turtle

Pontus · 03-11-04, 12:58 AM

are there any (that i can get ahold of relitivly easy in toronto)turtles that stay relitivly small that can say in a 48x18x24 aquarium filled with water(with rocks or what ever so it can get out of the water) for its life span or no?

i have a cham04 · 03-11-04, 03:24 AM

I reccomend a mississippi paint turtle. They are relatively easy to care of, I have 17 myself.... They only grow to fit the aquarium. Most likely the nearest pet shop will have them or breeding season is coming up in multiples they can be found in lakes. rivers, and ponds. There are many reptile sites that sell them for an okay price,But I highly reccommend just finding a baby because to raise one yourself means alot more to you in the future.....hope i was a help ~i have a cham04~

Dani33 · 03-11-04, 04:49 AM

There are quite a few that could live in a 90 gallon. Check out this site. They have reccomended tank sizes for most, if not all of the turtles written about. http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheets.htm
Good luck choosing!

Bighead · 03-11-04, 04:53 AM

Quote:

[i]They only grow to fit the aquarium. [/B]

I am no chelonian expert.. but I know that many people believe that this is true with fish, when in fact, the fish die long before their natural life span due to the stress from being in an enclosure that is too small. Have any of you ever had a goldfish in a bowl?
Did you know that your common carnival or feeder goldfish is a Commet that can live more than 75 years and grow to over 2.5 feet in length? The avergae lifespan in captivity is less than one year. I won't get started on Koi- I'll just say that there is one living in Japan that is over 200 years old and 4 feet long.

Again, I don't mean for this to be an attack at all, it just concerns me when people talk about the smallest possible enclosures for anything.......

sapphire_moon · 03-11-04, 08:15 AM

spotted turtle, but I believe they are illegal in canada???? maybe 1 res (the females can get up to 16" I belive?) mud/musk turtle might be ok. Just do a google on small water turtles.

Turtle Matt · 03-11-04, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by i have a cham04
I.. They only grow to fit the aquarium.

That is untrue... No turtle will grow to the size of it's enclosure...If it's enclosure is too small, it will eventually die. I didn't check where you are from, but all turtles in Ontario are protected and illegal to keep.. You should be able to find some species of turtle to fit your tank though.. Likely, some of the slider or coter or map turtle secies (all readily available on the Canadian market) will be able to live in that tank for their lives, or at least most of their lives.
Matt

i have a cham04 · 03-14-04, 02:49 AM

it s true turtles grow to fit the aquarium i should know i have had turtles for years and years and years my life evolves around turtles

Pontus · 03-14-04, 03:15 AM

thx alot guys i used to have a RES when i was younger but he died rellitivly young

Bighead · 03-14-04, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by i have a cham04
it s true turtles grow to fit the aquarium i should know i have had turtles for years and years and years my life evolves around turtles

Not cool man.

Drew S · 03-14-04, 04:21 AM

Turtles do not grow to fit their enclosures. That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard a so-called expert say.

Apparently turtles aren't your life, because this is one of the most basic care issues. If you keep a large turtle in a small enclosure they will become deformed, thus not reaching their proper adult size.

Think about it. If you put a person in a box and feed them every day, they won't be a midget. They will develop severe spine and medical problems, but they won't stay small.

I hate it when people give terrible advice. If you don't know about(or even better, own) a species, don't give advice that you heard from an unreliable source.

latazyo · 03-14-04, 05:23 AM

inexperienced fish keepers tend to think fish will grow to their tank's size; the truth is related to concentrations of hormones in the water influencing their metabolism and growth

stunting a fish's or any other animal's growth (in this case a turtle) is terrible and cruel

as an inexperienced kid, I kept a male RES in a 30g tank 1/3 full of water for 10 YEARS and he grew adn grew and grew

why didn't he stop growing? obviously it is a proof that turtles don't grow to fit their enclosures

btw: the turtle mentioned above now kicks it casual in a pond I made for him after doing some research and learning how not to listen to pet store advice

to answer your question though:
I agree, several species of turtles are capable of living in that environment (note that I am not recommending keeping several together)

what I would recommend (if you are insistant on using the aquarium) to do is to fill the aquarium full of water and build a tall canopy (about 1 foot high)

inside the canopy feature his basking spot with heat and UV bulb as well as a ramp for him to climb up on

if this is confusing, let me know and I'll explain more

great choice on an aquatic turtle...a beautiful pet

Pontus · 03-14-04, 10:48 AM

ok guys i did not want my thred turning into this everyone knows they dont grow to there tank so dont worry ok. anyone reading this will understand and they will not think otherwise

claycoke11 · 03-14-04, 11:47 AM

Turtles grow, and grow they will not stop even if there aqauriums to small theyll just die from stress, I just saved three reses that are all close, or over 10 '' big, and they were each living in 5 gallon pails, and their owner thought they only got to as big as their container, so now they live with me. Thats just dumb.

i have a cham04 · 03-15-04, 01:13 AM

i didnt mean to oh my you mis-understood me it is down right cruel to keep a small enclosure on a big turtle i mean whatever size of tabk hopefully 29 gallon ormore that you have a baby turtle in it will only get so big it wont grow that much....it grows to fit his home. i didnt mean to stick a turtle in just any size cage god be reasoable about it....sorry you misunderstood me

Bartman · 03-15-04, 07:06 PM

Dude i dont know much about this growing to the size of the tank but if 99.9 percent (ur the 0.1) of the site is saying its total BS then stop saying its true..your going to give people who read these threads a bad interpretation and they'll end up doing what you say...just give the turtle the home it deserves, you clearly never buy something that you cant give a perfect home and husbandry needs to so dont keep 17 tutrles if you cant keep each one in a large enough home..sorry