First Time On Turtles

[ginceng102]

Hi! i'm planning to have a red eared slider and i am seeking for tips & tricks from you guys. How many gallons should i get? Is sand substrate ok for him/her? what kind of filter? is there a need for aeration? how big will they get? other helpful tips?

 

[Davo86]

RES are big turtles and therefore require a good sized aquarium,
When fully grown they will require a tank of around 100G or better still, a tropical pond

They are massive waste producers so also require hefty external filtration

artificial and uv lighting is also required.

This article may help

 

[loraxchick]

female res can get up to 12 inches. they need plenty of swimming room (3x the length of their shell), a basking area that they can haul out onto and completely dry out, a heat lamp to keep the basking area around 90 degrees F (i use an incandescent light bulb with a clip lamp), uva AND uvb lighting for shell health (they sell bulbs that output both but they need to be replaced EVERY 6 months, very high filtration as they are dirty eaters (some folks actually feed their turtles in a separate container for this reason)...please dont get a "reptile" filter, get a good aquarium filter...canisters are great!...they also need a balanced diet of reptomin (or similar) pellets and green plants (anacharis(aka elodea) spinach, kale, romaine lettce etc...never iceberg lettuce...occasional crisckets and worms...dont forget vitamins...they make reptile "dust" that you can sprinkle on some soaked pellets.

not to deter you from getting a turtle casue i have one and love her, but they are not as easy to care for as many places lead you to believe. there is an aweful lot of maintanence involved with gravel vaccing and water changes (nitrates build up quickly!). and they can live over 30 years...that's a long commitment for a pet... it is also pretty expensive to set up their homes properly...a free rescue turtle i got cost me close to $500!!!! but they are silly and determined little animals and i love mine to death. also keep in mind that baby turtles grow at an alarming rate. while a 20 gal might seem fine for now(for instance) in 6 months you will need to upgrade...so get the BIGGEST tank you can afford now!

oh also, dont plan on having a nice planted tank with a res. they dig around a lot and the plants will uproot and drive you crazy trying to keep them planted.

 

[M.R Otter]

Welcome to the world of Red eared slider Turtle,I would be more than happy to inform you with thier needs and requirments,here is a list of of those things:

(1)-those turtles need a huge amount of space baby turtles need about 3o gallons tank and adults need about 100 gallons!!

(2)-They need basking area so they can rest for a while in it.(it is reported that turtles that don't bask get's fungus growing on it's shell).

(3)Baby turtles preffers meaty food like(blood worm-brine shrimp-live fish or dead fish).

(4)Adult turtles are vigitarion they eat green matter food.

(5)I suggest you house them in a pond they will grow faster,get stronger,hibernate and breed.well that is what I did with my turtles they had lived for more than 5 years now.and they did breed I saw a hatchling in the pond and I was kind of surprised and shocked.

 

[ginceng102]

what bad will happen if i put a baby RES in a 5 gal tank? because i have a spare 5 gal tank here and i dont have enough budget yet to purchase a 30 gal tank. would it be ok just for a mean time?

also, would you recommend a sand substrate?

 

[Davo86]

5G is way too small for even a baby RES, please don't do this as the turtle will more than likely be dead within a week.

The filtration won't be enough, and there isn't enough water, so you will poison it

 

[M.R Otter]

Davo is right the RES won't last a week in a 5 gallon.I reccomend that you get bigger tank or you can release it in your pond I mean if you have one.

Sand would be okay as a substrate.

 

[loraxchick]

oh dear. if you cant afford a big enough tank, you cant afford all the other equipment to make a suitable home. without the basic necessities, it will get sick in some way...and shell disorders being most likely are very slow to heal and will most likely cause its death. shell rot is no joke. and neither is the poor thing getting an upper respiratory infection, which captive aquatic turtles are very prone to in unsuitable housing.

 

[trojannemo]

in my personal experience, the turtle will do fine no matter where you put it.

yes you should spend $1000 to setup a perfect habitat for her. but then again, in a realistic world,
if yo uhad $1000 to spend on the turtle, you would probably get a different pet.

my parents found a baby RES on their front door step in 2006. until february of 2008, that baby turtle
was kept on "turtle islands," buckets and even a foot spa tub thing. no filtration, sometimes no water,
and when there was water it tended to be filthy. she stayed tiny but survived those 2 years without
getting a single infection.

in 2008 i got into fishkeeping, and then moved her into a 10G tank with two filters and a small floating dock.
she tripled in size in 3 months. now she's in a 29G tank, again with two internal filters running.
my family can't afford to get her UVB/UVA lamps or an external canister filter, or a 100G tank for that matter.
when she outgrows the tank she will have to be rehomed or something, but until then, i can tell you
my turtle has had a rough life but she's never been sick, she's very healthy, no shell problems and
looks just beautiful....

so, do the best you can. if you can't afford it, don't get it. but if you already have the turtle, do the best
you can within your means and by all means, DO NOT RELEASE. in my county it is now illegal to sell or buy RES turtles
precisely because too many people kept releasing them...

good luck and have fun.

 

[ginceng102]

thank you guys for all the infos!

 

[kher83]

if you are low on budget and can't afford a tank go with a rubbermaid tub it may not look as nice and fancy as a tank but it does the same job for a much cheaper price also you won't have to upgrade for awhile. a 50gal tub will only cost you about $20 while a 10gal tank is at the same price give/take. another option is to browse craigslist sometimes they have really good deals on a full setup. always provide the best care you can give and also at the same time be smart about it if you don't have enough money to give him/her a mansion then an apartment well work just don't put him/her in a cell block.

 

[Davo86]

Or go for a Musk Turtle which would be happy in a 30G for life

 

[mixmaster jay]

http/www.reptileforums.co.uk/shelled-tur...rapin-care.html

try this this is a forum my girlfriend is on and she has got a adult female yellow belly slider (the same as a red ear but no red lol) and that has a 13" shell and we are getting two mississippi map turtles at the weekend that someone can no longer care for. please note that red ears and yellow belly's/cumberland (sold alot as ybs) get quite big and the general rule for tank is 40l per inch of shell roughly we have done alot of research on turtles over the years and we want to let people know just what they are getting into and have extensive research on these as they get dumped in local ponds and given away a hell of a lot because people just dont realise how much care they do acctually need

my girlfriend found this good too there is a few more care sheets on this link for you

http/www.terrapintank.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=34

if you have anymore questions please pm me and we will help you with what you want to know ,we are also thinking of setting up a website for people such as yourself for research/rehoming and general chit chat on turtles but this is still on the paper stage at the moment lol

Or go for a Musk Turtle which would be happy in a 30G for life

musk turtles give off a smell hence the name but only when intimadated but they are quite skittish anyway (turtles in general) it is almost skunk like lol

 

[DinloMind]

i was also looking at turtles, more specifically the musk turtle, but i didnt know whether they could survive
underwater completely?? or whether they need a part of the tank out of water, like frogs? does anyone know?

I have a 60litre tank, with mostly small fish (see sig) will they be able to live together?? or do i need a
seperate tank for the turtle??

any help is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[loraxchick]

an aquatic turtle of any kind will eventually eat the fish. if you do try this, make sure there is a safe place for the fish to go where the turtle wont be able to ge to them. yu will most likely lose some fish, but others will become "turtle savvy" and know how.where to hide from the turtle.