03/20/2026
New batch of pig-nosed turtles arriving next week!
Legally imported, comes with full documents under Wei Zou as my name.
Beginner’s Guide to Raising Pig-Nosed Turtles 🐢📖
1. Gear You’ll Need
• Tank: At least 31.5 × 17.7 inches — big enough for 3 years.
• Filter layers: Filter floss → bio cotton → ceramic rings.
• Must-have: Heater.
• Basic meds: Povidone-iodine, erythromycin ointment, yellow powder, gentamicin, probiotics, oxytetracycline.
2. Choosing a Healthy Turtle
• Active, steady swimmer, clear eyes, smooth shell, nice body shape.
• Avoid: Lethargic, skinny, cloudy eyes, red belly, damaged shell, not eating.
3. Environment Setup
• Fully aquatic — best kept alone to avoid fighting.
• Bare bottom tank to prevent shell rot.
• You can add a big cave for hiding.
• Keep temperature stable at 82.4–89.6°F.
4. Tank Mates
• ✅ Good: Medium-large peaceful fish (arowana, etc.)
• ❌ Bad: Small fish, cold-water fish, plecos, most other turtles.
5. Feeding
• Babies: 70% meat, 30% veggies.
• Adults: 40% meat, 60% veggies.
• Safe foods: Fish, turtle pellets, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, bananas, watermelon.
6. Taming & Hand-feeding
1. Feed with tweezers near its mouth.
2. After 3 days, slowly lift food toward the surface.
3. Remove tweezers and feed with clean hands.
4. If it bites, gently tap the shell to correct it.
7. Common Health Issues
Most problems come from bad water quality.
• Shell rot: Clean wound, apply ointment, keep dry.
• Pneumonia: Stable warm water, medicated bath.
• Indigestion: Fasting, probiotics, gentamicin if needed.
• Cloudy eyes: Improve water quality and raise temperature.
Pro Tip
Stable water and temperature = healthy turtle. Don’t overfeed.
