General Care Discussion :: Turtle Shell - Paint

[chigga24]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this site. I am going to buy 2 RES and probably put them in a 20 gallon tank. First off, is this advisable?

Second, I thought it would be creative if I sort of painted the shells both my turtles to distinguish which one is which. Does anybody know if a certain type of paint would be harmful to them or not? I don't intend to change the color or anything, but maybe put a few lines of red and blue. Any thoughts? Thanks!

[xsavingsaturdayx]

i dont think you can paint your turtle...

you should start off with just one RES, its already a big responsibility taking care of one! imagine two!

plus two will mean bigger tank,in other words more money!!!

[flutterby]

Their shells need to breathe, and having paint, even a small amount is not healthy for the turtles. After a little bit of time you'll have no problems being able to distinguish which is which.

You should start out with the biggest tank you can. With two turtles its double the cost, responsibility and vet bills.

[missibsu]

I started with two, and I didn't have this site before that happened. If I had to do it again, I'd do it differently. I'm not about to trade one of my turts in, but I really had no clue the financial responsibility that these little guys were.

[megcornell]

A good rule of thumb is 10 gallons per inch of shell... so 20 gallons gets you two inches of shell, and with two turtles that size tank won't last a week, I have one baby turtle and he's in a 30 gallon tank... its best to start off with the largest tank you can. Especially if you're new to turtles like I am, I know having one turtle has cost much more than I expected, I paid $10 for him in china town and have spent over $250 dollars on his supplies. And now he's looking like he'll need a vet visit, which was quoted at over $250 by the herp vet I called. I don't think I could afford to keep two turtles content and healthy, it's a big consideration.
Also, turtles are solitary and may need to be separated which = two setups

[Ozzyy]

paint is a no no

[chigga24]

Thank you all for your help. I plan on buying the turt(s) in a few weeks, so I have some time to figure everything out. Nonetheless, I'm glad I found this site. Thanks once again!