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Hi All,

Just a few weeks ago, a friend and I decided to get pet turtles. Initially, we bought 2 from a small local pet shop and placed them on a temporary plastic container. They look ok on the first day but the first one died then the second one the following day. This is the first time I am personally caring for a turtle and I know we are missing things which may have caused their deaths.

We bought another one, this time a little larger than the first two. Placed him on a larger plastic container with the recommended water level based on this shell. We also created a temporary basking area but we are unable to set up a basking light yet. He looks ok for 4 days and then suddenly moved slowly and just floats in the water. Yesterday, he died.

As a novice in this regard, I would like to get some of the best practices and recommendations so I decided to join this community. I am planning to give it another shot, but I want to make sure I get everything ready first.

Cheers!

Welcome to the forum, Glad you're still willing to get into this after whats happened. The source of these turtles is probably the cause of their premature deaths. I would suggest you consider just one since they are fine alone. If you pick a male (you should be able to tell when they are close to 4 inches in length), you can save a bit of money and space since they do not grow as large as females.

Thanks so much, Steve.

Yes, we may need to try with one and hopefully we get it right this time.

When do you think you will try again?

Got a couple from a local aquatic center. One Male and one female according to the store staff. We setup basking light with 10% UVB and a small oxygen pump. I think we will need to get a filter soon.