Aquarium turtle advice please!

[Nomadu571]

Yeah they are stinkpots. We rescued them from a local garden centre, one at a time. The larger one is Dec, the smaller one is Ant. The names should be the other way around but dec came first, lol. If your in the uk you will get the reference to a well known tv duo, of which dec is the smaller guy, otherwise it means nothing to you.

When we got Ant we were worried dec would bully him but after finding out Ant wasn't food they have become little buddies, Ant rides around on dec's shell sometimes, lol I've been trying hard to get a good pic of it but they always spot me and abandon the fun.

 

[jkdubs2]

Yeah they are stinkpots. We rescued them from a local garden centre, one at a time. The larger one is Dec, the smaller one is Ant. The names should be the other way around but dec came first, lol. If your in the uk you will get the reference to a well known tv duo, of which dec is the smaller guy, otherwise it means nothing to you.

When we got Ant we were worried dec would bully him but after finding out Ant wasn't food they have become little buddies, Ant rides around on dec's shell sometimes, lol I've been trying hard to get a good pic of it but they always spot me and abandon the fun.

Ah I didn't recognize dec in the pic!. and I'm in the US smack dab in the middle of the country so the reference is lost on me. But I shall look them up! Lol. And that's good they are getting along is ant a girl or boy? Maybe ull get baby stinkpots one day! That would be awesome. And Turt and puck always sleep right on top of one another but they are smaller than yours so it would be funny to watch the bigger turtles ride on eachother! Congrats on the rescue! There both really cool!

 

[Coursair]

I might have to buy one of those for my 20g I think I need some co2 in it! And the only new plants I remember buying recently were a type of ludwigia I can't remember exactly and some water wisteria. How you turtle doin?

The Fluval systems do look cool, but they are a bit pricey as you have to buy prefilled cylinders from them. You may want to check out a paintball CO2 system. The Planted Tank or Aquarium Plant Central has them for sale frequently ( free to join to see sales threads), check MART here also. Much cheaper to refill your own tank usually ???

 

[Nomadu571]

Depending on what size you go for corsair is right. The 20g system refills are only 3 for £10 here in the uk, and one lasts for over two months depending on how much co2 you use. I havnt found it that expensive, but on a larger tank than 20g they wouldn't be that efficient, paintball would be alot better. For small tanks however they are worth the money IMO.

 

[jkdubs2]

Depending on what size you go for corsair is right. The 20g system refills are only 3 for £10 here in the uk, and one lasts for over two months depending on how much co2 you use. I havnt found it that expensive, but on a larger tank than 20g they wouldn't be that efficient, paintball would be alot better. For small tanks however they are worth the money IMO.

Well if theres a way to do a DIY paintball system I'll do that then cuz I have 3 or 4 spare co2 canisters

 

[Nomadu571]

Well if theres a way to do a DIY paintball system I'll do that then cuz I have 3 or 4 spare co2 canisters

Yeah there is definitely a use for them, you'll find the answers from one of the co2 experts on how to do it, but I know it's only a case of buying the right bits.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Try to keep this thread on topic thanks guys.

 

[jkdubs2]

Try to keep this thread on topic thanks guys.

No problem we shall be more specific. This is still all goin to be for the turtles 55. But yeah the earlier bits were off topic. Thanks!

 

[Nomadu571]

It's all advice for his aquatic turtle.. but ok.

 

[jkdubs2]

So I found a false map turtle online that this kid is giving away with all the goodies for 20 dollars. I was thinking I wasn't even interested until I saw the kid had it in a 10g tank! I was like what that's tiny?!? So I figured since I had bought a 40g recently that I would use that to house the turtle until I could find it a good home. The turtle is 22 years old he says and it's about 4-5 inches long. He is also blind in one eye because the kids cat got to the turtle 7 years ago. So I am goin to go "rescue" this turtle tomorrow. I just thought I'd post this to see if there were any problems I or someone else might encounter trying to care for this turtle with its disability so I could be fully aware and so could the new owners I find for him. Thanks.

 

[Nomadu571]

So I found a false map turtle online that this kid is giving away with all the goodies for 20 dollars. I was thinking I wasn't even interested until I saw the kid had it in a 10g tank! I was like what that's tiny?!? So I figured since I had bought a 40g recently that I would use that to house the turtle until I could find it a good home. The turtle is 22 years old he says and it's about 4-5 inches long. He is also blind in one eye because the kids cat got to the turtle 7 years ago. So I am goin to go "rescue" this turtle tomorrow. I just thought I'd post this to see if there were any problems I or someone else might encounter trying to care for this turtle with its disability so I could be fully aware and so could the new owners I find for him. Thanks.

Well done mate, good on you for the rescue, in a 10! Such a tiny tank for such a large older map. They stay pretty small like musks, that's probably as big as the little fella is getting. He would probably benefit from a trip to a vet to get the eye looked at and also to see if he is suffering from mal-nutrition, but it can be expensive so I guess your best option first off would be giving him some high vitamin, high calcium food along with some greens and making sure you keep the tank water perfect. In regards to his eye there's not much you could do apart from provide some medication in the water but if it happened 7 years ago I'm guessing he is pretty much over it by now and is dealing with it well as he is still around. Just good care love and attention is what he needs. And no cats

 

[jkdubs2]

Well done mate, good on you for the rescue, in a 10! Such a tiny tank for such a large older map. They stay pretty small like musks, that's probably as big as the little fella is getting. He would probably benefit from a trip to a vet to get the eye looked at and also to see if he is suffering from mal-nutrition, but it can be expensive so I guess your best option first off would be giving him some high vitamin, high calcium food along with some greens and making sure you keep the tank water perfect. In regards to his eye there's not much you could do apart from provide some medication in the water but if it happened 7 years ago I'm guessing he is pretty much over it by now and is dealing with it well as he is still around. Just good care love and attention is what he needs. And no cats

Yeah definitely no cats. And ya the 10g is ridiculous the poor turtle prolly has never gotten to actually swim in its life! And I'll be getting him checked out for sure to make sure he's top notch because it would be a shame for a 22 yr old turtle to die from lack of care. I'll give you updates when I pick him up.

