Other Turtle Discussion :: newbie with alot of questions

[Raph]

Talked to my vet but he usally tells me that the turtle is fine and we are doing good.

After reading more on the board I have found out that our turtle is a female instead of the male. i guess we will have to change her name from Raph to Raphie.

Is it normal for them to rearange thier tanks all the time. We had a turtle dock. Ones that suction cup to the side of the tank. First she started using her shell to pop the bars of teh suction cups off the side to get the dock free. we would re attach. soo she got smarter she started chewing the dock off the poles that hold it in place. it started to leave the remants of the inside of the dock in the tank. Got a new dock this time we let it free float. She ate it again.

The new dock is ceramic with a differnt type of suction cup to the side so she cant get her shell in ther to pop it off.

I know the guys at Pets mart saw the word sucker on my head when I came in to get her tank and things.

She has a 55 gal reptile tank that is filled half full of water. She has a 150 gal canister filtration system that only needs the filter changed once a month. Never have trouble with cloudy water. she has basking lights and a water heater that is set to 75 degrees. She has a back drop of a sunken pirate ship. She has a pirate ship bubbler with a treasure chest that pops open. She will sit over the bubbles and just let them hit her in the chin. silk plants and we got her a cave and a tree log that floats. Since we got her she got stuck in the log and had to remove it. Was scared that we would have to get the sawsall to cut the log to get her out. Did we go overboard for one turtle??

When we take her out of the tank she Hisses and claws. I want to socialize her but it does not look like we can, She is like pissed all teh time. She thrashes around tossing the rocks and the cave and the plants every where.


Did I go over board and is her behavior normal. if not what can I do to change it. The vet is no help. He says everything is fine.

[PaperFeathers]

Wow. You really do have a lot of things for your turtle! Personally, I enjoy spoiling all my pets, and I tend to go overboard, too. I'm not saying you're excessively spoiling your turtle, 'cause I don't think you can ever spoil a pet enough. : P

You have a great setting for your turtle, though. I just wouldn't recommend getting her many more things. A tank can only take so much, and cleaning gets harder with accessories. You might want to try some fake plants, though. My turtles love hiding behind them and clinging to them.

Though, about the logs and playthings turtles can pass through, I wouldn't get one. My turtles grow in leaps and bounds, and it's very easy for a turtle to get stuck between a toy and drown. That's just me, though.

As for the water you have in her tank, don't be afraid to fill the water up to nearly the top. (Just as long as they can't get out.) It doesn't matter too much, though -- turtles don't require depth to swim as much as length.

The behaviour of your turtle is normal. If you have a smooth flooring, such as tile, wood, or maybe even a thin rug, I recommend you take her out and put her down on it just to walk around under your supervision. Don't leave her out too long, as it can stress her. It might smooth out her anti-socialness, though.

[missibsu]

I read in one of your other posts that you noticed a rock walking up to your door and that is when you found the turt. So, I am assuming that this turt was once a wild turt. The anti-social behavior could be in part to your turt not liking to be in captivity.

You also mentioned in another post that the turt is now 8 inches across...is that straight length? Front to back, or side to side? Either way, 55 gallons isn't near big enough. The general rule of thumb is 10 gallons per inch of shell.

[Raph]

it is side to side.

yes he did walk up on our door step. he was dehydrated and in bad condition according to the vet. The guy down the block has a lot of turtels in his pond out front. 33 at last count. he thinks it was one of his that got away. he told us to keep it when we wnet down to ask him about it.

So I need to go up to another tank... I have only had this one for 8 months.

How big do they get. I see all the pics in the gallery and they look so small. I dont want to have to upgrade the tank again in less then a year. Last one cost 120.00 just for the tank. or should I just release him back out to the wild?

[missibsu]

If you have been caring for him this long, I wouldn't release into the wild. If you aren't interested in caring for the turtle anymore I would start first with your neighbor about taking him back.

Female turtles can grow to be 12 inches, and males 10. Most of the pics in the photo section are pics of hatchlings. I know that both of mine are small as well. Vendors sell them on street corners, at malls, and in popular vacation areas. Small turts are easy to acquire, and most people don't willingly take on an adult turt.

If you are looking at upgrading your tank, I would suggest going with at least 120 gallons...that would be set for life. It seems like a lot, but it's cheaper than buying a 75 gallon and then having to upgrade later.

Also, keep your eyes on the classifieds for good deals, www.craigslist.com, and www.freecycle.org. You can find really great deals. I hope that helps!

[Raph]

I would not give him up unless it was better for him. In fact I think I need to stop calling him, him. from all the discriptions of how to tell thier sexes he is a she. I dont know how the boys will handle that. All thier pets are male. If I did upgrade would I be able to have a second turtle in the tank? or would I need to go to a 200 gal tank. If I get a 120 tank would my 150 gal canister filtration work with one turtle if the tank is half full. This guy is a climber and he ripped through the screen when we had the water higher.

[missibsu]

sounds like you have a wild turtle! I think I answered your questions regarding tank size and adding a turt in the other post (on the intro page). I would add that a new turt should be quarantined for several months before adding to an established tank. Just to be sure there aren't infections, or illness. You wouldn't want to harm a healthy turt.

Also, if you do have a female, you will need to worry about a nesting area. I won't go into details, but there are plenty of posts on the topic if you look. Female will lay eggs even if there isn't a male present and they need to be able to get to a dry area to do so.

[fishandcandy]

How big is your turt's shell front to back (not counting the curve)? Sounds like a nice set-up. Post some pics if you can.
It sounded in your other post that you've decided to stick with one turtle...?
If you want to upgrade now, definitely get the biggest you can. For your filter you want a GPH of at least 10x your water volume. So if you have 55 gallons, you'd want about 500 GPH.

[Raph]

One is great! okay I need to find out what the gallon per hour is. the filtration system is said to be for 150 gal. I feel so dumb to this. LOL I guess it is a learn as you go.

[missibsu]

I have no clue what the GPH rating of my filter is. I do know that a lot of people around here have the Rena XP3 filters and love them.