General Care Discussion :: my turs. and myson

[ap2]

ive had my 2 res for about a month and there almost 2 inches
very small but im having trouble keeping the water temp. at 78. the water go down to72 or even colder,
anyone know how i can keep the temp, at 78? couple of other ? i have sand at the bottom of my tank my turtles eat that is that ok should i take the sand out and put rocks in. ok on here i read somewhere that its not good to take the baby res out of the tank because they can get sick,
i was just wornding if it would be ok to take them out when it hot outside, just so they get to wonder around and play.
one more ? i have a 3 year old son that loves the res he always want to feed them play with them ect. everytime i do let him touch them i make sure his hands are washed very good but can he still get sick from just touching there shell and feeding them, im gonna say he touches them at least 4 times a week but i dont let him hold them he should be ok if he washes his hand right????

[BullDog]

Ok, a lot of questions there! I'll try to answer most of them.

A water heater is essential for any turtle tank. You'll want 3-5W per gallon of water (so a 50 gallon tank should have at least a 150W heater).

Sand should be OK, there are lots of owners here who use sand. If you do decide to put rocks in, make sure that all the rocks are BIGGER than their heads. Turtles can and will eat rocks, and can become impacted.

Baby turtles are very fragile, and catch a chill and get sick very quickly. At 2", your turtles are pretty small to be handled that much. I'm not sure how much handling to recommend (hopefully someone else can recommend something). Hygiene is very important (and it sounds like you're already doing a good job teaching your son that!). Turtles do carry salmonella. I've heard one person compare handling your turtle like handling raw chicken. Make sure you wash thoroughly anywhere the turtle touched (hands, floor, etc.). All I can recommend is to make sure your son doesn't put the turtle near his mouth (so no kisses), or put his hands near his mouth after handling the turtle.

At 2", your turtles are a bit too small to take outside. They're a lot quicker than you may realize, and being so small they can disappear in the blink of an eye. Since they're smaller, their body temperature will also change much faster than a larger turtle, so they can get overheated or chilled very quickly. It's recommended that you don't take them outside until they're at least 4".

One extra thing, you mentioned your son likes to feed them. Turtles are opportunistic eaters, and eat until they throw up (and then eat some more). So make sure they are only getting a headfull of pellets once a day, and put the food container somewhere that your son can't get them. Too much pellets or treats can cause health problems. You can get him to help you prepare some veggies for the turtles and he can feed them those!

[theartbook35]

I would limit handling to once or twice a week at the most. Hatchlings need to be handled to get used to it, but four times a week becomes invasive.As they grow, they'll become for accustomed to you and your son, and will be more willingly to allow you to love them to death.

It's cool that you let your son feed them, I think it's a great experience for a kid his age. But, turtles should get a head sized portion once a day at this age. I would get out the right amount of pellets, then hand them to your son to drop in the tank. The food should also be out of his reach, because I'm sure he'd give into their begging. (Overfeeding causes pyramiding and weight gain).

I've noticed that little kids really, really like turtles. I personally have never trusted the little ones with tiny animals, they get to rough. I've worked with turtles with the kids at the preschool I work in, and we have had big discussions about how, and how not, to handle turtles. A lot of people might think they'd find that boring, but the catch is, they don't hold the turtle right, they can't hold the turtle at all. A little bribery never hurts.

[ap2]

yes my son is not to hold them at all just because i dont want them to fall out of his hands and i give him the food to feed only like 10 lil pellets for 2 res i do belive that good enough for them my son calls the turts, his brothers its so cute how he comes home from school and runs right to them to tell them how his day at school went its funny how much he loves them and he tells me he want them to sleep in his bed with him becauuse he cant wait till morning to see them again lol gotta love kids. thank for everything

[theartbook35]

yes my son is not to hold them at all just because i dont want them to fall out of his hands and i give him the food to feed only like 10 lil pellets for 2 res i do belive that good enough for them my son calls the turts, his brothers its so cute how he comes home from school and runs right to them to tell them how his day at school went its funny how much he loves them and he tells me he want them to sleep in his bed with him becauuse he cant wait till morning to see them again lol gotta love kids. thank for everything

That's always been my biggest worry, is that the turtle gets dropped. Once, a guy came to the school to show the kids different kinds of crabs. He let one walk on the floor, and the kids started screaming bloody murder, cause they like to be dramatic like that, and one kid tried to step on it, on purpose. Thankfully the kid missed the crab, but, geez, poor thing. After that he was letting them hold the horseshoe crab on it's back, and a different kid dropped it in fear, then picked it back up and dropped it again. So they couldn't pick it up anymore.