Turtle Info Please

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Spikie wanna cricket

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I have just adopted a turtle , will post some pictures soon, but wanting to know everything possible. i was told how to sex them years ago but never had to do it so how do i know ? what is the best food for them? she wasnt too well cared for (was in dirty tank etc..) but now she is getting the best care possible. any info no matter how small is good its my first turtle
 
Looks like a juvi murray shortneck :)

For food, shortnecks are more omnivores (in comparison to long necked species) and will eat aquatic vegetation and some aquatic animals, such as shrimp, guppies, other fish etc. You can buy live feeder fish really cheap from most pet stores, and you can also purchase aquatic plants from there as well pretty cheap usually- I just ask for the hardiest, quickest growing plants, because my boy loves to eat them :) As they get older, they tend to eat more plants. I also supplement my boy with some nutrafin max turtle pellets and/or reptomin pellets, but the more natural you can keep the diet the better.

To sex the turt, have a look from the underside and look at the position of the cloaca, the width of the tail and the length of it. Females generally have sharply tapering short tails with the cloaca nearer the shell, whilst males have longer, wider tails with the cloaca further towards the end of the tail :) An easy way is if your turtle is a male and happens to get 'excited' when being picked up and 'flashes; you lol.

Make sure you have a good basking area a few degrees warmer than the water temperature, and you'll need a good UVB (I used a 10.0 bulb). I don't use gravel or sand in my tank, because I've read about other peoples experiences with it, where the turtles have eaten it and been unable to pass it. Instead, I like to use the largest size polished river rocks from bunnings (cleaned very thoroughly) as my boy likes to push them around etc. but cennot swallow them. And I'm sure you already know this, but turtles create a LOT of waste, so you'll need a large canister filter to cope with it :)
 
they said it is a girl but i just dont trust them if i get a photo of the under belly would you be able to tell me
 
yer i jhust got that care sheet we actually have a fish pond in our yard that grows plants really well so i was thinking of putting some in his tank . is there any that is bad for them
 
I think a plant called lizards tongue or tail is poisonous.
 
cool i looked at some pictures of lizards tail the plant i have is long thin leaves kinda like grass but under water
 
cool i have tons of ribbon weed in my pond at the backyard i put some in but she isnt interested she just hangs out by the filter
 
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