# Pig Nose Turtle setups



## Pinoy (May 10, 2011)

Hi all, 

Just wondering if anyone here keeps/breeds Pig Nose Turtles?

It's something I would like to get in the future but not for a while and figured it wouldn't hurt to start researching and getting as much info as I can early.

So if anyone had some tips and pics of their turtles and set ups, that would be much appreciated 

Cheers
ROnny.


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## Pinoy (May 10, 2011)

Thanks, will check that one out.

Yeah I read that they can grow big but also read the aussie ones grow a lot slower than the other one so I should have some time to prepare for it  

One thing that I'm concerned about is the UV light getting wet.
I want to see how people have set theirs up to avoid getting wet and still being effective.


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## HILDY (May 10, 2011)

Just keep the uv above the water, they're turtles not dolphins


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## Jazzz (May 10, 2011)

yeah i think your pretty much looking at turning a pool into a tank... i had family in the uk that had one and thats what they had to do it got so big =S 

i do love their flippers though =]


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## Pinoy (May 10, 2011)

Thanks, I was gonna put it in the water but now I wont.

With good water movement, and a turtle that is eager to eat, water can still get splashed. 

Have you ever seen a turtle at the waters surface trying to eat something that isn't in the water?


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## HILDY (May 10, 2011)

Turtles will take food out of water but take it back in to eat, with piggys they dont bask, males will never leave water and females will only to lay eggs. Pretty sure uv is not needed.


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## Pinoy (May 10, 2011)

bucky said:


> i wouldnt worry. the uv light should be about 30cm from the surface so i doubt you will have any problems. also yea your going to want a fish tank about 10ftx3x3 roughly. pretty big. the water shouldnt be moving so fast that the turtle will have to swim against it all the time.
> good luck. it certainly is a species i plan on keeping in the future once i have the right licence.
> 
> oh and i dont think the growth rate is much different between aus and new guinea and i have seen a 2yo that was pretty big in the for sale section not to long ago so check it out
> ...



Thanks Bucky,
The reason, I was concerned about the UV light getting wet is because for lizards, they have to be able to get within 30cm of the light for it to be effective and I wasn't sure if that'd be the same for the turtle.
I had a 10x3x2 for my fish when I was in Perth. Would have looked better with a Pig nose in it lol.
I was planning to have the filtration set up so that the outlet was disrupting the surface, rather than jetting out and making too much flow.

I saw the one in the classifieds, but I'm not ready for one yet and I'm pretty sure that one sold pretty quick.




HILDY said:


> Turtles will take food out of water but take it back in to eat, with piggys they dont bask, males will never leave water and females will only to lay eggs. Pretty sure uv is not needed.


 
It's when they take it back into the water, they splash.


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## HILDY (May 10, 2011)

you wouldnt feed a pig nose turtle on land, they mainly eat aquatic plants. With feeding on land i was talking bout a pit set up with lizard and turtles that will come up and bask, the turtles will come out of the water and take what they want back in.


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## Pinoy (May 10, 2011)

Do you have any experience with pig noses? or any turtles?

Turtles do have the ability to stick their head out of the water and take food, they can even propel their body out of the water a bit, they don't have to get out of the water.


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## Pinoy (May 10, 2011)

They don't have to leave the water to splash.

Even when a turtle is at the surface breathing, if anything spooks them or they just duck down quickly, it can still cause a splash.
When we go to the ponds to hand feed the turtles we always get splashed by the ones that are keen to eat.

This is why I wanted to see peoples set ups and see what precautions they have taken if any.
Having an exposed UV tube near water just doesn't sound like a good idea to me, so I want to know how others do it.


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## HILDY (May 10, 2011)

Yes i keep and work with turtles, i dont think you see what i was trying to say turtles eat in water, they can take food from land back to water to eat( not pig noses) and of course they can put their heads out of water they breath air.


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## Pinoy (May 10, 2011)

Then how come you're not seeing what I'm saying? 
I know they eat in the water. I'm not talking about them coming out and taking food into the water cos I know they don't do that.

Are you saying that animals don't get excited over food if they're fed well on a regular basis?

Let's say, they're at the surface breathing, and something startles them, when they go back down in a hurry, it normally makes some kind of splash, you can hear it sometimes. 

Also, if I wanted to put fish in there with the turtle, I definitely wouldn't be able to have it near the water uncovered.
Is there anything I could do about that?


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## HILDY (May 10, 2011)

just have it at least 15 to 20cm above the water, its not a huge splash. it will be fine.


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## Pinoy (May 10, 2011)

But that's what raises my other question, will the UV still be effective at that distance?


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## HILDY (May 10, 2011)

On most uv lights they're effective up to 30cm


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## Pinoy (May 10, 2011)

and I'm assuming it will be fine for the turtle even underwater?


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## HILDY (May 10, 2011)

yeah it will be fine, i think most use the uv mainly for plants that they have growing in with them.


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## Pinoy (May 10, 2011)

Ah k, thanks for that. 

I'm seeing a lot of mixed responses on the www cos some are saying they do need it, some say they don't.
If the turtle doesn't need the UV, that'll make things a lot easier


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## dihsmaj (May 11, 2011)

I love these turtles.


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## waruikazi (May 11, 2011)

There is only one person to have bred them successfully so far. He is a member on this site, slickturtle.


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## Waterrat (May 11, 2011)

Looks like there is plenty of pseudo-expert ideas and suggestions here. Why not ask *the* real expert - Greg Miles.


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## waruikazi (May 11, 2011)

Waterrat said:


> Looks like there is plenty of pseudo-expert ideas and suggestions here. Why not ask *the* real expert - Greg Miles.



Lets be fair Michael, if it weren't for the pseudo experts talking smack the people who do know wouldn't get on the forum to clear the mess up.


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