How Turtles and Tortoises Behave Feeding Habits. The most prominent behavior of the common musk turtle is its defensive tactic. Whether in the water or on land, food is found primarily through visual and olfactory cues. This behavior may be more evident with wild turtles, or newly acquired turtles that are, sadly, almost exclusively collected from the wild. Behavior. The mouth open is your musk turtle taking in oxygen through the water which is really cool they have this ability to stay underwater alot longer than alot of other turtles.
When disturbed, this turtle will quickly release a foul-smelling liquid from its musk glands. Male turtles can be aggressive toward each other, and when ready to breed, some may extend... Nesting. Aside from those that have been already discussed above, below are other things that can be done to take care of a musk turtle if you are having it as a pet: It is advised that you do not put two male musk turtles together in one tank. This kind of defense earned the musk turtle the nickname of "stinkpot". Aggression and Courtship. Share this post Link to post Also, the male is particularly aggressive and will not think twice about biting. Musk turtle shells have even been found in the nests of bald eagles, thus a wide range of predators target them. Not all stinkpots will bite, but if annoyed or threatened, they are capable extending their long neck and, in a flash, can whip it back across their carapace and clamp down on an unsuspecting finger. The basking behavior of common musk turtles seems to vary greatly with the habitat in which the population is living.