General Care Discussion :: I need help with turtle, think cruelty is taking place.

[Brodie]

Hi, my friend just came back from a trip recently and his friend he stayed with had a pet lizard and it made my friend want a pet reptile so he decided to get a turtle. Sadly, he didn't do much research on turtles before hand and rashly went out and bought one from the only aquarium in my town. I went to his house to see the turtle and I noticed it was only 1 inch and that concerned me because that is very, very small compared to other pet turtles that I've seen before. He had it in a 10 gallon tank with a 60 watt lamp about 18-20 inches away and a nice little plastic artificial island with about 4 inches of water and some smooth river pebbles filling the bottom. There was also a filter but I didn't think it adequate. I was concerned by all of this and decided to visit the aquarium he bought the turtle from (it's an aquarium called "The Aquarium"). Anyway, I was horrified when I got there!!! The inside looked ok, but then I noticed that there were 20-30 gallon tanks filled with about 30-40 1 inch red ear sliders each! Two of the tanks even had 1 or 2 dead turtle carcasses floating in the tanks! I proceeded to look at some of the fish tanks and saw a few dead fish here or there in the tanks! I've always been a HUGE animal person and get violently ill at the site of animal cruelty! I immediately left and called the Animal Control Police Unit and they said they would send an officer over to them. Sadly though, I fear not much will be done because "The Aquarium" has been in business for quite a few years... So now my friend and I didn't want to just abandon this turtle he bought (for $20) so we did a bunch of internet searching and I found this website. I did a bunch of reading and discovered how involved the taking care of an aquatic turtle is and informed my friend. He didn't realize how complicated and high maintenance aquatic turtles are and our lives are too busy to allow for the care of this poor turtle! It's obviously a hatchling, and they supposedly require delicate care and attention daily; something our schedules do not allow. I believe what he originally had in mind was something more simple like a land based tortoise that just requires food and water and feces removal along with a nice, dry, clean environment. The town we live in is very small so we have no access to any kind of adoption societies! All I can think of is to release the turtle into a nice pond I know of that's secluded in the woods, but it's just a hatchling! I feel very bad about all of this, and I want to know if what the owner of "The Aquarium" is doing is illegal (selling hatchling turtles)! What should we do? I'm feeling very horrible and actually losing sleep! I might sound weird, but I care about animals more than people some times, and I would gladly adopt the turtle, but I lack the monetary resources along with access to the proper stores that would have the high quality filters and such I would need to help this poor turtle! I'm wondering if the pond would be his best bet at survival...

[DavidY]

No, the pond would not be a good idea. First of all, it's illegal to release non-native species into the local environment. Second, the baby turtle will probably get sick and die (if not eaten) if the conditions are not right.

It sounds like your friend is doing a decent job with what he has so far. I think the only major additional equipment he needs right now would be a small water heater (less than $10 at WalMart) and a UVB lamp (about $15-$20 at a good pet store). Give the turtle a couple of baby pellets every day and in a few months start offering some romaine lettuce. When the turtle gets to be a couple of inches, you can get a Rubbermaid tub for around $10 and move him into that.

An undersized filter can be compensated for by regular cleaning and partial water changes.

Turtles are special animals and have special requirements for good health just like any other pet. I don't think that they are significantly more difficult or expensive to keep though. Any pet you buy will have special needs and attention and anyone looking to get a pet, whatever it is, should be prepared for that, in my opinion.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

First thing first, DO NOT RELEASE THE TURTLE INTO THE WILD. It is a captive animal and will simply, die in the wild. Thankfully - there are alot of adoption organizations that will allow you to ship live turtles to them. For example : www.turtlehomes.org

Try contacting them. DO NOT RELEASE THE TURTLE INTO THE WILD.

