Getting my sister a turtle....?

Question

my 9 year old sister really wants a turtle...

what type of turle is small enough to be kept in a 10 gallon tank and what things would i need to buy for it to have a happy life?

Answer 1

it can not have a happy life with a 9 year old. It can not have a happy life living in a 10 gallon tank. Your little sister will kill it. They are not simple pets and require lots of supplies and daily maintenence. They are very complicated to care for a small child, and will get aggressive and bite a 9 year old, so your lil sister might have no fingers left. And none can live in anything smaller than a 50 gallon, please do not get her a live pet, i beg you.

Answer 2

Turtles are VERY expensive to care for properly and VERY time consuming. Will you be buying over $200 worth of equipment for to go along with this new turtle? Who will be doing the homework as to how to properly take care of it? Who will be responsible for vet bills when the store bought turtle shows signs of sickness when it gets home? Will your 9 year old sister be driving this turtle to the Exotic vet herself? Who will clean the 10 gal - eventually 50 gal tank? Also, will you be making sure she washes her hands after EVERY handling of this new life? After all I'm sure since you want to purchase a turtle you already know they carry salmonella. Will she still want to be a turtle mommy 1, 5, 25, 30 years down the road? Turtles are awesome animals, but they are not as rewarding as other animals. You will spend a lot of money and time on this animal. It can be fun if you are interested in this sort of thing, but if you just want a cute pet then the thrill will be short lived. Try a fish instead, and PLEASE do your homework!!!

Answer 3

10 gallons will be good for oh maybe 6 months and then his growth will start to be stunted.

Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light for  8 to 10 hrs a day for the vitamin D that  they need to grow.

Leave the heater on 75 to 78 degrees always.

Their water needs to be clean otherwise they get sick easily from dirty water cause they p**p allot.

You need a good filter system!

You need to feed them feeder guppies, goldfish or minnows for protein and calcium daily drop 20 or so in the tanks and watch them disappear!

They need leafy greens for vitamins at least 3 to 4 times a week.

And a big tank 55 gallons or more..

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