 

[jkdubs2]

Ok so there's bad news and worse news. The bad news is that the turtle has a soft flakey shell. The worse news is I don't know how to help. Right now I set him up in a rubbermaid Tupperware tub outside and built him a basking platform. The tub is in the shade and sun half and half. That and calcium supplementation is all I can think of to help him. I figured real sun is better than fake sun. So now I'm at a loss on what to do. I'm trying to find a rehab shelter around to possibly get advice or better yet donate him to them so they can fix him up. The kid did not even have a UVB light on the turtle!

 

[Nomadu571]

That's awful. That's why when someone on here with a fish tank wants a turtle I feel compelled to let them know what's involved because of just this. Poor turt, the vet should be able to provide you with some numbers. I dont know if you have an RSPCA like the uk, but over here that Would be the best place. They are a dedicated vet and care unit for any badly treated or poorly cared for animals. Your right in doing what you have there's not much you can do he need specialist meds most likely and care. That's such a terrible find but I've got so much respect for you for taking him and doing the right thing.

 

[jkdubs2]

That's awful. That's why when someone on here with a fish tank wants a turtle I feel compelled to let them know what's involved because of just this. Poor turt, the vet should be able to provide you with some numbers. I dot know if you have an RSPCA like the uk, but over here that Would be the best place. They are a dedicated vet and care unit for any badly treated or poorly cared for animals. Your right in soon what you have there's not much you can do he need specialist meds most likely and care. That's such a terrible find but I've got so much respect for you for taking him and doing the right thing.

Ya well the whole point was to save the turtle anyway so all is good if he lives. The local vet said she would take him in and rehab him so I'm just goin to donate to the vet.

 

[jkdubs2]

I just wanted to tell u something about Turt and pucks different personalities. Puck is very shy and doesn't bask too often. Turt russel will swim and climb on me when my hand is in the tank and will eat from my hand and loves to bask. It's hilarious to see their different eating personalities too. If I put a mealworm in next to puck or Turt they will grab it obviously, but the tiger barbs and rosy red barbs try to steal it from them and sometimes they succeed. now here's where they differ. Puck will swim after the particular barb that stole the mealworm bc he knows that the barb can't swallow it and he wants to be there to snatch it up and once he gets it back he acts like nothing has happened. Turt on the other hand if he accidentally drops it he will try to get it back first (very frantically) but if he sees a tiger barb grab it or steal it from his mouth he just Hulks out! He gets so angry at all the fish! He doesn't care who stole it he just starts trying to nip at all of the fish around! It's the fastest he ever swims lol of course he is too slow to catch them so he calms down after a minute but it's hilarious to watch! He's like ("what the heck is this! Dang fish! Thats mine! I'll eat you all!," swim,swim,swim,....gasp for air, "nevermind too much work") haha. That's the only time I ever see aggression towards the fish tho so that's good. just thought I'd update ya on their progress!

 

[rotorhead22]

That is funny. My Texas Map is too fast and ate all of my fish (about 6).

 

[Nomadu571]

I just wanted to tell u something about Turt and pucks different personalities. Puck is very shy and doesn't bask too often. Turt russel will swim and climb on me when my hand is in the tank and will eat from my hand and loves to bask. It's hilarious to see their different eating personalities too. If I put a mealworm in next to puck or Turt they will grab it obviously, but the tiger barbs and rosy red barbs try to steal it from them and sometimes they succeed. now here's where they differ. Puck will swim after the particular barb that stole the mealworm bc he knows that the barb can't swallow it and he wants to be there to snatch it up and once he gets it back he acts like nothing has happened. Turt on the other hand if he accidentally drops it he will try to get it back first (very frantically) but if he sees a tiger barb grab it or steal it from his mouth he just Hulks out! He gets so angry at all the fish! He doesn't care who stole it he just starts trying to nip at all of the fish around! It's the fastest he ever swims lol of course he is too slow to catch them so he calms down after a minute but it's hilarious to watch! He's like ("what the heck is this! Dang fish! Thats mine! I'll eat you all!," swim,swim,swim,....gasp for air, "nevermind too much work") haha. That's the only time I ever see aggression towards the fish tho so that's good. just thought I'd update ya on their progress!

That's awesome, I'd love to watch that. I'm so happy they are getting on well and settled in. They do love those meil worms dont they, they are like turtle-nip. Lol. Glad they are giving u some good times!

 

[jkdubs2]

Made a little escargot for my turtles as one of my snails committed accidental suicide by getting stuck on my powerjet inlet. Sad day for the snail good day for the turtles. Lol

 

[jkdubs2]

Well I'd hate to have people tell me I told you so but I figured id update anyways lol. My plants are quite devastated from the turtles lol the only one doin well now are the wisteria, Anubias, java fern, and some of my swords. The anacharis are gone completely leaving bare spots, and the micro swords I moved to my 20g cuz they kept getting uprooted, crypts are dead and gone. Lol. Well the good thing is that when I move some of the plants around to fill some bare spots the roots were ridiculously grown in the remaining plants and the kitty litter is the reason I believe. So that's good news. So I think I need some new hardy plants. Any suggestions?