Other Turtle Discussion :: sweeet

[goatfarmer123]

my brother had a painted turtle for years and years when we were kids and neither one of us got sick from it, though it did bite so we didn't touch it a whole lot. but i think leonardo is doing well, he eats a lot and i am proud of myself for the awesome way i put the wet/dry parts of the tank together and i laughed at myself when i thought "dude he's going to think this is cool." the cats are still worrisome, but hopefully me squirting them with the spritz bottle if they get too close will give them the idea that leo is off limits!
does everyone else's turtles bask much? leo hardly ever even gets out of the water. i know he can, but can't seem to negotiate land very well. i guess its a personal preference... he's a swimmer! i just wonder.

[TNTurtles]

are there any humane websites out there to get RES? like personal breeders who just happen to have a selling site?

[missibsu]

does everyone else's turtles bask much? leo hardly ever even gets out of the water. i know he can, but can't seem to negotiate land very well. i guess its a personal preference... he's a swimmer! i just wonder.

What does your full set up look like? Do you have the required lighting? What is your basking and water temps? Turtles will be less likely to want to basking if the basking area is not warm enough, or if the water temp is too warm. It is important that your turtle bask, and have a place to get completely out of the water. If the shell can't and doesn't completely dry you run the risk of having a turtle with soft shell and other problems.
Water temp should be around 78 for a hatchling with basking temp 10 degrees warmer.

[fishandcandy]

He might just prefer to bask when your not around.

[steve]

are there any humane websites out there to get RES? like personal breeders who just happen to have a selling site?

Yes, but you won't find that info here. From http://www.redearslider.com/index_basic_info.html

Note: Turtle Talk does not allow any posting or the linking of any site, business or individual (this applies to hobbyists) that sells turtles less than 4". This may include legitimate reasons and we will determine what actions to seek on such topics on an individual basis. Topics and posts may be subject to editing and deletion.

You can always try a local herp rescue or re-homing organization.

[goatfarmer123]

i think leo's tank might be just a bit warm. the water temp shows high seventies and i don't have a land thermometer. the air conditioning is always on in the room though and i'm afraid he'll get too cold. i have the uva/uvb light about a foot away from his tank. i changed his setup back to mostly land and he's been doing really well about getting out of the water more now. he sleeps on the bring with just his head under the water... its kinda funny, kinda weird. like, he thinks he's under water but his body isn't. so i'll get a spoon and wet his shell if i know he's been out all night. so here's a question: is it better for me to let him get cooler and turn off the light sometimes or keep it kinda hot? and should he be sleeping in the water? also, he doesn't like the lettuce i got. he doesn't really like the bloodworms either, he really likes the pellets but i know he has to eat different things. any suggestions on treats? i should really move this to a care page.... thanks very much!!!

[missibsu]

When you say that you took out most of the water, how much water does he have now? You have an aquatic turtle, and he should have 10 gallons of water per inch of shell. If he is just a tiny turt, you could lower it just a little, but the better thing to do would be to have resting places for him. The water temp should be at a constant 78 degrees F, or around 75 for an older turt. Being in a room with AC is fine, but the set up shouldn't be in a spot with a direct draft. If you have heater it will help regulate the water temp, and it shouldn't be a problem. You also need to get a thermometer to measure the temp on your basking area. It should be 10 degrees higher than the water temp. If it isn't, your turt won't want to bask. Your lights need to be on a regular day/night schedule with no more than 12 hours on, between 8 and 12 is ideal. As for the lettuce...keep trying. Don't expect him to just eat it out of your hands. I had to leave mine in the tank for awhile, the first few times even removing slimey lettuce and placing new in. After awhile they just started eating it, and now they don't stop. What kind of lettuce did you give them?

I hope this gets you off to a start answering questions. Try some of this and see how it goes. And keep us updated!

[goatfarmer123]

hi! the tank right now is about 2/3 land, with plants and a stick he can hide in. the water level is about a foot long, 4 inches wide and about twice as deep as he is thick. leo is right at an inch long, he is tiny. i figure with that amount of water he can definitely get submerged and scoot around a bit, even if he can't go deep sea diving just yet. i'm moving to a big house the first week of may so i will be able to set up a bigger pool then. i put a thermometer on the land and it came up about 90! so thats about 11-14 degrees hotter than the water. i've moved the lamp a bit further away so hopefully it won't get so hot.
he bit a carrot today.. didn't actually eat it but my hopes are high!

[missibsu]

carrots are pretty hard. Did you chop it up? You can also lightly steam them to soften them and that might help as well. Sounds like he wants to eat it!

[goatfarmer123]

i used the peeler thingie to make thin shreds of it, but cooking is a good idea also, i bought like everything on the list to see what he would or wouldn't eat and he really lkes yellow squash! he won't eat any kind of lettuce or collards or mustard greens or antyhing green though. i got some tuna and i'm going to coat the lettuce with tuna water and see if that does it... also, i've been using my water thermometer to measure the land temp and if i keep it off the bottom it says about 92, but if i put it on the bottom it goes up to like 105! touching the bottom it doesn't feel that hot at all. so i'm wondering if the water thermometer is messing up because its on land, or if it really is that hot? i keep moving the lamp further and further away, it almost seems like theres not any heat getting the rock but i guess i'm not very sensitive in small differences.
also, what age can they live outside? leo is still under an inch long, but i was hoping to keep him outside over the summer. thank you all!

[missibsu]

It is risky to move your turt outside. You have to worry about leo escaping as well as other preditors. I have heard that several people have lost turts to racoons. I personally wouldn't risk it, but there are ways of protecting him if you still want to try. Chicken wire covering the enclosure might help, but even with that, it can still be risky.

As for the veggies, keep trying. Mine didn't eat the lettuce right away either, and I found that if I just left it, it would eventually disappear!