My Sad Soft Shell turtle :-(

[eillenacosta]

I have four pet turtles. Three are red eared sliders and I have one soft shell turtle. I feel like my soft shell a turtle feels out of place. At night I notice that he/she sometimes jumps out of the tank... the tank is 20 gallons!! I wonder if the other turtles hurt my soft shell or make it feel neglected. I feed them all at the same time they are all in the same tank. They are only about five months old. Very small. She doesn’t eat with the others normally she’s at the bottom sniffing around. Also I don’t no how to show affection. At night she has her own bed because if not the other turtles lay on top of her and I’m scared that they hurt her (because she doesn’t have a hard shell) please help me!!
:confused::confused::confused:

[Lyka_01]

Honestly I don't know about turtles because I don't have any...
But when I read your post I'm being encourage to have turtles too...

Anyway, maybe you're right the soft shell one is being out place...
Maybe because he is the only one different from them...
Try to have her partner...
I mean have another soft shell turtle...

[xpalaboyx]

how about placing the soft turtle to another tank... a tank of his own and like what lyka said... get him a partner...

[eillenacosta]

i was thinking of getting another turtle but they get too BIG!!! i wanna keep them for a long time and four turtles is such hard work. and they take up most of my attention, when im home anyways. its like the others are swiming around at all times and shes always under the same rock by herself and she really got used to jumping out and it scares me. :-( ... i was thinkin of another tank but it just doesnt fit anywhere...

[kyukidojen]

Soft shell turtles, while very cool to look at, require a LOT of work. A LOT.

First, her habitat needs are very different from your sliders. She needs her own tank. She needs at least 3 inches of SOFT sand in the bottom - it needs to be clean sand, and it can't be the stuff sold for sand boxes. She needs to be able to burrow into it and bury herself. That is what her instincts tell her to do. You'll need a special filter that won't be damaged by the sand, and you'll need to clean out the filter and change the water EVERY week. She'll need all new sand at least once a month. More if you keep her in a small tank. She also needs at least 8 inches of water to swim in - soft shell turtles are very active. Red eared sliders would not do well in a tank set up for soft shells

Also... did you purchase her or did you catch her? The kind of soft shell turtle that you can catch in most places is ILLEGAL to have as a pet... and they get VERY large - at least 2 feet across. We raised our last softshells with permission and endorsement from our local DNR.

I've raised quite a few, and wouldn't recommend them. They don't get very tame, have a tendency to bite, are good at escaping, and are VERY fast (if they are healthy). They're messy, and their tank needs are hard to maintain.
I hope this doesn't come across as mean... I'm not trying to do that at all. I just know, from experience, what a chore it can be to care for soft shells. I also know that they really aren't the ideal pet. Red eared sliders on the other hand, are easier to clean, easier to feed, easier to house, stay smaller, are friendlier... you get the idea. :)

[Pet Pal]

Hi. My i suggest you visit.............

http://www.turtletimes.com/

If you join this forum it will come in handy if you ever experience any problems you have. Or like the one you are going through now with your soft shelled turtle. please look and consider joining. :)