Pig Nose Turtle Maintenance

Basic Maintenance

There isn't too much I can say about the maintenance of these Fly River Turtles. Once you have the necessary equipment setup, they are pretty easy pets to own and care for. Just keep a few things in mind each day that are important to keeping them healthy:

• Water Temperature should be between 79-86F.
• PH should be between 8.0-8.3
• Water should be hard 18-25 dh.

By keeping the PH up, it will help prevent growth of fungal agents that thrive in neutral water and will likely be killed off in higher PH water.

Without having to re-invent the wheel, here is a link to the best information I could locate about Fly River Turtle Maintenance.
http://www.carettochelys.com/carettochelys/water.htm

Sick Pig Nose Turtles

Shell rot, shell disease, sores, white spots, are common problems with most turtles. Though the most common problem you might experience with soft shelled turtles such as the Fly River Turtle is fungus infections. Fungus infections are mostly secondary infections. Fungus may begin at any area where skin or shell damage such as a cut or open sore has occurred. This mayappear as solid white lumps or a cotton like coating over the shell. You may also find fungus around the toes and eyes then progressing to other areas on the legs and neck. At this point you're turtle will not want to eat and may lay at the bottom of the tank without much movement. If you suspect your fly river turtle is sick, here are some really good tips to treat the sick turtle.

1. The water should be down to less than 12 inches deep. The turtle will be able to get to the surface if they are weak.
2. Keep the water temperature up between 80-85 degrees farenheit.
3. Make sure you have good aeration/circulation in the water with a bubble wand with an air pump, but no so much that it causes a strong current in the tank and your turtle can't rest.
4. The water should be treated with a sparing amount of salt. Some recommend using a salt like "Instant Ocean" at a rate of one level teaspoon per gallon of water. 10 gallons of water = 10 teaspoons of sea salt.
5. Pickup some anti-fungal medication at your local pet store. One that you might find is PimaFix . Follow the directions regarding a percentage of water changes.
6. If you can still use your external filter with the water so low, DO NOT USE the charcoal inserts in your aquarium filter. The charcoal inserts may reduce the effects of the medication you choose. Just leave the sponge insert to catch any large particles in the water.
7. DO NOT USE any water conditioners that may also affect the medication you choose. This means not using products such as Amquel+ during the treatment period.
8. Use bulbs that can provide some UV such as reptile bulbs. Some say this kills and inhibits fungus growth in the aquarium.

Feed your turtle sinking pellets such as Hikari algae wafers, Hikari sinking wafers, or Hikari sinking carnivore pellets. The turtle can feed easily at the bottom without having to try to catch or swim up for the food.

Once you feel your turtle is moving around quite a bit, you can try to restore his natural aquarium settings with a full tank of water. You will not need to continue to use the fungal medications but I suggest you keep the UV reptile bulbs in the tank.

If you have other helpful tips about curing sick Fly River Turtles, feel free to submit them to me through the Contact page.

 

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