General Care Discussion :: turtle smell question

[tekniq]

Hello all. I am deciding to buy a RES, but i was just wondering if turtles/their habitats give off bad odors. My wife doesn't want the room to have that fishy smell. also, you cannot get sick from turtles if you don't touch them correct? their bacteria/salmnoella/and what not aren't air transmittable are they? If you could give me answers, it would be appreciated

[SpotsMama]

If the turtle's tank is kept clean, it won't smell. If it's not, then it will.

The best way to keep the water clean is to use an aquarium that's sized right for the turtle, equiped with a good filter. Partial water changes will need to be done regularly, and from time to time the whole tank should be drained and cleaned. The filter will also need to be cleaned periodically.

I've had my turtle for four years and for the last year I've had a very good tank and filter and it's easy to maintain - takes surprisingly little effort. The key is having a good sized tank and a good filter.

You are correct - salmonella isn't transmitted through the air. Turtles are carriers of salmonella, as are all reptiles, chickens and many many other animals. You will, of course, handle your turtle from time to time. Just be sure to wash your hands before and after you handle him/her and you'll be fine. I handle my turtle every day and I've never had salmonella, nor has anyone in my family. Here's some discussion of the subject:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... salmonella

[Kayra33]

I've had my turtle for 4 years and have never once got salomenella from her but you have to wash your hands after every handling with them. Your tank will only stink if you don't take care of it. I recommend cannister filters, I just clean my filter every couple of weeks and clean 1/4 of the water in my tank every couple of weeks also and my water is crystal clear.

[pumpkinsherbet]

i've never had any problems with smell, or getting sick. i do partial water changes at least once a week, draining out at least 10 gallons (20%) and disinfecting the walls with vinegar, rinse, new clean water. i've never gotten sick off of them. that's not a problem either as long as you keep the water clean and practice basic hygeine, i.e. don't handle your turtle in one hand and eat a sandwich in the other.

i got a pleco for the tank which helps, water plants which help oxygenate the water as well. i syphon debris with a turkey baster about every other day (sometimes less, depending on how bad the debris gets), clean the filter once a week. it's a lot of hard work and requires quite a bit of attention, but anyone here will tell you it's worth it

[industrial_girl_2000]

I've had turtles for 18 yrs and never had a problem with smell as long as the tank was maintained properly & you do regular water changes. Also, there are things you can do to prevent smelly issues:

I have a very large Adult RES, Sheba (9" long shell), so I feed her in a separate container of fresh water. Any uneaten food pellets (which are made of ground fish, among other nurtitive ingredients) can make the water vile within a matter of 24 hours. For small turtles it isn't a problem since there aren't that many pellets in the water when you feed them & they get eaten quickly, but considering the size of my turtle, feeding in a separate pan of water helps a lot (I discard the water after feeding). I feed my turt lettuce every day in her tank because the lettuce doesn't mucky up the water.

Occasionally Sheba might poo on her basking dock so then there is a bit of a smell from the poop, but once I clean up the dock, everything is fine again.

In my case, full water changes are done monthly (I have a 90-gallon tank). Many of the people on this board do weekly partial water changes instead of the once/month thing. So it just depends on the turtle.

Also, consider the fact that if you have more than one turtle, you will need to work harder to keep the water cleaner. I HIGHLY recommend only having ONE turtle to start off with. You might think that the turtle needs a "friend", but honestly, they do not (are actually very solitary), and having more than one can turn into a territorial war if they start to fight in the tank (a whole separate issue which I won't explain here).

I wash my hands with soap any time I handle Sheba or her water (I have my hands in her tank daily, whether it is to take her out for feeding or to clean something in the tank). While the risk of getting salmonella from a larger turtle is less than from a baby turtle, the risk always exists with ANY aquatic animals. Wash your hands with soap/water & you will never have a problem. And no, salmonella/bacteria is not an air-born issue. Turtles have their own "normal" bacterial levels in their bodies, just like people do.

[marisa]

Welcome to the forum. Follow the advice for getting a proper size tank and keeping it clean to keep a smell from developing. And I would suggest keeping substate to a minimum (it will trap debris and contribute to a smell as well).

About 90% of reptiles are carriers of salmonella. They don't get sick from it, but there is a change we can by handling them and/or their things and not washing hands well afterward. Salmonella is a bacteria that lives in their intestines and is shed when a turtle is ill or under stress. In addition to washing hands, keep your turtle healthy with a good diet and proper habitat. If you do these things, you shouldn't have to worry about becoming ill.