I'm in Melbourne so I guess while it gets cold it doesn't get freezing as such!
While I would love to have a pond, I dont have enough open space in the yard and I also have two greyhounds who I wouldn't trust with the turtles.
I've just adopted 2x 10 year old turtles, off someone who wanted to get rid of them, who have been kept together in a 3ft tank for the last 8 years so I feel that the 6ft tank will be a massive improvement!
Hello. What I can tell you is that Murray River turtles are the second biggest Emydura sp in Australia, exceeding 40cm SCL (Straight Carapace Length). They are a large, heavy and powerful turtle that requires a substantial swim space in captivity, a minumum 8×3×2 aquarium (8ft long by 3ft wide by 2ft high) to house just 1. You're proposed plan of 2 in a 6ft tank is in breach of the reptile and amphibian captive keeping code of practice.... by a long shot... the minimum requirement for 2 individuals of the species is a 2m × 2m × 0.5m pond... it all comes down to surface area. Think of it like this... have you ever seen someone who's spent a substantial time of their life in a wheelchair? Notice their legs, how skinny and underdeveloped they are? This is what happens to turtles kept in aquariums that are too small... they suffer from underdeveloped muscle tone and skeletal deformities. It also impacts their lungs as no pressure is ever applied to them when they can never dive more than 30cm.
Regardless if they're endemic to your local area and as you put it, "it gets cold but not freezing" - turtles are fully in-tune with their surrounding environment and the 4 seasons and should not experience 4 seasons in a 24 hour period which is what will happen in your aquarium holding 500 litres of water or less, outside exposed to severe temperature swings... this doesn't happen in the wild... whilst it may very well be cold in the winter, a large lake or dam where the turtles are residing has a very stable temperature, it may only be 14° but it wouldn't shift more than a degree or 2 over the course of a day throughout the entire season whereas your tank will swing dramatically up to 5 degrees, possibly more, constantly. The aquarium is also too small to allow a suitable basking area for the turtles to haul out of the water and warm themselves, essential for all turtles. I could go on and on but realistically you need to understand that while you "could" keep those turtles that way, the question is should you??
Murray river turtles.
Being in a 3ft tank for 10 years will have probably stunted those turtles.
I’ll put this in perspective. I have 3 Macleay river turtles, which is the second smallest turtle in Australia, in a 5ft x 2ft x2ft fish tank, and some would say i’m pushing the limit.
A 6ft would not be suitable for 2 Murray river turtles.
Hi mate, your set-up is absolutely fine for 3 Macleays, I keep 4 in a 4×3×2 custom tank which is the same as a 6×2×2 however I've opted for the extra width over length. Width of aquariums is important to avoid stunting or shell deformities, 2ft wide is the absolute minimum, a standard 15' wide fish tank is never adequate for turtles but your 5×2×2 offers ample room for 3 Macleays and exceeds the minimum standard set out in the code of practice.
4 Macleays - 4x3x2
Adult Macleays - smallest species of freshwater turtle on the eastern side of Australia.
