General Care Discussion :: New Turtle... Need lots of help!

[Cusson]

ok i am totally new to the turtle community. I live in china and i saw this turtle being held in a small tupperware container at a roadside pet shop so i decided at less than 1 USD i couldnt say no to it. I am not sure it is a boy or girl and it measures about an inch and a half long... so i have no idea how old it is. but i have a few questions...

1) i only have 1 should i buy it a friend?

2) The tank is about 10 inches long and 6 inches wide... is that big enough?

3) I have yet to see him/her eat is there a way i can assure it is eating? Anything special i can feed it besides those little pellets?

4) Should i handle it and play with it?

5) i have gravel and 2 large rocks in the tank but im not sure if it can climb on top of them. i put it ontop sometimes but it just crawls rights back into the water and i have never seen it up there on its own. Any better idea for a basking spot? what to make it out of?

6) how deep should the water be?

im sure you guys will help. Look forward to the replys.

Thanks

[LurycNitsuj]

Hello and welcome!

1) Turtles require a ton of water, so unless you are eventually able to have 240 gallons of water or two 120 gallon tanks, i suggest you stick with just one little guy.

2) That tank is not nearly big enough. Turtles require 10 gallons of water per inch of shell. So if your turtle is an inch and a half right now, it needs at least 15 gallons of water, but it will need much much more soon. So my suggestion is to go out and buy the biggest tank you can afford, and let the turtle grow into it. If it is a female it can grow to be up to 12 inches, so 120 gallons.

3) The reason it is probably not eating is because of his conditions. When I first got my RES in one of those small plastic dishes, he wouldnt eat, but as soon as I got him into a bigger tank with a heater and the water at the correct temperature (78 degrees), he started eating like mad. Also throw some veggies in the water and let them sit there, he may eventually munch on them.

4) Im probably not the best one to answer this question, but i know many people on this forum do take there turtles out to walk around the house and what not. I personally dont because I am in college and live with roommates and would rather not deal with that risk, plus i can only assume it stresses him out a bit.

5) The basking spot is very important to a turtles health and shell growth. The temperature needs to be 91 degrees and you need both UVA and UVB lighting, which means two seperate lights, but in the meantime any light will be better than what you have, just to get him to get out of the water and bask. You can buy basking docks at any petstore or many of us on here have made there own. Here is an example of one that I made for my turt.

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13621

that is a pretty elaborate one, but its just to give you an idea. There are many different ways to make one, so have fun with it.

6) Like I said previously, at least 10 gallons of water for every inch of shell. Basically you can never have enough water for them. They are most comfortable in the water, so whatever you can give them they will be fine.

On top of all that you are going to need a very powerful filter because turtles are very dirty animals, and there water needs to be kept very clean.

I think that may be everything. Im sure somebody else will see something I missed and fill you in.

I wish you and your turt the best of luck, they are wonderful animals and great companions.

Oh! and if you could post some pictures of your turtle that would be wonderful, everybody here loves to see what everybody has.


Justin

[Cusson]

alright i got a few picture... maybe you guys can also confirm that he looks healthy?!

[LurycNitsuj]

id say he looks like one healthy guy, but i would get the pebbles out of the tank. Some turtles will try to eat them if they can fit them in there mouths.

[Cusson]

yes this weekend i am planning on going out and splurging... new tank, a heater, a filter, lights... the whole shebang. if anyone has any ideas for exact things i should get for him that would be great. thanks

[Vtolds]

Your res looks healthy to me, you need to up the conditions drastically. Like LurycNitsuj said go out and buy the biggest tank you can afford. for reference a 55 gallon tank which is about perfect and would last a long time costs generally 80 to 100 dollars new. If you can afford that you can get a Huge Rubbermaid storage bin to put your Res it. Fill it about half full og water if you plan on doing that. You need a tank heater one big enough to hold the water at a steady 78 to 80 degrees. Your Res also needs a way to completely get out of the water and dry off. They make special floating docks for this or you can try and make something yourself. Above that dock you need a Heat lamp it can be just a normal incandescent bulb you can find in any store. The important thing is you need to get the dock to about 90 degrees so it encourages your RES to get out of the water and get dried off. You also need a UVB Light above the basking area next to your other light, this you will have to go too a pet store for and they cost about 14 dollars. I would suggest getting a Compact florescent 26watt bulb the 5.0 version 10.0 is too strong usually. You also need a filtering system that is rated for 3 times as big as the tank so if you have a 55 gallons of water you need something that is made to handle 165 gallons.

You kind of jumped right into a very expensive world of keeping turtles...Good luck and just buy the best stuff you can afford.

[Cusson]

well if i can help this cute little guy survive then it will be worth the money!

[Cusson]

i made a makeshift little basking dock... and then i filled the little tank full of water... and i feel like he is always struggling to get to the top. He sinks as soon as he goes in there and then he tries REALLY REALLY hard to get to the surface of the water and stay there but he cant to it. should i be worried?

[megcornell]

Unless you have a way to regulate the water temp I wouldn't fill the plastic tank just yet. Keeping a turtle in cold water is a pretty good way to ensure a respiratory infection.
Also, here's a link showing you the basics you'll need for your tank:
http://www.redearslider.com/startup.html

[Cusson]

how much water you suggest? an inch deep?

[TheComputerGremlin]

My RES has been surviving in about 2 inches of water for the last two months, just enough that he can stand on the bottom of the tank and get his head out to get air. However, he's only been happy since I got the tank heater. I'm in the process of a tank upgrade, which is why I can suggest about 2 inches of water as opposed to less than or more than that, but soon I'll have all of the necessary items.

My little guy rarely leaves the water because the basking area isn't warm enough to encourage him to leave, so your turtle should be fine for two weeks until you get the other tank together.

Also, if you have trouble finding the equipment you need (you said you were in China), check ebay. I haven't been able to find aquariums on there, but they usually have the filters and lighting that you will need.

[Vtolds]

What you should be doing is slowly increasing the water level sinc he is struggling. Try adding a inch of water every day or so. @ inches of what is not enough there is suppose to be at a minimum of double his shell width.