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This is Mr. T. He was left on my mother's front porch. He seems to be very healthy, he has a very strong appetite. Please let me know what you think.

Does he live in a bath tub?

Bathtubs are not a recommended place of housing. Soap scum residue can be very harmful, if not deadly, to your turtle. And, there is no good way of knowing if you have it all rinsed out.

You can equate your turtle with a raw piece of chicken, they can be just as harmful to your health.

What about a heater, UVB lighting, and a filter?

He looks adorable! How long is his shell, without the curve? I'm sure the bathtub is temporary, right? Does he get sole usage, because soap residue is very harmful to turtles. Do you or your Mom have previous experience with turtles? I'm just curious as to why he was left on the doorstep, unless your Mom was just picked at random. There's a lot of information on the main care page, make sure you read it and get him set up as soon as you can with the proper size tank (the bigger you can go now, the better), lighting, filtration, heating, water conditioning, and food. He seems to like the greens and banana! Fruit should be an occasional treat, though. We're here to help, if you have any questions. Red Ears require a lot of equipment, but once you get it figured out, they are wonderful additions to the family!

Yes, he's living in a bathtub (temporarily). It is hard to tell but the tub is very large. He has the master tub, we have been using the guest. This bath tub hasn't been used in a number of years and I cleaned it very well w/out any detergents. Mr. T is about 8 inches (shell tip to end w/out curve). We live in Southern California and the weather is currently about 80, I have a thermometer and the water is usually about 72-73. I don't have UVB/A lights for him, he has a huge window and he suns himself about 3-4 hours a day (again this is only until we get his full set up). He also doesn't have a filter at this moment. I usually clean his area out every day. I also use an aquatic reptile water conditioner. I'm looking into a 100 gal tank, do you guys think thats big enough? I was thinking about a pond with filtration system, but I have heard negative things about ponds. I love animals and end up with a lot of random house guests, that usually end up family members. Again, please let me know what you think.

Is there any way you can get a ceramic clip-on lamp to put a regular household bulb in (for UVA and heat)? You could fashion some sort of stand close to the tub to clip it on and aim it on his basking dock. He needs to bask, the glass from the window is blocking most of the beneficial rays he needs. The temp on his basking area should be ten degrees warmer than his water. He also needs UVB light, which you can get in a compact coil flourescent that screws into a lamp like the one for the household bulb. Read the section on the main care page on Lighting. Unless you plan on setting his new tank or pond up very soon, he really needs to have the lighting. Glass, plastic, and screens with holes under 1/2" block most of the rays. Keep this in mind when setting him up temporarily or permanently. Just make sure the lights are secure when you put them near the tub. Maybe you could suspend them from the shower curtain rod?
Anyone else with suggestions on this, or critique what I posted, please do so.
He looks very healthy, though, and you'll love having him!

Thank you for the help. I will definitely get him a light set up as soon as possible, hopefully tomorrow. I'm going to put the UVA & UVB lights directly above his dock. He is the sweetest thing ever, he is very friendly. Although I only handle him when necessary, when I do, he lets me pick him up no problem. He's also very active and try's to climb out of the box I use to put him in when I'm cleaning his tub. And, he's such a beggar, he bites the air and stretches his neck out when he knows its feeding time. Do you think he needs a filter before he gets his set up? It will probably be another 2 months until I get it. And what do you think about the pond? Is there anyway that would work? The only reason I ask is because I know I could have a very large pond made for him, he would have a lot more room that a tank and it's so warm out here year round. Please let me know what you think and thanks again for all the advice. -Summer

He's a real beauty! Sounds like a lot of fun too!

Personally, I love a pond for a turtle. My Spot loves being outside in the sunshine and it's been good for his shell. He loves the space too. Be sure, however, that it's really warm enough for him year round. I live in Texas - in the Dallas area - which has a very warm climate but it gets cold sometimes too so Spot will always have to have a place to come inside to in the winter. That means we'll have to maintain two environments for him. Unless you're fully prepared and equiped to let Mr. T hibernate - a very tricky prospect - or your climate really NEVER gets cold - you'll have to do the same.

A lot of people successfully maintain their turtles indoors all the time.

Hi, again Summer! If you have the opportunity and the budget for a pond, go for it! Just keep in mind the suggestions SpotsMama said about the temp and hibernation if it does get cooler in the winter. I've seen some beautiful pond setups on here, check out the Habitat-Outdoor section. Make sure you educate yourself completely before starting it, and ask lots of questions, lol.
As for a filter for now, I'm not sure. If you're draining and refilling the tub often, it will definitely keep the water clean. And you said you use a water conditioner, make sure it says it removes chlorine and chloramine and mix it up well in the water (also you need to know how many gallons of water you're putting in there to measure out the correct amount of conditioner) before you put Mr.T back in. Someone else may suggest a filter, it might not be a bad idea. If you're planning to do a pond, might as well buy and use the equipment for it in the bathtub until you get it done.
Anyone else here have suggestions? Maybe a giant Rubbermaid box for temporary instead of bathtub? Keep us posted on your progress, this is interesting!

are u sure that he was not a wild turtle who just happened to be on the doorstep passing by? or was he definantly left there by someone who neglected him?

tinkersumx wrote:Do you think he needs a filter before he gets his set up? It will probably be another 2 months until I get it.

You can go without a filter if you do daily water changes. The benefit of the filter (other than not having to clean the tank - tub - every day) is that it allows beneficial bateria to grow. This bacteria keeps ammonia and nitrite levels down.

You know, I'm not exactly sure of the situation with how he got to my mom's door step. The nearest river (only close water) is about 1 1/2 miles away. They also live at the top of a huge cliff... so it would be amazing if this guy climbed almost 2 miles and then up the mountain. It's also a very developed area, cement everywhere and I'm pretty sure there are no closer bodies of water. The thing is, my parent don't live in the best area and end up with strays and the neighbors giveaways fairly frequently. This is why we didn't really question his arrival. I usually end up with the little guys because I don't work and have plenty of time to take care of my animals. We also just bought a new house so I have plenty of room for new additions to the family. I'm pretty used to fostering animals and finding them new homes. So thats how we got Mr. T.

Try not to put him in a bath tub, put him in a 40 gal or larger tank for a proper housing.

a 40 gallon is to small for a turtle of 8 inchs plz stop giving advise if it is wrong or at least do some research before you dole out anymore wisdom

I've had my turtle for over 17 years indoors. If you take proper care of him and get him the proper lighting, food, size tank, etc. it is possible. If it gets cold in your area you could put him outside during the warmer weather and keep him in the 100 gallon tank you were talking about getting for him in the colder months. A lot of people get kiddie pools and such to let their turtles hang out in outside during the day. You also have to keep in mind that keeping him outdoors means that he could be at danger from predators.

Since it will be a little bit before you can get him a permanent home use that time to read up on this forum. Get all the feeding and habitat needs for the turtles, as well as some ideas for an indoor or an outdoor setup. Then you can make an educated decision in the end on what's best for both your and your turtle.

He looks great though. You also may want to find a herp vet in your area and get him checked out to make sure there isn't anything wrong with him.