General Care Discussion :: painted turtles??

[lilusachick2006]

I have a friend that has a friend that has a turtle that laid eggs not long ago... he said that the turtle was like a footish around and they thought that it was a painted turtle... i haven't seen it, or i'd be able to describe it better... i was just wondering if you would treat a painted turtle the same as a RES... They are going to be giving me one of the babies when they hatch and i just wanted to be prepared for it when i get it...

[BullDog]

Yes, painted turtles have virtually the same care as RES. They often have a different temperment than RES though.

[lilusachick2006]

so would it be a bad idea to put them both in the same tank??

[BullDog]

Yes. Very bad idea.

Not only are RES generally more aggressive than painteds, the size difference would be huge.
If you're going to be getting a hatchling, he'll be small and soft. The RES could easily seriously injure or kill a hatchling.

So if you want to accept one of these hatchlings, he'll need his own, whole setup. The good news is that most painted turts don't get much bigger than a RES, and some (like southern, and I think eastern painteds) are smaller than RES, so you won't need a pond or 200 gallon tank to keep him. But you will need a second setup.

[lilusachick2006]

ok thanks!

[mat012]

I want a southern painted so badly! The males stay at about 5-6 inches. Females only get at their largest about 9". They are distinct in that they have a bright stripe that runs down the back - usually red or orange. Very cute. The easterns have red around the bottom of the shell. Also cute but they get larger than the Southerns. They are said to be a bit more relaxed than RES - tho I am not sure how a relaxed turtle acts

You could probably go with a 55 to 70 gallon tank and be set for the life of the painted (depending on the breed and level of filtration). But like bulldog said they dont need the big set up that RES require. I have read too that hatchlings tend to be fragile, more so than some other turtles. So keep the conditions pristine. They may be more prone to disease until they reach adolescents. The care sheet at Austins Turtle page is good.

[marisa]

EPs are the second smallest of the 4 subspecies of painted turtles native to North America. The red around the bottom of the shell mentioned, is, I think the red pattern they have on their marginal scutes and bridge (area connecting the carapace and plastron). I have three of them (approaching 4 years of age) and one has some red on some of his other scutes, like someone dropped a bit of red paint on them.

Their care is similar to RES. I find them to be more timid than my RES (and their bites are suprisingly hard for their size) and I do think they're more prone to shell problems than RES are if the water isn't kept clean. I'm not sure about them being more prone to disease until they reach adolescence, though (when is that??)...