General Care Discussion

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 10:18 pm

They are absolutely beautiful and look healthy to me. I haven't seen sea shells in a tank before but they are very attractive. Your turtles look like they have personality!

Where the turtles come from here in the US is the south, where they live in lakes and ponds and the water is deep. They do love to swim and dive. As your turtles grow you should think about getting them a larger home with more space. You'll also find that, the more water in the tank, the easier it is to keep the water clean. The rule of thumb is to provide 10 gallons of water for every inch of turtle, the turtle inches being measured as the lenth of the shell not counting the curve in the shell.

The gravel in the bottom of the tank is also attractive but I'm afraid it's just about the size that a turtle could swallow. They'll try to eat anything and everything, and there have been some very sad stories on here about turtles that ate gravel, got impacted, and got into serious trouble.

Glad to have you on board. Look forward to learning more about your little guys!

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 12:43 am

They are adorable! I'm glad you have decided to take them in and give them a good home.

One question, is the heater submersible? It looks like a little too much of it is hanging out if it is. I just didn't want it to explode in the tank.

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 12:48 am

For now, the gravel is large enough, so the baby turtles cannot ingest them. As they grow larger, you should take out the gravel and replace it with larger rocks. Also, your turtles will appreciate if you raise the water level, they are avid swimmers, so there is no danger of drowning. I'm curious, what kind of cream do you apply to their shells?

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 8:03 am

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 11:37 am

If you have the time and you are handy, you can always construct your own basking area. The set-up looks wonderful, but when you are able to, try to fill it up with more water. As for the accesibility of products, try to find an online company that will do international shipping, it may take awhile ,but once you find a reputable dealer, you won't be disappointed!

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 11:55 am

that sounds like a good idea, can anybody suggest an online company with international shipping (or just UK or Turkey)? would like to purchase a dock or something to that effect so i can deepen the water when they get bigger.

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:27 pm

You can always browse http://www.ebay.co.uk/ for reptile products. How long will you be staying in the UK? I'm sure someone on this forum knows a reputable UK reptile store.

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 6:01 pm

just a thought. You might wanna look into deeping the water... Right now it dosent seem deep enough for them to be able to flip over easly if they were to get onto their back.

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 12:16 pm

FYI: just in case your water starts looking cloudy all the time, stop using the shell cream. Some people don't have any trouble with this cream, but my turt's water got cloudy when I started using it on her.

Your babies look great!

And don't be afraid to add more water to give them more room to play in the water. Turtles love to swim & they won't drown, no matter how deep the water is.

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 2:55 pm

If the cream is Vita Shell, I wouldn't use it on a regular basis, especially with younger, growing turtles. I wouldn't use any cream, particular if it's oil based (which Vita Shell is) because with continued use, over time, it will form a barrier on the shell and won't allow the shell to breath (which it needs to do).

Cute turtles, btw.

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