Soft shell turtles prefer living in slow-moving freshwater bodies with sandy or muddy bottoms, though they have also been known to survive in brackish water environments.
Turtles make remarkable display pets that will occupy owners for 30-40 years. However, their tank requires ample room and they must be kept away from dogs or cats who could harm them.
Contents
Food
Softshell turtles tend to be carnivorous creatures, meaning that they primarily consume foods derived from animals; however, some vegetables can provide nutritional support to these turtles.
Baby turtles must consume a diet consisting of fish, worms and shrimp to gain strength and develop their shells properly. Daily feedings for at least the first six months is necessary for optimal development of shells.
Hatching softshell turtle hatchlings need more nutrients than adult ones because their bodies are still developing, including minerals, vitamins and calcium supplements. Their diet should contain more proteins and less carbohydrates.
Softshell turtles inhabit freshwater environments such as ponds, lakes and retention ponds. They prefer sandy or muddy lake bottoms for breeding purposes and are most active during morning and evening hours. Softshell turtles tend to be aggressive creatures which should not be housed together as pairs; otherwise they could fight each other and bite when threatened or handled.
Water
Soft shell turtles prefer freshwater environments, although they will forage in brackish water as well. Their tank should contain at least 100 gallons of water; plants in your turtle enclosure can help oxygenate and provide hiding spaces for your new friend.
Softshell turtles inhabit various environments in nature, from shallow mud and sand banks, rivers and lakes to deeper environments like caves or forests. When found buried underground they usually leave only their heads exposed so that their respiratory cloacal and pharyngeal linings can breathe air from outside their substrate.
Newborn softshell turtle babies require a diet high in proteins, vitamins, and calcium for proper development. Over their first six months of life, feed your pet turtle daily or twice per day (half the total quantity for twice feedings).
As softshell turtles mature, their appetite typically diminishes. You can feed adult softshells a variety of food such as pelleted aquatic turtle food, fish, gut-loaded crickets, worms and crayfish; but beware when handling adult softshells as their bites can be powerful and even draw blood!
Lighting
Missouri is home to two species of soft shell turtles; Florida softshell (Apalone ferox) & Midland smooth softshell (Apalone mutica) can often be seen swimming along rivers, lakes & ponds. Softshell turtles stand out among North American turtle species because of their fleshy lips & lack of carapacial spines with instead blunt knob-like bumps on the front of their upper shells.
Turtles are carnivorous aquatic reptiles, feeding on aquatic insects, aquatic insects, crayfish, fish & amphibians in the wild while supplementing their diet with plants & vegetables as needed. As with all reptiles, turtles require UVA/UVB lighting for proper development – indoor reptile owners should use lighting such as Reptisun 10.0 or Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 T5 specifically tailored towards reptiles if you keep turtles indoors; otherwise metabolic bone disease will occur, leading to softened shells; this could even prove fatal! To combat metabolic bone disease’s harmful effects simply increase calcium intake either through feeding more pellets or supplemented powdered calcium into their diet.
Substrate
Although these tortoises are predominantly aquatic, they do spend some time sunbathing on land as a form of relaxation and to help manage parasite infestations or lay eggs. At around four or five years of age, they reach maturity and begin breeding between March and September.
Soft shelled tortoises should be examined by a vet immediately – often, this indicates MBD, which is potentially fatal if left untreated, or may simply have poor hygiene habits, including fighting other tortoises that could potentially cause shell damage (it is best if these animals remain separate permanently if possible).
MBD symptoms include purulent discharge from mouth and eyes, petechial hemorrhages on skin or shell surface, anorexia and liver necrosis. Penicillin treatment has proven most successful. Other remedies for MBD treatment may include providing more protein in diet and decreasing calcium intake.
