Other Turtle Discussion :: red belly sideneck turtle

[untsmurf]

So, I was looking up some turts on kingsnake and found a bunch that I liked. Will and I have decided that we want to get a red belly sideneck turtle instead of a western painted. Does anyone have any info about them? Or can anyone point me towards a good caresheet for them? I don't even know how big they get, so I need everything

[DavidY]

Yeah I want one of those too! Somebody here got one not too long ago, i forget who. He originally called it a "side belly redneck". but he got the scientific name correct which is what really matters. Here's some good info on them...http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-redside.htm

[scripta_elegans]

I think that the belly is pretty, but I think side neck turtles are just weird looking. I want a red belly no side neck turtle!

[marisa]

If you do a web search you should be able to find a number of sites with info on caring for them.

[untsmurf]

Thanks David, you're a great help

Sorry Marisa, I would've looked it up but we've spent all week setting up Will's classroom (school starts Monday).

[Jacksonvilla]

i have one of these. i got him at a few weeks old, and now he's about 14 months old. will post pics of setup. can't get him to bask, but have gotten him to take pellets from my hand. he really loves food. he has some guppies in his tank and usually goes through as many as i put in the tank with him (2-3 dozen) and then leaves the last few which i think are able to outsmart and avoid him. he has a basking setup, but i have only seen him up there twice and once with the lights off. i've moved his tank since then and no more basking he's almost 2 inches so i'm thinking of upgrading his 15 gal tank soon as well. and the colour is really cool. as well, mine's facial markings are quite distinct and make him look super cute. the side neck is also kind of cool because when you pick him up, he will curl up and look at you sideways

[Jacksonvilla]

oh man david, sorry, but that link was hurtin.
ok, so here's some knowledge from what i've gotten from breeders, and sites.
females can get up to 10 inches like the site says, and males are usually smaller closer to seven inch max.
river turtle, so it is down with a bit of a current because they love swimming (so a bit more exciting than still water i guess), and it also likes to wedge itself between things like rocks (a river bottom) and is also a digger.
a big thing when they are young is to keep the tank pristine. i feed my guy in his tank. people don't recommend this, but as long as the tank is cleaned regularly and you have a good filter. apparently they become pretty hardy after that and my guy seems quite healthy for a 1 year old.
started him on bite sized pellets, and keep him on a regular diet of them. introduced feeder guppies within the first few months and he loves them and usually demolishes them pretty quickly. was told they eat things like snails (tried packaged already dead snails and he ate them, but i don't think he particularly enjoyed them as much and often left the carcasses lying around. i think they may have also been tough since they are so big), but i am waiting for his jaw to develop a bit more before i try that out. tried live plants at one point but he dug some up and didn't pay much attention to others. breeds i tried were amazon swords, some fern looking bush type (i can't remember the name) plant, and another plant similar to the swords with a big stalk and broad leaves. have tried some vegetables and get mixed responses, but don't think it is really essential. they are mainly carnivorous in the wild so between the guppies and the pellets he is getting what he needs.
as for basking i have a lamp and platform set up, and have seen him up there twice. once while the light was off too :S

a very cute turtle though and i am also still looking for more info on them as well. would definitely recommend one though if you can afford to care for it. heard from one site that you can keep them together, but i've heard that red ear sliders shouldn't be kept together because they can fight? not even sure if that's true, but my guy is quite the snapper so i'm thinking he might also be aggressive with another turtle. not sure if i want to risk getting another, but think it would be fun if they would get along. baby turtles would be cool

[Jacksonvilla]

ok, haha, maybe it's alright. yea, just forgot a few things since i'm up so late.

water temp, since it's an australian turtle, it likes it a bit warmer. i find when it gets to low 70s my guy just chills out, and is much more active when he's got low to high 80s. as for my "pellets". yes i use reptomin, except i broke them up for him when he was a baby since they were too tough. i think they may have changed the formula since then though, since the sticks now seem softer. but yea, these things are basically turtle crack.
for tank size, definitely try and get a bigger one. at one year old i'm going to try and get a 55 gallon set up with an intense filter for him. i'm also thinking of getting a second turtle as well though. oh wow, haha, just read that they are great in community habitats. wow, awful first couples postssss. sooooo tired. going to beeed. that site is actually pretty legit tho

[steve]

Hi Jacksonvilla, welcome to the site. Thank you for the informative posts, though this particular thread is a few years old.