Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)
The common musk turtle is a member of the family Kinosternidae. It has a blackish-brown carapace that is highly domed with a vertebral keel. The keel tends to flatten out in adults, but is very prominent in hatchlings and juveniles. The plastron is reduced in size. The head of the common musk turtle typically has two distinct parallel yellow stripes that extend from the nose to the neck, though these may fade in older animals.
The common musk turtle has a wide geographic range in eastern North America, from Florida to Ontario, and west to Texas and Wisconsin. Common musk turtles are found in both slow-flowing sections of stream and river habitats, as well as lakes and ponds. Also called the “stinkpot,” a common musk turtle may emit a foul smell from glands on the corners of the plastron that exude an orange-ish liquid. This usually occurs when a turtle is frightened or startled, and often declines in pets that receive frequent handling.
Musk Turtle Husbandry
Daily Chores
● Fresh water daily
● Spot clean daily
● Spray Daily (Full clean once a month)
● Use F10 Veterinary Disinfectant
Vets and Insurance
● Exotics Vets are not easy to find, here in Brighton we use Coastways in Kemptown as they have an exotic vet called Celine. It is essential you find an exotic vet.
● There is insurance you can get for your reptile through Exotic Direct.
Musk Turtle Maintenance and Cleaning
Turtles are messy animals and will require cleaning regularly.
Every week, a small amount of water should be replaced and any mess cleaned out. This is most easily achieved with an aquarium vacuum. Use the aquarium vacuum to pull out any mess from the bottom of the enclosure into a bucket. Discard of the dirty water and replace it with clean, dechlorinated water.
Roughly 20% of the water should be replaced each week.
The whole enclosure should be deep cleaned and replaced every other month. Remove and scrub all deco. Replace all water and give the whole enclosure a good scrub as well. ALWAYS clean the filter and enclosure on separate days. When cleaning the enclosure out entirely, do not clean the filter. This is because the filter has built up beneficial bacteria you will need when you have replaced all the water. Leave it a week or so before cleaning the filter. Clean or replace filter media according to the manufacturer.
Doing 100% water changes is completely safe for your turtle. If you have planted (rooted plants) in a naturalistic enclosure, 100% is not recommended due to the plants and the aquarium being fully cycled and cleaning on its own.
Water quality and Filtration
Water quality is an essential part of any aquatic animals care. External filters are highly recommend for turtles as they have a high output, are more powerful and have a more in depth filtration system. Filters should run 24/7.
Turtle water must be dechlorinated using a dechlorinator
Filters work hard to clear your water of fecal matter, food debris and any other nasty things floating around so it’s important you clean them regularly. NEVER change all your filter media in one go. Filters build up beneficial bacteria in the media which improves the water quality. Most filters use the same basic media, Pre filter, Chemical, biological and mechanical filter medias. Depending on what filter you get, the media will differ. Filter media will need to be changed or cleaned according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Always read the filter instructions in depth to ensure it is running safely and filter media is being used correctly.
Fluval 07 series are a brilliant brand of external filter. When run correctly they are near silent, have a three warranty and are easy to replace parts on. They are excellent at filtering water. The price tag is worth it!
Turtle water will need to be heated to a suitable temperature using a submersible heater. They usually have small dials to pick the temperature on the heater.
Musk Turtle Diet
Musk turtle are omnivores and will eat a very wide range of foods including plant matter and live insects. Musk turtles are omnivorous. In captivity, a diet of locusts, bloodworms, earthworms and Arcadia turtle gold pellets works well. They are bottom feeders, but are known to forage on land. They also consume small amounts of plant matter. Duckweed, Java fern and Amazon sword plant are safe feed plants and can easily be kept inside an enclosure as enrichment as well as food. Variety is key to a good, healthy turtle.
Uneaten food must always be removed as it will quickly ruin the water and can cause negative bacterial growth. Arcadia Reptile sell EarthPro Turtle Gold which is a great way of ensuring your turtle is getting his supplements. You also want to ensure your feeder bugs have been gut loaded (fed) before offering to your reptile. We use Arcadia Reptiles Insects Fuel.
Musk turtles less than 6 months old should be fed twice daily and turtles over 6 months old should be fed once every other day. These animals must be fed in the water to facilitate swallowing as their tongues are not meant to push food to the back of the mouth for swallowing.
Supplementing your Musk Turtle Diet
Supplementing a Musk Turtle diet is not very easy due to the water washing off the powder however all reptiles deserve supplementation.
The use of high-quality reptile supplements in the correct amounts at the correct frequencies will help to ensure optimum bone health and skin health for your reptile, and help to avoid a plethora of nutrition-related illnesses such as metabolic bone disease.
EarthPro-A at every feed on all food items, CalciumPro Mg at every 4th feed, A quality full-spectrum powder with D3 and A can be offered at feed 6 or 8. We then carry on with this cycle.
Using Turtle Gold is a great way of ensure your turtle gets supplements in its diet.
Check out the feeding schedule using the link https://www.arcadiareptile.com/earthpro/feeding-programme/herbivores/
Minimum rehoming Requirements for a Musk Turtle
- 4ft x 2ft x 2ft Enclosure
- Arcadia Reptile ProT5 24W 12% Kit £60
- 75W Arcadia Reptile Halogen £15
- Dimming thermostat £55
- Arcadia Clamp Lamp £25
- Fluval Water Heater (Recommend lowest wattage 100W)
- Fluval Filter (We recommend external filters for Turtles)
- Exo Terra Aquatize Water Treatment £10
- Substrate and decor is up to you.
You can source all electrics and decor from us as we run a shop
When installing the electrics in your enclosure, you want to create a warm side and cooler side. The halogen and UVB create the warm side. While the ceramic provides a boost to ambient temps when needed