Advice about turtles

[Meagan.Marie]

Hello guys,

I haven't been on here in a while. My two fishies were doing really well until about a week ago one of my 3 year old male betta's passed away. but thats alright he lives a really healthy life. I grew really fond of him. Sad to see bubbles go.

Anyways, after that I have been looking into building a tank for a turtle and I know this is an aquarium forum but you guys seriously have the best advice, in the past whenever I needed help you where there. I keep reading things online about the tanks they need, blah blah blah, however I want to hear advice on how people actually do it, perhaps some pictures to see some potential set ups.

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[Horsegirlmaddy]

I very recently acquired my first turtle- an abandoned 3 year old red eared slider. I had planned on getting a musk or mud turtle, but this guy (I named him Poseidon) needed a home

My only two bits of advice right now:

They are ACTIVE!!! Plan on as much space as you can possibly get, and then some.

I didn't quite understand what a "messy eater" meant until now. It means worm guts and pellet remnants EVERYWHERE. This isnt the kind of messy your filter cleans up. So for maintenance's sake, try to get a separate feeding tank if you can.

Good luck!

 

[Meagan.Marie]

They eat on land right? So wouldnt just a small tank like 10g work just to eat in?

 

[Horsegirlmaddy]

They eat both on land and in the water. Mine seems to prefer eating in the water right now, but we'll see when he gets more comfortable. But a 10 gallon tank would be perfect for feeding, even just a plastic Rubbermaid tote with water and a dry spot.

 

[Meagan.Marie]

and as far as like the set up goes... did you buy like a kit or did you build it from scratch? theres this really cool basking platform i really like sold on amazon.
Amazon.com: Penn Plax Decorative Turtle Topper/Basking Platform: Pet Supplies

but will a baby turtle be too little to get up there and have the tank filled with water?

 

[Horsegirlmaddy]

I set it up from scratch. I have him in a 60 gallon with a temporary homemade dock- just a wire basket with a big flexible roof shingle as a ramp. I'm toying with a bunch of different ideas, and am hopefully going to make him a big indoor pond instead, so he has more room. A baby turtle shouldn't have a problem getting into that turtle topper, per se, but a better setup for a turtle less than 3" or so would be just a few inches of water, and rocks built around the tank to rest and bask on out of the water, slowly adding more water depth as they get better at swimming.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Meagan, what type of turtle are you considering? Different species of turtles are going to have different needs, just as different fish species have different needs.

 

[Meagan.Marie]

I plan on getting just your basic red eared slider. all by his lonesome. I am going to get either a 29 gallon or a 55 gallon tank. I found a seller on ebay for the right side. the 29 is a breeder. so it would be long. I'm going to fill it with river rocks then some other natural rocks to build its basking area. My dad used to have a pond but we scrapped it and now we have all the leftovers.

 

[Horsegirlmaddy]

Go for the 55 or bigger. Even a 55 is only 12-18 inches wide and 4ft long. An adult male slider can cross that in 5 paddles or so- and 4ft is just 4 times the length of an adult female, which doesn't give much room.

 

[Meagan.Marie]

its not the space that is the problem its just wether or not its gonna be for sale.

 

[Meagan.Marie]

sorry about the double post. I have a new question though. acrylic or glass?

 

[Horsegirlmaddy]

GLASS. They bump against the sides so much, acrylic would be hopelessly scratched very soon.

 

[Meagan.Marie]

Alrighty Thank you so much for your help I also went on the forums at austins turtle page! That was really helpfull as well.

I am going with the 55 gallon tank and then I am going with a fluval 405 canister filter for 129 off amazon brand new!

 

[Horsegirlmaddy]

Fantastic! Sounds perfect I wish you well in your journeys with turtles oh and a note- freeze dried krill make an excellent treat. My guy will do backflips for them, practically!! But not too many, as they're very high in protein, and that can cause unhealthy shell growth (pyramiding)

 

[Wy Renegade]

Be sure and post some pictures of the set-up once you get things going.

 

[Meagan.Marie]

I will certainly do that! I am super excited. I also thought about buying a 29 gallon tank to grow aquatic plants in for the little guy to snack on!