Subscribe RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or Trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to 'Pet turtles, i need to no about them?'

1. Nived N - December 13th, 2011 at 10:58 pm

   While turtles are very cute, you may not be able to get one. They need a huge tank, and those are pricey. Also, they need that huge tank cleaned out often (every like, three days.) They are a lot of work. I’m sorry, but if you don’t do all this work, you shouldn’t get turtles.

2. gimmenamenow - December 14th, 2011 at 9:17 am

   While a turtle by itself may only cost about $7, a proper setup for it will cost close to $200. I suggest looking around at what turtles are available in your area, and buying a book on the care and maintenance of the species before purchasing the turtle (because there will be slight variations in care depending on what KIND of turtle you end up getting, and forewarned is forearmed). The basics:

   10 gallons of water per inch of carapace (top shell) length, while you can start out with a smallish tank for a hatchling turtle, you will eventually need something bigger. The smallest aquatics available in the pet trade are mud and musk turtles, which get to about 5 inches long, meaning you would need a 50 gallon tank for the smallest turtles you can get… most of the common pet turtles (Red eared sliders, yellowbellys etc.) can reach the size of a dinner plate or bigger, and so need ~huge~ tanks by the time they’re adults. (Please keep in mind, in the wild, turtles don’t go looking for “friends” except during breeding season, and their “friendships” don’t last very long… if you insist on multiple turtles, you’ll need more than 10 gallons per inch, and you’ll need to keep a sharp eye on them, because they can become aggressive towards each other… even after you’ve had them together for a few years, because this usually won’t start manifesting until they start to mature a bit…)

   A basking area… somewhere for it to haul completely out of the water, there are floating platforms that you can buy, or you can use a large rock or a few well-stacked rocks (make sure they’re stable… if the pile collapses on the turtle, it ~will~ drown.) Over the top of the basking area, you’ll need a heat lamp and a UVB light. You’ll also want a filter, because trying to keep up with a turtle without a filter can get insane as the turtle gains some size, get a filter that’s either marketed as being for turtles or one rated for about twice the water volume it will be filtering, clean the media out every few days and do full water changes when needed.

   There’s the basics, and that’s going to be pricy… I suggest if you do get a turtle to have the tank set up beforehand rather than trying to do it piecemeal. Depending on how cool your house is kept, you may need a water heater as well… again, that book I suggested at the beginning of my answer, it will give you the best temperature range for your turtle, listen to it.

   Edit:

   Yeah, but maybe it’s just that I’m lucky enough to live where I can do this, but I **** seeing box turtles or tortoises confined to a tank that’s too small for them… my family’s got an outdoor pen for our box turtles and redfoots that’s about 15 x 20 or so… they like to roam…

3. General Maximus - December 16th, 2011 at 2:33 pm

   Gimmenam is Correct, But i would like to point out an alternative, Get a Tortise, or Box Turtle, They are land tortises and can live in a Terrarium with just a water bowl, dirt and stuff, check that out

4. Da Dude - December 17th, 2011 at 5:33 pm

   Turtles are very expensive, I just got a baby turtle on my birthday and for everything, it cost $201.74!!! Dude, for every inch of turtle, you need 10 gallons of water. A turtle needs, a UVB light, a heat light, a floating dock where it can rest, filter that does like more than what the tank is, ( for example, a 10 gallon tank would need a 30 gallon filter) and a heater that keeps the water at 75-80 degrees. The dock temperature needs to be at around 90-95 degrees. Good luck!

Leave a Reply

Name

Email (will not be published)

Website