need turtle help please

[proarcher12]

i want to put turtles in my 55 gallon aquarium, but i don't know what kind, how many

 

[proarcher12]

or how to convert my tank from a fish tank to a turtle tank

 

[husonfirst]

Red-eared sliders are common turtles. The tank should be filled from 1/3 to 1/2 with water. You will need to build or buy some kind of platform for the turtles to get out of the water. Do you have a filter? You can't use an HOB filter because of the water level. You'll also need an incandescent light to provide warmth.

Turtles make a big smelly mess and you have to do constant water changes. It takes much more work than keeping fish.

 

[melosu58]

Moved to the General FW forum.

 

[proarcher12]

thanks for the help i have filters that hang inside the aquarium that i have to lower down

 

[BigJim]

Painted, sliders, and map turtles are good candidates. My preference is the map turtles just because they have crazy yellow stripes on their legs and cool ridged shells.

I used to have a tank with a few turtles I caught when they were half-dollar-sized and kept until they were about 6" across and too big for the tank. I built a platform out of slate for the turtles to climb up on and used a huge powerhead with sponge prefilter. Diffusing the flow was kind of a challenge. I've seen special turtle tanks with cutouts in the side glass for a HOB filter too.

 

[proarcher12]

turtle tank

ok how big to map turltes get and will they outgrow the tank, are they more expensive than the others, and do they need any special habitate or conditions than any of the other turtles

 

[BigJim]

I've seen map turtles about 12" across. I always returned mine to the lake they came from when they were about 6" across, so I don't know if they'll stay smaller in a tank.

Don't know about the cost. Mine were caught.

I don't think they need anything special. Just clean water, a place to climb out on, and good food.

 

[Liquid_Pyro]

I didn't think you were supposed to realease animals back to the wild once caught...I know that applies to wild caught fish anyways...

 

[BigJim]

Those were my younger and more foolish days. I did see the turtles later and they seemed to be fine.

 

[Liquid_Pyro]

lol...I am sure everyone has

 

[hbeth82]

Are you planning on the 55 being the turtle's permanent tank? For most of the species mentioned (RES, sliders, painteds), they'll need MUCH more space. The rule of thumb is to get a tank with 10 gallons for every inch of turtle. So a female RES, which can get 8-10", you should have a 75-125 gallon tank. For two of these turtles, you'd need twice as much.

Also important, one turtle doesn't need a turtle friend, many do better alone. There are some instances in which people are able to keep several turtles together but there are just as many cases of one turtle being bothered and tortured by another. On a turtle forum a while back, saw pictures of two turtles that had been purchased together, yet the larger had literally torn the smaller turtle apart.

I would also caution against just taking any wild turtle that you happen to find. Not only is this bad for the turtle, both in terms of health and the terrible stress, wild turtles are also likely to carry parasites and are typically more antisocial and fearful than turtles born in captivity. Try looking on some of the turtle forums, Craig's List (people often trying to sell tanks & the turtle comes free) or even contacting a local zoo. Also, avoid TurtleSales.com - more turtles arrive at the buyers door dead than alive.

Lastly, are you sure you want a turtle? Many people consider them more work than entertainment. . .

If you can't tell, I'm more of a turtle-person than a fish-person (also more of a turtle-person than I am a people-person). They can be awesome, but they're just not the right pet for everyone.

 

[proarcher12]

yes i was thinking of making the 55 gallon tank the turtles permanent home, i think 2 map turtles will be fin int his tank that is what it says on the forums

 

[hbeth82]

Sorry, but unless the maps you're getting don't get any bigger than 3" or so, I'd have to disagree that a 55 would be a suitable permanent home. But then I haven't seen all the discussions & research out there. It's better than how many people start out & far more than many pet store employees would recommend. The 10 gallons per inch of turtle seems to be the standard minimum for several reasons - they generate a lot of waste & need plenty of room to move. Poor conditions can lead to some of the same problems seen in fish and in humans (recently read about a turtle which might have blood poisoning).
If you will be putting two turtles into a 55, it would be a good idea to at least have a back-up plan if one starts to attack the other, similar to needing to re-home a Dempsey that won't play nicely with the other fish. If you don't happen to have another massive tank on hand (only a freakishly lucky few would) then be prepared to find one turtle a new home. I know PetCo and possibly other stores will accept "live donations".

Hope all works out for you & the little turts!