'm sure they will chime in but, you might also what to check out AA's sister site reptileadvice.com for more assistance. HTH

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/softshellcare.htm

[ChileRelleno]

This site has more general information on Soft Shelled turtles species from around the world, http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/softshellcare.htm .
Pretty generalized, but there is atleast one link to another site.

[sonoma2nv]

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/softshellcare.htm http://www.anapsid.org/softshell.html

Heres a quick search hth

[ChileRelleno]

Ya beat me to it, Fluff

[sonoma2nv]

lmao well all got the same link lol dang msn search

[ChileRelleno]

Google or Ask Jeeves, personal favorites.

[qwertie]

wow thanks, this is a huge response 5 in 5 mins!!!
I was wondering if anyone knew what they are like as pets?
ive not actually looked at all these links yet lol, but i have googled soft shelled turtle on google before and it comes up with information about them in the wild, thanks anyway, It should help me build a more natural tank for them, do they need a beach?

[qwertie]

ouch, i better not stroke their shell then,lol

[qwertie]

i dont know what sort they are but they grow to about 8 and a half cm (3 inches), ill find out what sort they are tomorow when i go choosing my tank

[frog girl]

I think soft shells have a rep for being a bit nippy as your last post suggests. They also have extremely long necks so like snappers it is difficult to hold them without being bitten. In my experience turtles produce huge amounts of waste so you need a really good filter system. I also don't really know if any fish would survive well with them except maybe as dinner.

I don't think they need a beach but a place to pull out & bask would probably be appreciated. You can just use a platform or log in a regular aquarium for this. I don't know about soft shells but a lot of turtles need good doses of UVA & UVB for proper bone development when growing. They sell special lamps (reptisun is a reliable brand) for captive reptiles.

Toirtis (spelling??) is an advisor here & keeps a lot of freshwater turtles he probably will have a lot more to add. I would PM him if he doesn't show up.

HTH

[Toirtis]

Boo! Softies are fairly active when small, but prefer to lie fairly inactive and buried most of the time when large. They are rarely docile, and tend to being quite nippy, as Frog Girl mentioned. If you want an interactive, small chelonian, you might consider a Russian tortoise or a box turtle. The Tortoise Trust UK frequently has Russians up for adoption.

[qwertie]

Most reptiles are banned here, After researching them more, I dont think soft shelled would be good for me, ill have a look at the tortoise trust, Are the Russian tortoise turtles? thanks for your help

[qwertie]

I have decided that turtles would not be good for me, I thought about mud turtles but after hearing that they live from 30-55 years, I have decided I won't get any turtles now, or in the near-future, I am 14 and will be leaving home in 4 years, and my mum dosentr like looking after my pets (plus I doubt that when shes 100 (when the turtles are expected to die if they live for 55 years) she won't be able to look after them) I will get turtles in the future though.

[Toirtis]

Congratulations...you have made a wise, rational, informed choice on this...something I rarely see in people who are twice your age.

[qwertie]

Thanks,
It was all my choice, I dont want that responsibility for 40 years,
I have a tendency to get bored with things, unless it changes all the time, Im getting a 125 litre tank so that would fit loads of fish in, and when some fish diie , I could add new ones, so thats what makes it exiting, and I wont get too attached to them and cry when they die, which i probably would with a turtle (it would probably be my best mate after 50 years lol)
i wouldnt be able to add anything different for 50 years.... I still think I will get turtles when I'm older, along with a salt water tank (my mums mean and wont let me have anything, not a dog, not a cat, the prospect of getting tropical fish seemed boring at first, but after looking into it , and seeing that it wasnt just boring (like goldfish ) and one can add fresh water crabs, crayfish, and loads of interesting stuff, it would be better (not as fun) than having a cat or a dog, oh i forgot to mention I do have a verry tame house rabbit, who im sure thinks hes a dog sometimes, he runs around peoples legs and plays fetch (exept once he gets the carrot he runs away lol) so i think i'm going to be ok, Its strictly me looking after him, he lives in a big hutch and i clean him oyut every day, so tropical fish should be a walk in the park (or a swim in the lake lol)
I cant wait to get my first propper tank in a week