Turtles
Thanks to everyone who informed me the pictures are not visible.
I am working on this issue and hope to have it corrected soon.
Who doesnt love tiny turtles? We sure do!
Check out the species, and offspring produced here at Arctic Exotics...
Be sure to check out the available and turtle care pages for more information :)
I am working on this issue and hope to have it corrected soon.
Who doesnt love tiny turtles? We sure do!
Check out the species, and offspring produced here at Arctic Exotics...
Be sure to check out the available and turtle care pages for more information :)
Hatchlings
At first they are so soo tiny. So they are set up at first in small groups in 6qt shoe boxes, by species, and feed on blackworms/blood worms/tiny shrimps (think sea monkeys) until they are big enough to take pellet. I keep colonies of these tiny prey items around just in order to feed them. After they do eat pellet regularly, they are transferred to the large nursery tank where they meet other mud musk turtles for the first time.
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Species i'm working with...
Common Musk Turtles
These guys are so soo small. Arguably the smallest turtle species in the world. The first species acquired here, the male Zuess is somewhat of a celebrity at the local reptile rallys. Many locals have watched him grow up, and we are proud to finally be able to offer his offspring to my fellow Alaskan. Pictured are my breeding pair with a 3x5 index card for referrence.
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Razorback Musk Turtles
Three Lined Mud Turtle
Mississippi Mud Turtle
Eastern Mud Turtle
This girl was rescued from a previous owner that kept her and a mate with a red eared slider that one day decided to bite off her right foot, and kill her mate. Yes, this is why I dont recommend housing these guys with sliders... fortunately we were able to save her life, but not her foot. Its healed very well though and doesn't effect her quality of life (or the genetics of her offspring). What we didnt know yet at the time was she was just barely gravid at the time of the attack. After a period of gestation, she laid four healthy eggs, all of which hatched and are living well in the nursery. As we dont have a ,mate for her, and are giving her time off before we decide if we will find her one, these four will be the only eastern hatchlings we may have for now.
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My adults set up
Like all reptile breeders, space is at a premium. So I use a rack system. This one is the 6 high rack modified for use with aquatic turtles. These tubs measure 3 feet by 2 feet long and are filled roughly with 6" deep of water. This gives them a huge amount of swimming area. its hard to calculate a reference for what an aquarium equivalent would be, but I think this is about a 40 gallon breeder. It works really well for them. The shallow depth gives them just enough space while still having easy access to air just above them. its a great solution to conserving space while still offering a great quality of life providing for all their needs.
Care for these guys is basically the same as the hatchlings. Except these guys are fed the larger version of the hatchling pellet, and have filtered water. The adults dont need baffled current as they are big enough to not need to tread water. These guys do have a uvb and a heat lamp for each tub, im not convinced its necessary but since i had extras laying around, I figure it couldn't hurt. |