Painted turtle care

[Jared T]

So my friend has found 3 baby turtles and wanted me to have one but before u do I need to know how to car for them. What size tank will an adult need and


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[fhawk362]

I purchased a western painted turtle about a year ago. I feed him aquatic turtle pellets by exo terra as well as shrimp pellets by wardley. He's currently in a 55 and is happy. tanks about half filled with a diy turtle dock to give him some extra swimming room, I keep mine with a similar sized softshell. I'd say for an adult you'd need a 125 or 180, preferably a 180. For a few years you could get away with a 55 or better yet a 75 for depth. I have a 500gph filter in about 20-30 gallons of water to keep the water clean with these guys. you'll also need a basking lamp and a uvb bulb.

 

[Andrew1002]

I would get a 125 for the trio. That is good enough. Get a uvb/uva basking bulb. A basking dock and a heater. Make sure you at least TRIPLE the filtration! Filters will be screwed! Turtles are poop machines! I would reccomend tripping filter from tank size. So for a 75 a fluval fx5 should work. But I would get multiple filters. And multiples types of filters like hob,cansiter, and sumps.if you can then get all of the listed ones. Bigger is always better in filtration! Keep water at around 75 and dock on 80+. Good Luck! Pics?

-Andrew

 

[Creek_stomper]

Enclosure size depends on the subspecies. Female dorsalis can reach 5", while female belli can reach 10", with the other two in between, so you'll need to figure out what subspecies they are first.

Josh H

 

[Gandalf]

Hi,
I have a lot of experience with turtles and tortoises, they're my main hobby.
For one painted turtle, I would start in a 10. Move to a 40 gallon breeder. Once he's big enough to move out of that tank, I would suggest building a pond. Its much easier and cheaper then you would think. What I have done is just dig a whole and buy play sand. Home depot sells it in 50 lb bags for $4. A large pond would cost maybe $30 to cover in. Needless to say, they are not hard to care for, and very interesting. For feeding, simply use river shrimp/red shrimp and pellets (doesn't really matter what kind, go for one of the more well-known brands.)