And props for you man! Your doing the right thing by realizing that these animals arent the right kind for you and your friend. I hope they find a good home,


And sorry to say this, but places like the humane society dont realy care for animals like turtles (you can try and call, maybe they will do something about it, maybe not). Their not cute, furry and cuddly...not up to their standards (dogs and cats are more important to them). We all have seen the sick conditions that these turtles are kept in - even in big name stores like petco, and petsmart. The best thing we can do is, just not buy from them..and try to get the authorities involved (if they decide to take it seriously)

[SpotsMama]

Don't despair! It would not be a good idea to release the little one into the wild for several reasons. Here's a link on the subject along with suggestions on finding new homes for them and links to rescue organizations:

http://www.redearslider.com/releasing_turtles.html

I'm sure there is a solution out there for you.

Are you a student? Sometimes the science or ecology department will keep a RES in the classroom sort of as a class project. Why don't you check on this.

If money is the problem, we've found that you can spend a lot on a good habitat or you can do it on a shoestring. Some of the creative types on here have made really nice setups on practically nothing. You can get equipment off ebay or craigslist, or watch for sales in your area. If you want you can search the forum, especially in the indoor habitat or equipment sections, and find examples of some really neat inexpensive setups.

Aquatic turtles are fascinating creatures - they are active, curious and interactive. With a little work, having a RES can be very rewarding.

As for selling 1 inch RES, yes it's illegal to sell them so small as pets. Here info on the subject

http://www.redearslider.com/legal.html

[Brodie]

I appreciate the swift responses! Since my friend's work/school schedule is more busy than mine I've decided to adopt the turtle until I can find someone to adopt it. However, I'd like to ask some questions that the guides on the site didn't seem to make too clear for me.

Here they are:

1) What's a good way to change out the water once it's dirty, and what's a good sign that it's time to change? It seems like it would be awfully stressful on the poor little hatchling to constantly take it in and out of it's tank to change out the dirty water since it's cold blooded and sensitive to temperature.

2) Should I remove the pebbles and such permanently to make the cleaning/changing of the water easier?

3) I've seen Repti-whatever brand stuff mentioned here, are they a good brand? I saw some repti- UV bulbs rated 2.0, 5.0 and 10.0 in a store, would those be ok for the turtle? If so, what rating, and how long should I leave it on?

4) Would Rep-Cal brand pellet food be adequate for the turtle?

5) I noticed that there are a lot of things you're supposed to worry about like pH, ammonia, nitrates, nitrites etc. If you change the water daily or every 2-3 days is this a problem?

Sorry about all the questions, but I'm a dog/cat person (I own 2 dogs and a cat and try to spend as much time with them as possible) and I've never really taken care of a reptile or any other creature of this nature. Not even fish!

[xsavingsaturdayx]

I appreciate the swift responses! Since my friend's work/school schedule is more busy than mine I've decided to adopt the turtle until I can find someone to adopt it. However, I'd like to ask some questions that the guides on the site didn't seem to make too clear for me.

Here they are:

1) What's a good way to change out the water once it's dirty, and what's a good sign that it's time to change? It seems like it would be awfully stressful on the poor little hatchling to constantly take it in and out of it's tank to change out the dirty water since it's cold blooded and sensitive to temperature.

2) Should I remove the pebbles and such permanently to make the cleaning/changing of the water easier?

3) I've seen Repti-whatever brand stuff mentioned here, are they a good brand? I saw some repti- UV bulbs rated 2.0, 5.0 and 10.0 in a store, would those be ok for the turtle? If so, what rating, and how long should I leave it on?

4) Would Rep-Cal brand pellet food be adequate for the turtle?

5) I noticed that there are a lot of things you're supposed to worry about like pH, ammonia, nitrates, nitrites etc. If you change the water daily or every 2-3 days is this a problem?

Sorry about all the questions, but I'm a dog/cat person (I own 2 dogs and a cat and try to spend as much time with them as possible) and I've never really taken care of a reptile or any other creature of this nature. Not even fish!

