how long do musk turtles live

[leo]

Hi anyone know how long musk turtles live? there is so much contradicting information out there! does anyone know any good books they can recomend on these little fellas?

[wayne020668]

The Common Musk Turtle is a small species reaching an adult length of 7.5-12.5cm (3-5 inch). Males can be determined by the longer tail and overall larger size. Their shell coloration can be black, Grey or brown. They have a pair of yellow or green strip running from the tip of their nose to the neck. The jaw is powerful and can easily crush hard snail shells.
As the name suggests, these turtle can emit a smelly liquid from its musk glands when frightened. They are also known as Stink-pot Turtles.

The Common Musk Turtles range is from south eastern Canada down through the south eastern and south central American. They are mainly aquatic turtle, rarely found basking.

Common Musk Turtle are mainly aquatic, therefore a water depth of 10 inch or more should be given for adults and around 5 inches for babies. life span can be up to 50 years but we find they tend to live for 30 to 40 in captivity...
The water temperature should be maintained at around 26C (80F) for hatchling and between 21-24C (70-75F) for adults. A basking area of 31-33C (88-92F) must be provided.
The Common Musk Turtle is classed as being nocturnal, they stay hidden during daylight hours and become more active towards the evening. Although some say they do not require UV lighting, it is best to provide a 2% to 5% UV light. This helps with aquarium plant growth and will also benefit the turtles.
You should place bog-wood, rocks and other objects in the tank for the Common Musk Turtle to investigate and hide beneath during the day. A filter should be used to help maintain the water condition. Ensure this is not set on a high current, Musk Turtles are from slow moving waters.
It is best to feed your Common Musk Turtle a good range of turtle foods that contain both floating and sinking ingredients, so they get all the vitamins they require. They will also take frozen bloodworm, small insects, chopped earthworms, cooked chicken, ham, meal-worms, dried fish, dried crayfish, aquatic snails and aquatic vegetation, most will nibble at Duckweed, Water Lettuce and Water Hyacinth. ( some of these foods can be found in our shop )
as for books i would recommend that you visit the library and photo copy any info that you think would help you as i have not seen a book just on musks myself as they seem to have only little sections on them and buying all these books would cost a fortune...

hope this has helped you,

regards Wayne..