General Care Discussion :: New turtle owner

[amynurse]

Hi!
I "acquired" a 2" RES last Monday from a teacher at my son's school. Her teenage daughter bought it while on vacation this summer with a friend and had lost interest in it. I knew nothing about turtles last Monday when she dropped off the turtle, the aquarium, etc... Based on her instructions on how to care for the turtle, she knew nothing about turtles either! After reading about turtles on the internet (I had NO idea how involved turtle care was!!), 2 trips to the petstore and about $150 later, I have a somewhat decent set up for Franklin the turtle. However, the 10 gallon aquarium is way too small, so I am currently researching options and trying to decide on a more long term solution for housing for the little guy, who in the last week I have become quite attached to. My husband says I am "turtle obsessed" and like him more than our boys do (the reason I agreed to take the turtle). I am trying to find a cheap 20-30 gallon aquarium on craigslist or from a friend for now. Instead of spending more money on a temporary home (ie much bigger aquarium), I am considering a stock tank that I could set up in my garage as a permanent long term home. Does anyone have thoughts or opinions on this? I live in the Dallas area, which they are native to, I think. I would not move him out there til Spring when it warms up again, and let him get acclaimated before winter hit again. I am thinking by then, he should be old enough to brumate safely in the stock tank? Although, he would be out of the elements, it still gets pretty cold in the garage. I am currently researching size of tanks, pump options, heating options (if I find that is necessary), etc...Any suggestions or thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!!

[SINI5T3R]

You can find a real cheap 55-60 gal tank with a stand for prob 50-80 bucks on craigslist.com. I got a 60 gal for 20$ if you snag a quick sale. Also if you want him outside to get the heat you can get a 20$ 600 gal pond pool from wal mart, you know...the plastic pools you get for your kids so they dont drown in a deep pool lol. They have a small and a large, i got the large for my three res and they love it. As for care, yeah they are a pain in the butt care wise. Even with a nice filter your going to be doing monthly water changes because they poop alot and its heavy poop so unless he poops right there next to the filter intake your filter sometimes wont get it and it just sits till its eaten or gets hit apart by the turtle and just because part of the bottom of the tank ^^

[Luis02]

I'm not an expert or a very experimented turtle owner, but I'd definitely go for a big big tank even though your turt is small. That'll help avoiding spending on upgrades and stuff. I've found this forum amazingly helpful (also check the site if you haven't) so it'll help you as well.

[Trevor's_Mom]

I'd agree with the part about buying a big tank now... I've had my Trevor for 17.5 years, and he started out as a 6 week old hatchling, about 2 inches big, in a 10 gallon tank. Over the years I've purchased a total of about 6 different size aquariums...going from 10 gallon to 30 gallon, to 60 gallon, to 75 gallon, to 90 gallon to finally going all out this past May and getting him his "retirement" home... a custom made 200 gallon tank. I shudder to think of all the $$$ that's been put out over the 17.5 years, once you include the numerous filters I've gone through, light bulbs, substrate, aquarium stands, canopys etc... but you know what? I wouldn't trade him for the world, he's been worth every penny.

[marisa]

I love stock tanks, and all but the smallest turtles I have are in them.

[amynurse]

Thanks to all for the suggestions and info. I got a 30 gallon tank off Craigs List today and am going to get it set up over the weekend. That is really all I have room for inside my house and i think that will work for awhile. Any thoughts on the best filter that won't cost an arm and a leg....amazing how expensive one little 2 inch turtle can be!! i have read a little about building your own. My husband is pretty handy, so thinking that might be an option.

Marisa.... Do you have your stock tank inside or outside? I am still researching that, thinking about that for down the road when Franklin is older and bigger.....maybe his "retirement home" (love that!!), but thinking about keeping it in my garage??

[marisa]

I have stock tanks inside the house (110 gallon, 150 gallon, 40 gallon) and larger ones that I use outside during the summer (300 gallon ones).