General Care Discussion :: Do turtles ever get bored?!

[Zova Dot]

My mom thought it would be a great idea to give my two turtles a rubber ball to play with (don't worry the ball is about an inch in diameter and my turtles are about 3-4 inches each.) But really, do turtles even need toys or something to do? I know they are naturally curious, but do they really get bored?

Also, what is the ratio(or length of time) a day that a turtle should be actively basking to actually being in the water?

[MoreBloodWine]

I know some animals like cats and dogs can get bored due to lack of companionship but I don't think turtles do.

Just my 2 cents.

As far as basking goes, this veries from turtle to turle... as long as you have the proper temps for the water and the basking spot they will climb out when they want to dry off. If the turles to new then there will be an adjustment period where the little one might not want to do much of anything, but don't worry... when the litle guys up to it you'll seem him/her basking.

[Zova Dot]

I know some animals like cats and dogs can get bored due to lack of companionship but I don't think turtles do.

Just my 2 cents.

As far as basking goes, this veries from turtle to turle... as long as you have the proper temps for the water and the basking spot they will climb out when they want to dry off. If the turles to new then there will be an adjustment period where the little one might not want to do much of anything, but don't worry... when the litle guys up to it you'll seem him/her basking.

Lol okay, so no need for toys? And what about exercise?

[valladin82]

I just put some ghost shrimp in my tank with my two turtles because I read they can help with cleaning up waste and stuff in the tank and not to mention the turtles can eat them. Was about 1.50 for 10 (I ended up getting more than that at no charge) and for the past day now my turtles have been hunting them down, chasing after them swimming around looking. I am pretty sure they have yet to catch one of these shrimp either cauise I still count over 10 and they're kinda hard to see because they are translucent. LOL. The shrimp just kinda float there almost like they're teasing the turtle, soon as one goes to bite at the shrimp it jolts in a random direction and the turtle floats there a second looking confused. They're definitely getting a work out from these critters. So maybe try introducing some "live" food for them to chase after.

[Zova Dot]

Hahaha that sounds coool!
Can you buy these ghost shrimps at the regular pet stores? And do you have to actually feed the "live" food if the turtle hasn't eaten them and they're still alive? Lol

[valladin82]

I picked up a small bag of these shrimp from a local pet store. A guy from another forum suggested I try picking up a few because I was having issues with turtle waste (poo and stuff) on the bottom of the tank that my filtration wasn't picking up. These little guys basically eat all that, they're scavengers and will eat other stuff like algea.

[Zova Dot]

Soo... If they die... Would you be able to tell? And I regularly take out water and add some more, what if I accidentally took one out? -__- lol and one more question: What about feeder fish? Do you have to feed them? I've got lots of questions, I know. hahaha

[valladin82]

I haven't tried feeder fish yet. The ghost shrimp apparently turn pink when they die and i'm pretty sure between the turtles and other shrimp that corpse isn't going to last very long. You should be able to see them fine once you start moving things in the water they start swimming around. I doubt you'd accidentally suck one up in a siphon. I don't worry about the shrimp at all really i bought them for the turtles to either A) be food or B) clean up after the turts. Lol

[Touche the Turtle]

I tried a ping pong ball, bright orange, once in her tank and I don't think she even batted an eye at it. So i eventually took it out.

Now when I notice my turtle is looking kinda bored I usually pick up some tiny guppies (super small). I got like 20 for 2 dollars at the local aquarium store and dumped them into her tank. I like them because they're small and hard to see (kinda like the ghost shrimp idea) and it seems like she has fun finding them and chasing them. I've found she really doesn't catch many of them because they're super fast but it feels like she's at least entertained. Also I didn't want her gorging herself on feeders, so I think even if she caught like 10 of these little guys it wouldn't be terrible for her 75% veggie diet.

[valladin82]

Yeah that was kinda my idea too. I still feed them their usual pellet diet and greens. I see them all the time though swimming around the plants/rocks and drift wood looking around for shrimp to chase when before they would usually just float around looking bored. hehe.

[Touche the Turtle]

How much do the ghost shrimp usually run you?

[Zova Dot]

He said he got 10 for $1.50. But they're probably cheap. So wait, if they do catch them, will it be a good source of protein? (about the ghost shrimp)

And do feeder fishes make a mess when they're eaten??

[steve]

If the feeder fish are large compared to your turtle, there will be a mess. Your turtle has to rip it apart