Hi, i just bought 2 baby yellow sliders. I got the 10 gal tank etc....i bought a basking rock wih steps and a?

Question

log that floats. When I place harry and moe on the rocked they leaped off. Is this normal?

Answer 1

Yes, but that tank is 10 times smaller than they need.  One slider needs around 100 gallons at adult size.  You should try to get them a larger tank, a 20 gallon would be alot better.

Answer 2

Turtles won't spend much time out of water until they feel comfortable in their tank.  Give them a few weeks. And start saving your pennies for a decent-sized tank. Figure 10 gallons per inch of shell (cumulative) and allow for rapid growth. I wouldn't have started them in anything less than a 55-gallon tank and would expect them to need something bathtub-sized by the time they grew up.

Answer 3

yep..I have 2 that are 36 yrs old and 75% of the time they still scatter as fast as they can. Sometimes when I clean their pond they will bask and never move an inch

Tank is a tad small for two, you'll have to change it out probably in 6 months...

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http://flickr.com/photos/29035692@N03/se...

The bigger the environment the bigger the healthier the turtle. Remember 10 gallons for every inch of turtle. I have used kiddy pools and plastic pond liners from most nurseries and worked great.

Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light UVA/UVB for 8 to 10 hrs a day for the vitamin D that they need to grow. So that means getting a turtle dock also.

Leave the heater on 75 to 78 degrees always. These turtles in captivity do not hibernate their eating may slow down some but they will not hibernate.

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

Total Body length: 5-8" average, up to 12 inches max. Life span: 15-25+ years

Males have the longer front nails and are used in mating. And are considered mature at about 5 yrs old. You can’t start sexing till about  3” across.

You need a good filter system! Gravel larger than they can swallow.

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 in a few days! When I got these two 36 yrs ago all we had in back then  were goldfish to feed , so after 36 yrs and still going strong. They can eat goldfish! I spend about 175.00 a month on fish ,goldfish and minnows. An Extra  75.00 on leafy greens and dried cubed tubiflex worms.

This way when they swim for their dinner they get exercise also!

They sleep at the bottom of rivers, streams. lakes or ponds or your tank to avoid predators like coyotes,  foxes, owls, hawks, possums, raccoons and even some wide mouth bass.

TOSS in a bird cuttle bone in the water for calcium. it will dissolve real slow and if they eat it that’s fine!!

They can have garden worms, meal worms, snails, crickets, flies, crayfish small frogs, dragon flies and  anything that moves, but only as a treat.

They need leafy greens Romaine, Butter lettuce. (Iceberg and cabbage are bad for them, any other leafy greens will do) for vitamin A that they need at least 3 to 4 times a week.

You probably already know that they get sick easily, shell rot, respiratory sickness, lopsided swimming, coughing, blowing bubbles from their nose.

**Swollen cloudy eyes means lacking in Vitamin A. Which we all need for good eyes. Google ‘vegetables with Vitamin A.

Contact the “www.anapsid.org/societies, for a turtle vet /  rescue in your city and state.

I wish you luck.

Answer 4

Yes that is very normal, they will go on it when they want. They are probably just wanting to explore and be little rascals like all babys are. I bet they are adorable. Good Luck!