Turtle

[Lipreader]

I don't know what kind of turtle it is, but it was so cute! I was at this store and as I was about to buy my lip gloss, I notice a small case with a baby turtle in it. It had rocks and water in it. He was so tiny, the size of a silver dollar but a bit bigger. I wanted it but the only thing that stopped me was that I didn't know much about turtles. I know they can live a long time, but I don't know the requirements and such. I don't know how big he gets. It was green with black and some orange stripes here and there. Obviously likes water. It was five bucks.

My questions are,

1. what is the name of the turtle that likes to be with water(the water was shallow in the case, not much for swimming but I'm assuming it like to swim)?

2. What do they eat?

3. What are the requirement to care for them?

4. Do they grow fast?

5. If I wanted to combine a couple of small frogs and turtles, can I do that? Will they get along fine?

I just want to know more about them incase I decide to go back and buy it. He has been on my mind all day and I just want to be sure I don't make a mistake and get something that I may not be ready to handle. I have never seen the turtle that small, usually I've seen them the size of your hand and they look so cute swimming in waters.

Any info about this is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[superman]

Turtles are a very hard animal to take care of. They have a complex demand for minerals, and other nutrients that is very hard to mimmic in an aquarium. I wouldn't get a pet turtle because I have seen so many pet turtles die an early death because of how hard they are to take care of.

 

[amez]

Did it have a strip behind its eyes? if so, it is a red eareed slider. the ondittions it was in the pet store is horrid. they love to swim. thye grow quite fast, and can grow up to 12 inches, unless u have the money to get a 90 gallon tank for it when it grows up, i dont think u should get a turtle

 

[mostanks]

they'r not hard to keep at all ,all they need is proper diet(calcium)a basking area and a swimming area and just like fish their tank should be CLEAN!
The biggest prob w/turles is their diet,most ppl only feed greens and crickets but it's a little more involved than that,they need lots of calcium to keep their shell hard and to boost their immune systems.
if you plan to get a turtle please do lots of research before hand they'r great animals to have as pets(to bad they'r banned in NJ)or i'd have some now as a matter of fact i was supposed to have 4 painted turtles but the guy never showed up I GOT JERKED!! good thing i didn't give'em any $$

 

[Lipreader]

Thanks for your support mostanks! I didn't like the first two replies because they were telling me not to get one. I wanted a turtle for long time(actually I wanted a few turtles in a huge tank). I just wanted to know what the reqirement for caring them. I did find a link and printed out useful information also I plan on going out and do some more research. My husband and I might go back to that store and buy the turtle(if it's still there*crossing my fingers*). I don't have a problem careing for it like proper diet and cleaning. That's no different than doing that for my fishes. I also thought of adding a couple of frogs(that is a big maybe).

I will be sure to do my research and gather enough information before I do anything.

Thanks again!

 

[wuvmybetta]

we have a juvenille map turtle, it was a little shy at 1st but after a couple of months it's mellowed out and just adorable, constantly begging for food.
Here's a link I've used often when need be

http/www.ahc.umn.edu/rar/MNAALAS/H2Otrtl.html

 

[qwik108]

I would ahev to say that turtles are one of the easier animals to care for. I had 3 red eared sliders for about 3-4 years and they were about 2 1/2 inches when I got them.. The were really cool to watch. I wish I still had them but I had to give them to a friend with a bigger tank. They don't grow very fast. I think when I got rid of them they were about 4 1/2 inches. The only thing I would say to watch out for is make sure you have a good tight lid on the tank. Mine would always find a way out of the tank and it would take forever to find them because they were so small. But goodluck with them. They are a great pet. Make sure you get a big enough tank to.

-Chris

 

[Lipreader]

I have planned to get a biggest tank I can afford. I read they do better in 55 - 125 gal tank. Sounds big and sounds expensive. Right now they are tiny babies and I want to start off big. I don't want to find myself spending more and more money on bigger tanks so I want to get the biggest one I can buy. At First it may look like a castle to them since they are tiny, but this will give them plenty of growing space.

