If your turtle stays small and walks along the bottom rather than swimming, it’s a musk turtle — one of four North American species, none growing past 14 cm. Look for the two triangular stripes running from its nose along each cheek. They’re not cuddly, though: musk turtles bite and release a musky smell when threatened.

An aquatic turtle that stays small and walks along the bottom rather than swimming? You’ve got yourself a musk turtle!

Where do musk turtles come from?

There are 4 species of musk turtles:

• the razor-backed musk turtle
• the loggerhead musk turtle
• the common musk turtle
• the flattened musk turtle

All of these species live in the wild in North America (the southern United States). You can find them in tropical swamps or in slow-flowing rivers and lakes. There are small differences between these four species, but we won’t go into detail here.

What does a musk turtle look like?

A very distinctive feature of musk turtles is their small size. Additionally, the triangular markings on their heads are particularly striking.

How big does a musk turtle get?

The shell length of an adult musk turtle is a maximum of 14 cm, but most animals don’t even reach 10 cm.

Stinkpots, as musk turtles are often called, are true lightweights: they weigh between 150 and 300 grams.

The head of the musk turtle

You can easily recognise a musk turtle by the 2 stripes on both cheeks. The stripes originate at the nose of the turtle and extend towards the top and bottom of its neck.

This way, the stripes form a sort of white or yellow triangles, visible from above, from the side, and from below.

The shell of musk turtles

Baby musk turtles have a heavily keeled shell. This means their dorsal ridge is elevated. From above, the shell looks domed; from the front, rather triangular.

As a musk turtle grows older, this keeled shape disappears and the shell becomes flatter. Only the razor-backed musk turtle retains its keeled shell — hence its name, of course.

The colour of the carapace varies from deep dark brown (almost black) to yellowish brown.

The plastron is small and cross-shaped. Here too, the colour varies: it can be black, but also beige.

Skin colour: different shades possible

Light grey, black, or something in between: the skin colour of the musk turtle also differs from animal to animal. Moreover, the skin colour changes with age. Even the stripes on the head of an older musk turtle have faded to some degree.

Is my musk turtle male or female?

If you keep a pair of musk turtles of the same species, and one is clearly larger than the other, the larger one is likely the female and the smaller one the male.

Additionally, you can identify a male musk turtle by its smaller plastron, which consists more of connective tissue than horn plates. Males also have a larger and thicker tail than females.

A mini turtle as a pet

Musk turtles are more appealing as pets than, for example, yellow-bellied sliders or yellow-eared sliders. Why? Mainly because they don’t grow nearly as large as other aquatic turtles! You don’t need to constantly adapt their living space to their growing body and increasing needs.

Behaviour

Unfortunately, you can’t call these mini turtles cuddly: they don’t enjoy being picked up at all, and they show it by aggressively opening their mouths to bite you. When they feel threatened, they also emit a musky odour. Hence their unflattering nickname: the Stinkpot.

What does a musk turtle eat?

Musk turtles are carnivores. Their diet consists of worms, larvae, insects, and other small aquatic creatures. At home, you can also feed them pieces of meat and fish. Occasionally, they’ll nibble on aquatic plants or lettuce, but this is not an essential part of their diet.

Hibernation

Do you keep a musk turtle as a pet? Then take hibernation into account: it usually starts in November and lasts about two months.

How many musk turtles can you keep together?

Musk turtles are best kept alone or in pairs, possibly as a trio. Two males together is a recipe for trouble. Females generally get along better, but there are always exceptions. If you keep a pair of musk turtles, the female may experience too much stress from the male constantly pursuing her. If that’s the case, it’s best not to keep them together all the time.

An exception applies to very young animals: during their first year of life, you can keep up to seven musk turtles in a single aquarium or pond. After that, you really need to separate them to prevent problems.

What aquarium is suitable for a musk turtle?

Musk turtles can be kept in both an aquarium and a pond. Because they stay smaller than other aquatic turtles, an aquarium or paludarium is a good home for these mini turtles.

When purchasing an aquarium, pay attention to the following:

• Buy an aquarium of at least 100 x 50 x 50 cm if you plan to house two musk turtles. 80 x 40 x 40 cm is sufficient for a single musk turtle.
• Provide a water depth of approximately 30 cm.
• Make the land area large enough, for example 50 x 30 cm.
• Place plenty of branches and roots in the water. This allows the turtles to hide and gives them something to grip when pulling themselves up.
• Musk turtles prefer a soft, muddy bottom. They walk along the bottom of their aquarium more than they actually swim.
• Provide a powerful filter, as musk turtles eat a lot and therefore produce a lot of waste.
• Unlike other aquatic turtles, musk turtles don’t particularly enjoy basking. A UV lamp is therefore not necessary — a regular full-spectrum fluorescent light is sufficient.
• However, they do like to warm up under a heat lamp.