Turtle help!

[Aaron_S]

Ok so I was out with my girlfriend and some of her co-workers last night. Talk at the table came to our daughter's birthday and the fact that one of the co-workers is pawning a turtle onto us! My girlfriend, loving animals and not knowing about turtles obviously said yes. I don't think I can sway her decision, because I don't want a turtle, we don't have the time or space for one. I assume it's a red ear slider, so I'm here to ask anyone for links to good sites that I can show her so she can read up on them and make sure it's cared for properly since I won't be around to do it often. It's about 6 years old I've been told but I have no idea of it's current conditions...hopefully when she realizes how bad it smells she'll get rid of it hahaha

[TailsW/Scales]

Kingsnake.com - Herpforum* > Turtle Forums > Red-eared & Other Sliders
^ That may be her best bet. Hope it helps.

[untsmurf]

They actually don't smell. There is an absolutely wonderful forum redearslider.com :: Index they also have a link for an awesome caresheet at the top. If you just need a quick run down of what you'll need, here you go:

a tank that provides 10 gallons of space per inch of shell (measured from the back of the neck to the top of the tail w/o the curve)
a filter that is rated at least 2x the tank size, preferably three
a submersible water heater
a basking dock that the turtle can easily get on, and be completely out of the water (zoomed's basking docks are awesome)
a UVA light and a UVB light (uva is a common house bulb, it provides heat, UVB is a special bulb, make sure it says UVB on the package or it doesn't have it)
a timer for the lights
a tank stand
food: either reptomin, mazuri (i think that's how it's spelled), wardley's is also good... plus a wide variety of vegetables and/or aquatic plants
DO NOT PUT GRAVEL IN THE TANK, they will swallow it get impacted and could die from it. they don't need a subtrate (it makes it harder to clean and takes up swimming space) but if you must have one get large river rocks, you can get them at lowes or home depot for like 5 bucks
you don't need a screen top because they filter out the UV light, but if you are going to fill up the tank at least 3/4 full (which you should) you'll something to cover the top of the tank so the turt can't get out. They can very easily stand on their back legs and vertically pull themselves out of the tank
fake plants, they need this for hiding, sleeping, and playing... plus it looks nice
a cave or log of some sort, make sure they can't get stuck in the holes.

That's all I can think of right now... good luck. If you have a question, the forum is great or you can PM me.

[The Snake Guru]

And actually by setting up a good filtered tank, it should take away a lot of the smell, and make cleaning much easier.

On another note I've kept turtles with gravel in the tank, actually about 1/2" smooth river rock for about 12 years and never had on get impacted.

~B~

[Aaron_S]

Thanks guys! I'll pass this link on. See what they bring over as a setup and I'll just gather the remaining. Why couldn't it be a red foot

[The Snake Guru]

Because then you'd be building a big damn enclosure! LOL Redears really aren't that bad man, just most people don't set them up properly so it makes them harder to clean. Once you get the stuff though we'll getcha going!

~B~

[Aaron_S]

But who wants a pet for bagillion years! Or one that takes up so much room.

[The Snake Guru]

BAH! 30 years max...LOL
Redears aren't that big...good lord man, over react a little why don't ya! LOL

~B~

[Boots]

RES are not that bad, as long as you get the filtration right, and clean it often. I don't think that can be stressed enough. Good luck with you new pet. He/she will grow on you.

Jason

[BlueClover]

Originally Posted by Boots

RES are not that bad, as long as you get the filtration right, and clean it often.

One other idea to help keep it clean: Don't feed inside the tank. Remove the turtle to another container, feed it, and put it back. That way you don't end up with the food helping to dirty the tank.

[The Snake Guru]

I have heard that one before. Seems like kind of pain though.

~B~

[Aaron_S]

When I worked in pet stores I used to set people up if they REALLY wanted the animal. We didn't sell them, until after I had left the store. They became 60 bucks!

I would always highlight the idea not to feed inside the tank.

Yah it'll need a good portion of our TINY house. The rat, hedgehog and fish take enough room. I guess there's room in the basement.

[untsmurf]

make sure if you are going to feed it in a separate bowl, that you put water in there as they can't eat without it.

and Guru, I don't mean to sound rude or anything but your turt could actually be eating the rocks and passing them. I never saw my turt go near his rocks (I had the same kind you mentioned) but one day when I had him out of the tank for an extended period of time (for cleaning) he had excreted gravel into his holding tank (which meant he was eating it without my knowledge). Lots of people have gravel with their turts and most of them don't die or get impacted, but why would you risk it?

IMO It's like giving a baby a small plastic toy and then waiting to see if he'll eat it and die...

Please don't take any offense to this, this is just a topic that I am very passionate about (turtles, not specifically gravel).

[The Snake Guru]

Not going to take offense, but I will add a little bit to it. Yes, it is actually quite possible that he may be doing so, but that actually may be part of a natural digestion process as well, I've read in several cases that some turtles will ingest smooth stones to aid digestion, I think the impaction problem comes when when the small quartz type gravel is used, I only use polished river rock, and so far haven't had any issues, Milo has been in that type of setup for about 6 years now and never had a problem (as well as many other turtles). On another note, the rocks also wear down the nails naturally, so I don't have to clip them, which is a big plus considering he's a snapping turtle....everyone's got thier thing, I'm just saying I haven't had a problem with the setup.

~B~

[untsmurf]

Oh wow, I didn't realize you had a snapping turtle. They can eat basically anything. Smaller turtles like RES and whatnot die from impaction all the time. Their digestion systems aren't as ... hardcore as a snapper's. Sounds like your guy is quite happy. Is he a normal snapper or an alligator snapper?