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[jojoginnick]

hi just joined here and lookin to learn lots about my squirt. i am a pre- school teacher and squirt lives with us in our classroom. he is groovey and we love him, but i just want to make his home the nicest i can any thoughts? jo

[painted patience]

Hi Jojoginnick !
The best way for us to help is to know about your setup. Questions such as these :
size of turtle in inches ( the shell ) and type of turtle
size of tank and amount of water ( pictures would be great ! )
do you have proper lighting ( UVB and a heat source for basking )
basking area ?
Temp of water ?
what are you feeding squirt ? do you supplement at all with calcium or vits ?
It's great you are educating the children , hope we can be of help !
Painted patience

[sonyj]

Welcome to the forum. There is lots of great info here on the forum and on the main site as well. Be sure to read through it as much as you can and if you have questions just ask.

[jojoginnick]

hi squirt is about 1 in i was able to get him small because he was comming to school w/ me. i have him in a ten gallon now with it about 1/2 full and natural rocks leading him to the top where he is able to bask. i think i need a light source but i keep his water temp at about 75 degrees. i would also like to get him some aquatic plants. i feed him pellets for now as he does not seem too keen on much else at this young age i am hoping that will change though as he gets older. i am pretty sure he is a boy but again a bit small for me to tell. he seems to like it when i talk to him and perks up when i come to the tank. love him to death and hope to keep him a long time. i also have 2 gerbils 1 mouse 2 guinea pigs and a 33 gallon fresh water fish tank in the classroom. 2 dogs and 2 cats at home, very busy and very loved !!!!!!!!!!!

[marisa]

Welcome. Squirt does need a light source--both a light to heat the basking area (can be a regular lightbulb) and a UVB light (to metabolize Vit D3 to help with calcium absorption); a basking area temp in the range of 88-90F is good.

He has a submersible water heater? Since he's so small, it would be good to up the water temp to about 78F (a good temp for hatchlings). Since he's in a 10-gallon and swimming space is precious, instead of rocks (which take up space) you might consider a basking area that will allow for swimming space underneath (a number of keepers and their turtles seem to like turtle docks).

A good aquatic plant to start Squirt off with is anachris, but it would be good to also start introducing him to pieces of leafy greens such as red leaf lettuce, dandelion leafs, etc. (Check the info here for what's good to give). What brand pellets is he being fed? How often is he fed and how much is he given at a feeding? (At his size, for pellets, once a day an amount that would fit into his head is a good guide.)

Does he have a water filter?

You won't be able to really sex him until his shell length w/o the curve is more like 4 inches.

[missibsu]

I agree with Marisa on the issue of plant matter. The turt will not be so willing to make the change to veggies later if they aren't introduced now. I didn't think that my turts would eat veggies at first either, but if you just leave it in there, he will get the hang of it. Mine eat their greens like there is no tomorrow now!

[jojoginnick]

thanks i appreciate it. i have an under stone filter and submersible heater. he has a ton of swimming area at least 2/3 of the tank the rocks slant up to one side.