new turtle owner need lots of info.

I have a new turtle that I bought in fla. It is very small about 1 and a half times the size of a quarter if not smaller. It is the cutest thing. I have put it in a 10 gallon aquarium and from what I have understood it is barely going to get any bigger than that it has a spot behind itsx ear but its not red its like a yellow brown spot. Please I need major info on the total setup, feeding, pumps, heaters,etc. I mean please try and cover everything I have many other reptiles but ventured into this world too because these two guys were sooo cute. I hope you guys can help because I dont know really anything much but what the care sheet says. I mean I have rocks that you put in an aquarium and i rinsed them off but should I put some sort of water clearer in the water or no? anyway any info is appreciated. thanks

intoodeep

 

not to jump on you immediately, but you should always do research on animals *before* you purchase them. so many lizards and turtles and snakes are abused, abandoned, neglected, or even released into the wild because people purchased the animal without having any idea how to properly care for it.

secondly, i'm kind of confused. at first you said "i got a turtle. he is small" then you said "these 2 little guys were so cute". so did you get one turtle or 2?

also, you gotta get the gravel out of the tank. there are only a few species of aquatic turtles that need substrate. for the vast majority of aquatic turtles, substrates are huge choking/impaction hazards. substrates also just make the water dirtier cuz they trap debris.

also, i believe you might have a yellow-eared slider. if so, it should look something like this: Yellow-Eared Slider

if it is a yellow-eared slider, then the care requirements are pretty much exactly the same as for red-eared sliders. hate to tell you this, but the little guy is probably gonna get much bigger than the size he is now.

the size of the tank depends upon the sex of the turtle. females get much larger than males. an adult female res would need at least a 90 gallon and a male adult res would need at least a 75 gallon tank. i can help you sex your turtle if you want - just let me know! whatever tank size you have, the tank should be about 75% full of water with a completely dry basking area. directly above the competely dry basking area about 9"-12" should be a fluorescent tube-type uv bulb. the uv and dry basking place are what prevents shell rot and growth problems like metabolic bone disorder. there should also be a heat bulb above the basking area. the air temp above the basking area should be about 75F. this warm, dry, uv-rich basking area will allow the turtle to get out of the water whenever he wants and if you leave him alone, he will probably bask for at least a couple hours per day.

i would highly recommend getting a rubber-coated metal kitchen organizer rack (Kitchen Organizer Pic/Description) or locker shelf (Locker Shelf Pic/Description). get a flat rock to put on top of it. i personally have one of the locker shelves - one of the best purchases i've made for my turt. these are cheap, sturdy, and cleanable and, in my opinion, THE best thing to use for a basking stand.

filters - i would highly recommend either the fluval 404 or the rena filstar xp3. i personally have the xp3, but i've heard wonderful thing about the fluval 404, too. both should be able to handle a 100 gallon tank - evenwith turtles (one of the messiest animals out there - lol!). when i got my xp3 i found that www.bigalsonline.com was the best place to get it. every place else (including local petstores) wanted up to TWICE the price that big al wanted. i got great service from them and a quick delivery, too.

as for a water heater, i don't know that you need one. res are really hardy and as long as the air temperature in your house stays around 70F the water should be warm enough. if, for some reason, your house is colder than 65F, then you should get a water heater. i *highly* recommend the 'tronic' brand heaters. they work *great* PLUS you can get these awesome 'burn-guards' for them - the 'burn-guards' are thick plastic tube-like things that are made to slide onto the 'tronic' brand heaters. they keep the animal from coming into direct contact with the heating element. but, like i said, i don't think you should really need a water heater unless your house is unusually cold.

res's should have a varied diet with only a little protein. your res needs to be eating about 75% "meat" (earthworms, crickets, feeder fish, brine shrimp, bloodworms and the occasional mealworm) and about 25% fruits and veggies (romaine lettuce, carrot peels, berries, duck weed, mango, melon, and grapes). also, calcium is vital to turtles - to provide the turtle with plenty of calcium, get a peice of cuttlebone (this is a small, white, oval-shaped object for birds to chew on). always keep a chunk of cuttlebone in the tank - just throw it in the water. the turtle will nibble at it until one day you realize it's gone. the chunk should be about 3 times the size of the turtle's head. you should also 'gut-load' the crickets you feed your turtle by feeding the crickets chopped fruit along with commercial cricket food and cricket water (the cricket water looks like jello and the cricket food usually looks like a corn powder). you should also powder the crickets with powdered reptile vitamins every 3rd or 4th time he gets crickets. one last thing about diet - commercial turtle sticks/pellets/foods are way too high in animal protein. these things are like super-growth vitamins for turtles. the directions always say to feed the turtle WAY too many of them. they just want you to buy more of their product sooner. an aquatic turtle should only have 3 or 4 of these sticks per week - TOPS. it's only a special treat for my guys.

and don't forget - ectotherms need suprisingly small amounts of food. only feed the turtle the amount of food that will fit into his head, once per day. after the age of about 2, he should only be fed about 5 days per week.

you don't need to dechlorinate it or treat it at all. dechlorinator is a waste of money for turt water. reptiles don't take the water in through their skin or gills, so the minerals, chloramines, chlorines, etc don't have any ill effects. the only reason you'd need to treat the water was if you put live fish in the tank as well. then you'd need to dechlorinate it.

 

Hummingbird's short novel pretty much covered it :wink: .

 

Your RES will get much bigger; as large as 10 inches. They will need a bigger aquarium. The general rule is 10 gallons per inch, PER TURTLE. If you have two, you will need a fairly large aquarium when they get older. You will also need a really good filter. Fluval makes good ones. Also a water heater that will heat the size of your aquarium. Plants are good for hiding in and providing fun. Sucker fish help keep the tank clean. You need a UVB/UVA ray lamp for light and for basking. A good basking platform is needed with a ramp to get out of the water. Avoid gravel because it is hard to clean. You can get some medium sized rocks to use on the bottom. Water conditioner is a must. Will help keep it clean as well as protect your turtle.