 

[jerenycool]

i had 3 turturls for about 5 years 1 got to be about 12" round and the other 2 were about 5" around and they just swam around and laid in the shallow water. then when i was on vation my mom cleaned my room and move them out side wile she was cleaning and the die form being in the 102º weather.

 

[Lipreader]

Jerneycool - You never tried to get new turtles? I'm loving mine. They bring me such joy every day! There are many turtles that need a home. Won't you try again?

 

[wuvmybetta]

do you know what kind of turtles they are yet?
here's another link with a bunch of food suggestions, our's hardly eats the pellets anymore since his/her diet is so wide in variety, you should see the way she eats a small piece of boiled egg, so cute holding it down with it's little foot

http/hometown.aol.com/MMcart3475/chefood.html

 

[one-envy]

hi, i have a juvenile slider turtle, it is the size of a half dollar. his name is steve and ive had him for about 8months now. he is in a twenty gallon tank that is about a third full of water with rocks to bask on. i feed him turtle pellets, which he quickly devours, i feed him three or four in the morning and at night. sometimes i will feed him guppys, he loves these. also i feed him live bloodworms. he is the easiest animal to take care of, i clean his tank once a week.hes quite timid now and wont dash into the water when someone walks by or picks him up. he did come down with shell rott though, about a month after i got him. i got some stuff from my lfs and also horse houve hardener and hes been fine ever since. turtles are great pets, i had two mud turtles that outgrew their tank a year ago, so i gave them to my parents and they put them in their pond.i think frogs would be fine with them, though im not sure. make sure they are not poisonous because the turtle might try to eat them. my lfs had the turtles with axolotls and he said they did fine.i suggest you do go out and get some they are wonderful and live a long time.

 

[Lipreader]

My babies are doing great and eating healthy. I love watching them eating and climbing on the rocks. I found a big rubbermaid to use for now and they love it. I will have to take a pix of the set up because if I explain it to you, you might not be able to pix it. I was going to have pix this weekend but I found out my hubby gave the digital camera to his brother to borrow for awhile. So I have to wait a bit longer to take one. They bring so much joy in my life and I love every one of my babies(including my fishes and cat).

one-envy -- how do you tell if your turtle have shell rot? What do they look like? I just want to know just in case if it happen to me. Also how do you cure it and how did it happen?

 

[mostanks]

lipreader-glad to hear you're enjoying your turtles,i wish i could have gotten mine

I didn't like the first two replies because they were telling me not to get one.

who's the boss here B) lol no! they'r just worried about the animals and trying to help

 

[Ron]

Turtles are great, deffinatly get 1. I have 2 snapping turtles, 2 painted turtles, and 1 RES (red earded slider). It depends on where your from, but if you live in northern USA, it's a very good chance that you have a RES. Does it have a red 'ear'? Whats teh coloration? You need a UVB light, you can get them for 10 bucks at pet shops. You need a basking light over your rocks. keep the temp on the rocks between 86-92 degrees F. Do you have a filter? You need a very powerful one that will filter all the water at least once an hour. You need a heater to maintain the water temp at 75-80 degrees. Feed your turtle feeder guppies, earth and meal worms, brine shrimp, snails, pellets, freeze dried krill. freeze dried tubiflex worms, and some non-piosonous insects, like dragonflies. Have the diet be very very ballanced. Not too much of anything. Mix it up. You'll need a vitamin supplement as well. You can get it in a powder form and spinkle it on the food. Turtles in captivity can live any where from 10-30 years. But it's usually right around 20. If you have shell rot, you'll see a white-'thing' clinging to your trutles shell. It's usually mistaken for shedding skin. There is one distiction between shell rot and shedding skin, you can see the shell rot even out of the water, the shedding skin you can only see in the water. You should emediatly remove the turtle from the aquarium. and soak his shell in bettadine. Keep him completely dry untill he gets better. But you have to give him two 30 minute baths in warm, clean water everyday. So he doesn't dehydrate. Untill, the fungus goes away, repeat this. The shell rot is caused by unclean water, and too cold of water. Hope thsi helps, and good Luck!
Ron