Turtles

jessy

Sharing is caring Faye, but those turtles had been eating seaweed, :puke:

I would love to think AP turtles would be a nice fresh clean AP smell ?? Who know, migth have to try one out :toothy7:

kpickles

I'm a total newbie, and have three turtles as pets. I also have tons of houseplants. So I think as my first step into the addiction called AP I will try a Turtle/houseplant combo. Wish me luck.

Food&Fish

Do you cook a turtle in the shell or take it out

Snakes

This is my turtle that lives in my sump

He is a native Broad Shell Turtle, and doesn't smell at all. The short neck ones in the river here absolutley stink! They let out a fowl smelling substance if you pick them up, and you can't get rid of it.

An aboriginal friend of mine says that turtles are one of there favourites (freshwater and saltwater), along with echidnas. They cook them (in the shell) in hot coals.

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File comment: 'ET' the sump turtle

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KudaPucat

Snakes,
Nice looking Tortoise. Just allay my fears and tell me your sump is open to the sun, and not shaded?
Your cute Tortoise mate will suffer badly from a lack of Vitamin D in his shell. He needs Sun.

KudaPucat

Also on the topic, it has always annoyed me that tortoises are called turtles.
So I looked it up to find the exact difference before I posted.
AFAIK turtles have flippers whilst tortoises have claws or feet.

The answer from wikipedia surprised me. But then, it seems just another thing that our American friends disagree with us in regards to language use and spelling :geek:

Wikipedia wrote:

Although the word turtle is widely used to describe all members of the order Testudines, it is also common to see certain members described as terrapins, tortoises or sea turtles as well. Precisely how these alternative names are used, if at all, depends on the type of English being used.

* British English normally describes these reptiles as turtles if they live in the sea; terrapins if they live in fresh or brackish water; or tortoises if they live on land. However, there are exceptions to this where American or Australian common names are in wide use, as with the Fly River turtle.
* American English tends to use the word turtle for all freshwater species, as well as for certain land-dwelling species (e.g. box turtles). Oceanic species are usually referred to as sea turtles, and tortoise is restricted to members of the true tortoise family, Testudinidae. The name terrapin is typically reserved only for the brackish water diamondback terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin; the word terrapin being derived from the Algonquian word for this animal.[1]
* Australian English uses turtle for both the marine and freshwater species but tortoise for the terrestrial species.

So there it is... My definition seems to fit the Aussy definition, which differs only slightly from the Brittish, however, In America, anything with a shell 4 legs and a head is a turtle. Those in the sea are prefaced with 'Sea'.

Snakes

Thanks KP, he is a cool little dude

And, yes, he gets natural sunlight. I have many reptiles (lizards, snakes), and am well aware of the requirements of them all

He is actually back in the tank inside until my nitrite levels settle down in the AP system (and yes, there is a uv light in there for him

)

In regards to turtles / tortoises, it's a bit the same as when people talk about snakes being poisonus, and someone being poisoned by a snake... it annoys me, but it is really just me being anal :geek:

I gave up trying to explain the difference between venom and poison - people just think you're queer

KudaPucat

being anal is a job requirement for me ;-)

My boss is just as bad.

Good to hear there'll be no soft shell issues ;-)

RickFish

hey i have a fully grown western long neck (donatello) in a 6 foot tank with a piece of storm water pipe growing cherry tomatoes! i put about 10 feeder goldfish in the system every week for him to munch on. the sytem is doing really well.

Jensilaedi

how long have you been doing that Rick? pictures would be good too

juicemonkey

my first book i was ever given when i was 5 was john cann's
tortoises of australia

it was my favourite book
i still have it

he puts forward the argument also that
the longs and the shorts are freshwater tortoises

the only freshwater turtle being the pig nosed turtle
flippers and retractable head among other things

my aboriginal neighbours eat them alot
too much i think. just like the horrific overfishing by aboriginals of dugong and turtle up north using outboard motors, nevermind the indonesians. but thats another argument.
bunjalung dialect is
muninje

ill eat almost all things. but not these
it really looks and smells foul

juicemonkey

the red eared slider is an exotic species found in SE qld

it can be eaten

http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-b ... urtle.aspx

http://www.google.com/search?q=red+eare ... 1I7GPEA_en

ignore the BS they always put out about threats to wildlife.
presence does not automatically indicate harm. show me proof
lots of different australian tortoises co-exist and can be more fecund than the slider.

take this for example

http://www.theage.com.au/national/time- ... -73yn.html

what rubbish. its disgusting what passes as journalism.

they fit into the food chain. theres no evidence to show they reduce biodiversity
in fact by adding a whole new group of reptiles to the fauna they actually increase it

heka

hI JM,

I have to disagree with you on that.

If they are not native to Australia........KEEP THEM OUT

juicemonkey

if all we had to eat were endemics
wed be very hungry
also if we had arrived in australia at an earlier point in history we would see the dingo, all native rodents, and thosands of plant species - even the national emblem - Acacias, as 'invasive species'. all of these 'invaded' australia a long time ago and have enhanced our ecology
A newcomer only settles in if it can find a free niche thats not been filled.

Im just concerned the anti-exotic sentiment currently raging through society and govt policy is less about science and more about Xenophobia and misguided notions of purity

i wont go into it too much here
but a good read is this book. It helps make the glaring and scary language and blind over the top responses govts and people have to species outside our historical idea of a natural range.

http://www.amazon.com/Invasion-Biology- ... 0970850417

RupertofOZ

I understand some of the intent of your arguement Juicemonkey... but there are glaring examples in not only Australia, but all over the world... of introduced species corrupting the natural ecosphere... to the detrement of native wildlife... to a point at times of complete dominance, and with little or no benefit...

Carp in our rivers, cane toads, rabbits... are just a few instances...

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Turtles

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A place to discuss aquaponics