Turtles!

[fishtankfish]

I think i want to put a little turtle in an empty ten gallon i have. Does anyone know of a link to get some info on turtles? Thanks.

[Voodoo Chilli]

Many turtles will QUICKLY outgrow a ten gallon tank. I rescued a tiny yellow-belly slider from someone that was about the size of a quarter: three years later, her shell is almost eleven inches in diameter and she lives in a 1,500 gallon pool! 8O

[trent]

a ten gal. would not work. at all. do not make a turtle live in a ten gal. that would not be cool. just an fyi.

[pcktlnt]

Hi,

If memory serves correctly, I thought a stinkpot could live in a ten gallon. Just need to have a good filtering system. Turtles produce a lot of waste.
Here are some links that I normally frequent for my turtle.
http://austinsturtlepage.com/
http://www.chelonia.org/
http://forums.kingsnake.com/
http://www.turtletimes.com/Forums/
Hope those help. I believe some of those have link pages, so don't forget to browse those too.

Cheers

[timmer15]

i do a lot of work with fish in the wild as a fisheries biologist... an individual that works the the same field station as i do studies turtles... there are always a lot of turtles around and he cannot get them to eat when in captivity... the also produce a lot of waste and smell very bad.
besides these issues, keeping a turtle in a 10 gal is not going to be able to work for very long and there are local game laws to conceder... meaning is it even legal to keep a turtle in captivity, what species is it??!! there is a chance it could be a T&E (threatened and endangered) species, esp. if it was caught in the wild.
this is just my opinion,

[millipede]

interesting, I've worked with several different wild caught turtles and had no problem feeding them. I have a feeling they could have been looking at one of those baby red ear sliders in a pet store. There are quite a few different turtles that would do ok in a ten gallon for a short whild but most of them grow to be quite large and unless you'd be ready to upgrade it's enclosure it really wouldn't be worth it. I could offer some other alternatives that would have a similar setup and should be just as interesting. Things such as frogs and toad and several species of newt. They can all be pretty interesting. If your interested in any more ideas or any info on any of the things I've mentioned or still want to explore the options with turtles feel free to try out www.reptileadvice.com
That site is part of the pet advice network which this site is also part of. They're all run by the same people. check it out and see what you think. We'd be glad to have you over there.

[Devilishturtles]

I agree. 10 gal is really too small to house a turtle. A stinkpot is one of the smallest turtles and if you get any at all, get a male if you can, as these tend to stay smaller than the females. I have two red-eared sliders in a 20 gal long, for about 15 months now, and they need to be upgraded real soon.

Also, depending on what species you wish, you need to check out local laws. Some states, Maryland for example, disallow the selling of turtles under 4 inches in diameter. Look into it a little more, but unless you plan on upgrading very quickly, I'd shy away from the turtle.

What about going for some firebelly newts, or something along those lines?

[pcktlnt]

Actually it is a federal law not to sell turtles under 4 inches. Places that do sell hatchlings just give them free when you purchase the tanks and give crappy information on how to raise them. =/

Cheers

[millipede]

Places that do sell hatchlings just give them free when you purchase the tanks and give crappy information on how to raise them. =/

never heard of that. I have seen stores sell them far too small and to justify it have a sign that says "for educational purposes only". I understand that is wrong but they seem to think they are covering themselves... I've seen red ear sliders with around 2" shells going for $12 and up. It's insane but some of the pet stores around here would take what it cost them, then multiply by 3 to decide what to charge the customers. They seem to think it's the only way they'll make a profit which to a certain extent is true. Anyway...