Wife wants turtles...

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
T

TMartinez

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 27, 2010
761
1
0
Mandarin, Fl
I was in a local reptile store with my wife not too long ago. In the store she spotted a tank with some small turtles is in. Water was midway up the tank and there were turtles swimming and turtles basking in light. Well needless to say she though this would be cool for the house, especially our 13 month old son. My question is A) are they easy to care for? B) How large do they get) C) Can I keep fish in the same tank D) are they safe to handle) and E) I have a 10 and 14 gallon tank, would either of these work for a setup?

I'm more of a fish guy so have no idea about something like this
 
What you probably saw were red-eared sliders, a very common aquatic turtle. Lots of work is involved in their care. You'd need at least a minimum 20g to start (depending on initial size of turtle) and they'll outgrow that in no time. Lots of water changes since they're sloppy eaters and they create waste faster than goldfish! By the way, these are fish eating turtles, even if you have them on pellets, your fish will not last long!

Ever consider a tortoise?
 
no not really. the whole turtle thing was kinda her idea... personally i can stick with fish
 
Pretty much what pinoyfisher said. I also don't think its a good idea for a young child to ever handle a turtle or tortoise. I always wash my hands after but your son probably wont unless you make him do it. I've never personally gotten sick, but salmonella poses a very high risk to people with weak immune systems, like small children and elderly people.


Skim through this article - http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm - and take notice of the estimated cost to setup a tank for an adult and the picture towards the bottom that shows the difference between a little baby and a big adult. I personally believe that the impulse purchase of a turtle is one of the worst things a person can do in terms of reptiles. This is something you and your wife really need to think about before going through with it. You always have to remember too that it is nearly impossible to get rid of an adult RES. Your son could potentially still have the turtle when he is in college!


If your willing to spend a lot of money and time to have a healthy turtle, then do it. But make sure you wont be bored with it in a few years.
 
they are most likely red ear sliders, if so it may get to 12in across. with most turts a good rule is that for every inch a turtle is long it will need 10 gallons of space so you would need a 120 gall.(or more)tank if it is a red eared slider. if you want a smaller turtle i would suggest a male map or musk turtle as an average one of these stays much smaller. if you need more info i would ask coura.
 
baby turltes are very cute and look really nice in a little 20 gal tank...

But they don't stay babies long and the most commonly available species (Red Eared Sliders) are one of the worst fot casual turtle keepers. If you are prepared to offer them a big enclosure (100+ gal) they can certainly make nice pets, but they will not be happy in a small tank and the small tank will get disgusting very quickly.

First impression is a turtle is not the right pet for your situation.

Baby turtles get a bad rap for being carriers of disease. The reason is little kids like to put things in their mouth, and putting a turtle in your mouth is a quick way to get sick. But then again putting any animal in your mouth is a bad idea.

There are smaller species (map, musk, Diamond Back Terrapins, etc) that can be kept in tanks smaller than 100 gal, but they will still need much larger than a 20 gal. The suggested "rule of thumb" of 10 gal of water per 1" across sounds fair. That would suggest a 75 Gal tank (or larger) for a single specimen that gets 6~7" across. Keeping in mind the tank will not be topped off as it needs space for an island of some sort for dry basking.

All in all, turtles are better "display animals" as opposed to "handlable pets".
 
TMartinez;4955353; said:
I was in a local reptile store with my wife not too long ago. In the store she spotted a tank with some small turtles is in. Water was midway up the tank and there were turtles swimming and turtles basking in light. Well needless to say she though this would be cool for the house, especially our 13 month old son. My question is A) are they easy to care for? B) How large do they get) C) Can I keep fish in the same tank D) are they safe to handle) and E) I have a 10 and 14 gallon tank, would either of these work for a setup?

I'm more of a fish guy so have no idea about something like this
Click to expand...


Pretty much what everyone said here
A. They are some what easy to care for tho I think my biggest worry with mine has been proper feeding. I'm still unsure if I'm feeding too much or too little etc. lol

B. Males get up to around 8-10" and Females 10-12" if I remember correctly.

C. You can keep fish but don't put anything pricey in because there's a good chance it will become turtle food. I put Comets that I liked with mine and they don't seam to wana eat them to much only one they ate was one that died not long after bringing em home. I also keep minnows with mine and they like those a lot more tho they only lazily chase em or eat one if it gets too close to their head.

D. If you grab em correctly they can be safe to handle but one thing I've learned is they are strong and can easily wiggle out of your hand if they start trying to get out. Their claws will scratch you a bit but their nothing compared to a cat or ferrets claws. Also when they get big try to keep your fingers out of snapping range at full grown they can crush bone.

E. The ones at the pet store are probably around 5-7" so you would need 50-70gallon tank at minimum.As some one stated here 10gallons per inch of turtle shell so at full grown for a female you need 120 at minimum a male 100. One cheap way tho is to take a 6-8ft kiddie pool and turn it into a pond for em I did it with a 6ft and its about 260 gallons and only cost me about $180.

If you do get Them along with a large tank U'll need a UVB light near their basking area 5.0 or 10.0 is good u'll also need a basking light to keep their basking platform around 85-90 I have a 50watt bulb relatively close to my basking platform and it keeps it at 85. In my experience too if you can get one at a younger say a few months old, since hatchlings have a higher mortality rate, its better I got 2 hatchlings only one made it but hes warmed up to me quite a bit and will come up to me if I'm near the pond and even hand feed. while our bigger female we bought and she was 6" at the time we bought her has yet to warm up to me and ducks down into the water if she sees me and tries to keep her distance. Also be ware of poor water conditions as they greatly increase the risk of illness, they are quite susceptible to respiratory infections which can be fatal if not treated asap.

Sorry for the wall of text =P
 
Yeah... I think I'm gonna convince her otherwise. If I have a 125g tank it'll either be a monster FW tank or a reef tank... To me one big turtle isn't that cool (no offense to turtle owners)
 
I really can't add much to what's been said, but I agree wholeheartedly. Husbandry for turtles is more difficult than fish. Frequent water changes are a must, no exception, because turtles are so messy. (I've had goldfish, cichlids, etc. which are some of the "messiest" fish, but my 2" turtle outdoes them all). Most turtle species need a very large tank. A few don't (namely mud and musk turtles which max out at 5-8" in shell length). As others said, your child should NOT handle turtles at such a young age, and the turtle would be a display animal, not a pet to handle frequently. On top of that, turtles should live several decades with proper care, so they are a long-term commitment.

All that being said, my turtle hatchling is one of the best pets I've ever had, hands down. He's just a very different type of pet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom