My niece is planning to get a turtle as a pet...

[daileene]

So I was just wondering if anyone can help us with some questions.

We were wondering if we need to have good water parameters as well for turtles? Or it really doesn't matter. I didn't see any articles about water parameters when it comes to turtles so I was just wondering if any of you had to cycle before putting the turtles in the tank?

We kinda know about the feeding and how big a tank we should get but I am just not sure of the water parameter part. Hope someone can answer me on this.

Thanks in advance!

 

[toddnbecka]

Reptiles aren't sensitive to chlorine or ammonia like fish, shrimp, etc. are, but they do need the water kept clean. Internal filters are somewhat helpful for that. They do need about 100 gallons when full grown, and live for 40 years.

 

[slitherbomb]

I never cycled a turtle tank, because they don't breath using the water, but they do drink it, so it needs to be kept really clean.

 

[daileene]

hi todd and becka...,thank you so much for the answer....very much appreciated

 

[daileene]

I never cycled a turtle tank, because they don't breath using the water, but they do drink it, so it needs to be kept really clean.

thank you very much....this is really helpful...

 

[kelly77143]

ive heard that kids need to be very careful when handling frog and turtle bc some can carry salmonella.... maybe someone else heard of this.

 

[BillD]

You can keep a turtle tank much cleaner if you never feed it in the tank. Remove it to a basin, feed it there, and wait for it to evacuate before returning it to it's tank. this will keep the tank much cleaner.

 

[tarpon]

My friend kept a turtle we caught at a pond in a large cooler with untreated water from a garden hose for 3 years

 

[daileene]

ive heard that kids need to be very careful when handling frog and turtle bc some can carry salmonella.... maybe someone else heard of this.

yes we did see some article about this...thank you. my niece is 18 years but i do have a 5 year old that visits her frequently, so we researched if it was safe for kids...

 

[daileene]

You can keep a turtle tank much cleaner if you never feed it in the tank. Remove it to a basin, feed it there, and wait for it to evacuate before returning it to it's tank. this will keep the tank much cleaner.

thank you very much...we will surely do this. greatly appreciated.

 

[daileene]

My friend kept a turtle we caught at a pond in a large cooler with untreated water from a garden hose for 3 years

wow, really? i thought they need to be in at least 40-55G tank..how big was the cooler?

 

[tarpon]

wow, really? i thought they need to be in at least 40-55G tank..how big was the cooler?

Uhm id say around 30 gallons. He only kept it half full. I'm not saying its ethical, my point was it doesn't need dechlorinated water

 

[daileene]

okay...thanks...that's good to know....

 

[Tenochsun78]

Uhm id say around 30 gallons. He only kept it half full. I'm not saying its ethical, my point was it doesn't need dechlorinated water

Hi! I have a RES male 4 years in 125 g tank. We always dechlorinate the water because turtles have sensitive eyes and as precaution we do this. His tank is almost full with a large basking area. RES love to swim and unless you have a juvenile I would not keep in a 30 g it will not provide a "quality" habitat to a mature RES.

 

[tarpon]

Please re read all of my posts. You will find that none of them were talking about me, or what i do. And i was not recomending that size tank for a turtle.

And i guess youre right about the dechlorinator thing, just because it didnt die doesnt mean it was comfortable