3-stripe mud turtle scratching his own shell

all my turtles do this, but this was particularly entertaining. turtles scratch their shells by rubbing against objects in the tank, kicking up sand to add friction. fun to watch.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• 3-stripe
• mud
• kinosternon
• baurii
• turtle
• turtles
• fish
• aquarium
• tank
• pets
• animals
• reptile
• aquatic
• Florida
• wildlife
• swamp
• pond
• lake
• stream
• river
• creek
• wetland
• retention pond
• conservation area
• shell
• carapace
• scratching
• rock and roll
• shake rattle and roll

[raggle24]

Thank you and just to make sure you feed it to them raw correct

[BauriBob]

@raggle24 yes, the fish is fed raw.

[raggle24]

What is your mud turtles diet? I was thinking about getting four of them and do they eat just regular food pellets or animal matter.

[BauriBob]

@raggle24 I feed them catfish, scallops, and swordfish purchased at the local grocery store. I also feed them Hikari Sinking wafers and Hikari Carnivore wafers. Occasionally I feed them live earthworms which is a large part of their natural diet.

[TheNeonTide]

what kind of moss is that

[BauriBob]

@TheNeonTide all the moss is from mossballs that you can buy in aquarium shops or online. Eventually the turtles tear up the mossballs and that is what ended up as a sort of a green carpet on the bottom..which the turtles love.

[TheNeonTide]

@BauriBob wow thats interesting, and very nice to know as well, because i myself have moss balls in my aquarium :D thanks for responding.

[wintermire]

@quaqa88 These are all important things to watch for. But only if you see excessive scratching bordering on obsession. Otherwise it is perfectly natural.

Search for 'turtle scratching' here on youtube. There are some cool videos

[ArmyofSeaturtles]

interesting and informative turtles love to redecorate :)

[BauriBob]

they are fed with wafers containing vitamin D3, also fish, earthworms, mealworms, cuttlebone, scallops, and chicken. Mega-Ray lamp provides UVB. ammonia is zero, nitrites zero, nitrates very low, water changes twice a week, fish very healthy and reproduce. don't see the problem.