1) The bigger the tank, the less cleaning you will have to do. When I had my old 20 gallon that housed two turtles (both 3 inches, they are now in a 70 gallon tub) I had to clean out the tank once a week. But now, I do partial water changes (take out 25% of the water every couple of days and replace it with new clean water) and do a full water change where i drain out all the water and scrub down everything, once a month. So it depends. In a 10 gallon, id clean it once a week. Keep in mind that food tends to foul the water rather quick, so feeding in a seperate tuppa ware container is a good way of keeping the water clean.


2) Yes, pebbles and gravel are highly dangerous. There has been so many deaths related to small pebbles/gravel. Your turtle can eat it and it can get impacted, and will most likely require surgery and xrays which are expensive. Simply put, ditch the pebbles ASAP.


3) Reptisun is good, try getting one that is 5.0..dont get the one that is 10.0


4) A good and trusted brand that many keepers on this forum use, is reptomin. Me personally, i change it up. I feed my turtles over 6 different pellet brands, and rotate it around (vets advice). Pellets arent the only food that should be given (read the nutrition section for more info on what to feed and what not to feed)


5) You can buy aquarium testing kits, though with good filteration, partial water changes, and seperate feeding (in another container) you wont have such a problem.

[SpotsMama]

You are wonderful to do this! Down the road, you'll be so glad you did. If you can keep him healthy so he survives to adulthood, your RES will be your friend for life. You will never be sorry.

On your specific quesitons:

1. For a 10 gallon tank, you need to change it at least once a week unless your filter is doing a super job. Perhaps more often. Smaller tanks require more frequent water changes than large ones. And the more water you put in the tank the longer you can streach the time between changes. For sure change it when the water starts looking crudy or starts smelling bad. When you change the water, just gently lift your little turtle out (keep a firm grip - they are unbelievably squirmy) and put him in a plastic tub or bucket. I like to put a soft towel or wash cloth in the tub so if your turtle falls over he'll have something soft to land on. You can put another towel over the top so it's dark and he may take a nap while you change the tank. To get the water out, use a syphon. Do you know what a syphon is? You can get them at the pet store or you can make one out of a plastic tube or a piece of flexible garden hose. Syphon the water into a bucket. Then clean and clean the inside of the tank, and refill. Make sure the water isn't ice cold or too warm.

2. Yes... remove the pebbles. It will not only make cleaning a lot easier but they are very dangerous if your turtle eats them. Your turtle will appreciate having something in the tank to play with. Since he's really tiny, you can put a coffee cup in there and he'll hide in it. He will also need something like a plastic plant that reaches up to the top of the water. They like to hide in plastic plants and they rest on them near the surface when they get tired swimming.

3. You'll need two light bulbs. One can be a regular household incandescent bulb. It's for heat. The other will be a fluorescent UVB bulb. Turtles need UVB to process calcium for their bones and shell. The Reptisun 5.0 or 10.0 UVB tube fluorescent are good bulbs if you have a tube light fixture. If you want to use a regular light fixture you can get a Reptisun 5.0 compact fluorescent bulb. It's good but don't get the Reptisun 10.0 compact fluorescent bulb as it's too strong. Here's a photo of a really nice setup with two lights:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8890

Leave the lights on for 10 to 12 hours per day. You can get an inexpensive timer (around $5) at Lowes or Home Depot that will make this automatic.

4. Here's some good brands of pellets and how much/often to feed. Repti-cal is on the list:

http://www.redearslider.com/pellets.html

5. Down the road you'll need to be concerned about these things but for you if you change the water frequently you'll be fine.

One thing you didn't ask about it temperature. This is important to keep your turtle healthy. You need to maintain a water temp of around 78 degrees while your turtle is little. You can get an inexpensive submersible water heater at Walmarts. Someone on here calls it the best preventive medicine there is! You'll also need a thermometer to measure the temperature of the water and the basking area. Again, you can get very inexpensive thermometers for this purpose.

That should get you started! Come back as you go down the road and have more quesitons!

Again - good for you for taking the little RES!

[Brodie]

Thank you for all of the input guys! This seems like a very thoughtful and helpful community and I greatly appreciate it! I'll do my best to keep him healthy as much as I can! This site is a god send, thanks again.