General Care Discussion :: I have a problem!

[Jet]

I am going out of town camping this weekend and the person who was supposed to come by and feed Squirt can't do it. And I have no one! I am panicking!
I will be gone Friday afternoon to Monday afternoon. What can I do? Can I get him some feeder fish and if so what kind. I've been told that goldfish are not good feeders for turtles. I clip a new lettuce leaf to his tank every morning so he can snack. Can I shred some carrots and put them at the edge of his basking platform so he can get them when he wants?
I'd take him with me but I don't think he'd enjoy camping very much.

Thankx for all your help!

[megcornell]

A long weekend isn't too serious, you can leave squirt and he'll be fine. You should buy a light timer for your lights, they're about $5 at hardware stores. Then you can set your lights to go on and off at their usual times so Squirt can keep his basking schedule. As for food, you can buy some rosy red minnows. I usually buy an aquatic plant or two for my turtle when i leave her a few days. You can also opt for an automatic feeder, I personally haven't found one that I think is worth the price, and since you're only gone a few days you don't really need one.

[DavidY]

Cold blooded animals can go a lot longer without food than mammals can. Leave several minnows or guppies in the tank with some live plants and he'll be just fine.

[Jet]

Thanx for the help, I was getting very nervous. What type of plants would you suggest? Can I get them at a pet store like a petsmart?
I have the lights on a timer. Meg you probably didn't see my post about paying a bizillion dollars for a light timer. I paid like $35 bucks for a Zilla Aquarium control center thing when I could have gotten one for $5. Well at least it has a battery back up in case the power blows.

[DavidY]

If you can get anacharis at petsmart then that seems to be a favorite for turtles. Otherwise I think most of the aquatic plants that they sell at the pet stores are suitable for the turtles to eat (at least I would hope that they wouldn't sell anything toxic for aquatic plants).

[marisa]

The plants that are sold in petstores for fish should be find for your turtles. I'd just get some anachris, if possible. Otherwise, I'd leave some red leaf lettuce or dandelions in the tank.