Turtles

lockrookie · #1 03-05-2013, 01:20 AM

Hey there picking up a couple turtles tomorrow possibly from some deadbeats whom left them behind. Honestly I'm more interested in the tank than the turtles and will try to rehome them if possible. Now I've had turtles in the past but it was ages ago any hints on care is appreciative I will be spending the night researching as is

Thx

jorjef · #2 03-05-2013, 01:23 AM

Just make sure when you reheat the soup it gets to 140 degrees...

lockrookie · #3 03-05-2013, 01:51 AM

Lol you want a first taste?

Starry · #4 03-05-2013, 02:50 AM

What kinda turtles? I used to feed my Red eared sliders Angelfish Culls back in my breeding days. Would imagine feeder fish would work, or turtle pellets.

lockrookie · #5 03-05-2013, 03:39 AM

Honestly I have no idea yet haven't seen them just got the call from one of my customers that he had no idea what to do with them and they are big and where left behind by the tenant. I do work with the humanity society but they don't keep turtles regretfully. So in these cases I house the animals until I can find them a home. All I know there is two in a 4 foot tank and the tank is green and stinky so no matter what I will be doing the turtles a favour by getting them home and cleaning it all up. It's too bad it's winter and warmth is an issue but thankfully I have a couple cleaned empty salt buckets to transport. And a tank I can temporarily set up tonight to put them in until I clean the other tank. Just trying to figure out the best habitat and water depth for them and whatnot

Dearth · #6 03-05-2013, 02:39 PM

Going off memory here my brother had 2 turtles for 11 yrs....

Unless you are feeding turtles live food(fish, snails, fresh water shrimp) best to feed them on land as turtles are messy eaters and won't take them long to sully the tank. If they are box turtles they can live in multiple environments hot, cold, tepid so if tank isn't heated wont be a major issue. Turtles shed every few months so not unusual to find skin flaking off them.

Have a spot for them to sit out of the water and water depth should cover the shell maybe an inch or 2 for live feeding purposes. Even if not live feeding water should still cover the shell. Give them a hiding place like a shelf or plants for them to hide under both on land and under the water.

Hope that helps....

lastlight · #7 03-05-2013, 02:44 PM

they'll need some sort of calcium supplement for their shells I think. We needed them back in the day and I recall finding out years after we had to give our sliders up that they need a basking lamp with uv as well but maybe check that. i was pretty young and i don't think my parents did much research on them as pets.

yeah that tank could have pristine a week earlier (although doubtful) as these guys can royally soil a tank in a few feedings. We actually only fed ours pellets.

corpusse · #8 03-05-2013, 02:51 PM

Turtles are such a burden, at least mine are I've had my RES for more 2/3rds of my life. I also have a pink belly sideneck I thought was really cute as a baby.

Really they are super easy to take care of compared to anything salt water. Assuming they are aquatic turtles they need to be fed in water. They don't produce saliva so they won't be able to swallow.

They are messy but water quality is hardly an issue assuming they are in a big tank with a big filter. I have my 2 in a 120 gallon and the canister filter I bought many years ago is just starting to go. They are really hard to rehome with someone who's actually going to take care of them, thus I still have mine.

They require a basking spot to get out of the water and a UV lamp that produces UVB. Older turtles tend to eat more plant based diets while younger eat more meat based. I basically just feed my guys reptomin pellets every 2-3 days and romaine lettuce. They will eat all sorts of greens but I don't bother mixing it up too much since they are content eating this. Water changes are so easy. No mixing salt, no worries about temp acclimation ect.

They actually make decent pets considering they don't require too much time, are somewhat personable and basically live forever. I grew tired of mine years ago but don't want them to end up like the turtles you inherited so I will keep taking care of them.

Seriak · #9 03-05-2013, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corpusse

Turtles are such a burden, at least mine are I've had my RES for more 2/3rds of my life. I also have a pink belly sideneck I thought was really cute as a baby.

Really they are super easy to take care of compared to anything salt water. Assuming they are aquatic turtles they need to be fed in water. They don't produce saliva so they won't be able to swallow.

They are messy but water quality is hardly an issue assuming they are in a big tank with a big filter. I have my 2 in a 120 gallon and the canister filter I bought many years ago is just starting to go. They are really hard to rehome with someone who's actually going to take care of them, thus I still have mine.

They require a basking spot to get out of the water and a UV lamp that produces UVB. Older turtles tend to eat more plant based diets while younger eat more meat based. I basically just feed my guys reptomin pellets every 2-3 days and romaine lettuce. They will eat all sorts of greens but I don't bother mixing it up too much since they are content eating this. Water changes are so easy. No mixing salt, no worries about temp acclimation ect.

They actually make decent pets considering they don't require too much time, are somewhat personable and basically live forever. I grew tired of mine years ago but don't want them to end up like the turtles you inherited so I will keep taking care of them.

+1

lockrookie · #10 03-05-2013, 04:07 PM

Thank you all for the info I'm heading over there after lunch to assess the situation and bring them home I have to figure out the size of tank they are in and find a spot in my home for them. All i know is that the tank is aprox 4 feet long and 2 feet high. but i do t have faith in his estimations lol. as well I have set up my temp holding tank that I will just have water in for the time being worst case scenario the daycare kids will enjoy them. My wife is worried about salmonella poisoning if the kids touch them. Do all turtles carry this and how can you test this. If possible I'd keep one of the two if I find a home for the other.