I just got a Red Eared Slider from my friend...?

Question

I got him from my friend and he gave me a 30 gallon tank with some gravel for the bottom, a submersible filter, and a regular fish light. I found some granite chunks outside and I washed them off and put them in just under the water so he can sit on it if he wants. He also is always clawing at the back of the tank. I think he wants to get out but I'm not sure. Could somebody help me out on what else I need? I don't have much money, under $100, but I don't want him to suffer because of it.

Answer 1

I used to have two red eared sliders. i would get some type of rock or something that they can get on and be out of the water. I would also sometimes get the turtle some cricketsto eat. Mine always loved eating them. They sell turtle food at some pet stores and they would also know what you could put in the aquarium. I hoped this helped!!!

Answer 2

hey there , i no you have a tight budget  but wat you need to do for your turtles health i would buy a ubv lamp and buld and a heat lamp. That should coast you about 45-55 bucks. second i would buy him a dock so he can tottally get out of the water. make sure the water temp is right for the turtle. as for the scratching at the back, donntttt worry about it mine do it all the time. try taking him out and lett him run around but keep an eye on him cause they move fast and like to hide as i have found in my last attemped. ahah

Answer 3

You didn't mention how big the turtle is, so I hope he's not cramped in the 30 gal.

The gravel is a bad idea unless it's too large to fit in his mouth (impaction/death risk).  But any gravel/stone will just make cleaning the tank more difficult.  You might want to remove it and just leave the tank bare.

Turtles like open water for swimming (unless he's a tiny baby), so you might want to look into purchasing a turtle dock instead of taking up tank space with a rock.  It's a platform which attaches to the side of the tank with suction disks at water level, so he can swim under it, too.  Small docks run around $10-$15.

He'll need a UVB strip light (around $30) within 8-10" of the dock as well as a basking light to provide the proper heat.

I understand money being tight, but turtles just aren't cheap pets.  I'll post the basics here for you:

A big tank (the bigger the better).  An adult female can get 10-12" long and require a 100-120 gal. tank or pond.  If you start small, you'll have to keep upgrading as the turtle grows.

Rules of thumb are: 1.) 10 gal. of water per inch of turtle shell length (if it's a 5" turtle it needs a 50 gal. tank), and 2.) a filter which can clean 3X the actual tank size (so if the tank is a 50 gal. the filter should be for a 150 gal.).  Turtles are very messy creatures.

-A turtle dock for basking.

-Heat light for basking.

-UVB light for basking.

-Submersible heater to control water temp.

-Good digital probe thermometer or Infrared temperature gun to measure the water and basking temps.

-Sea salt (use 1 level tbsp. per 10 gal. to control algae and bacteria)

-Please don't use gravel (it's an impaction risk)

-Water dechlorinator

-Bird cuttle bone (put in the water) to provide needed calcium

Habitat:

http://www.redearslider.com/index_habita...

Feeding:

(younger turtles eat more meat than plant/veggies, so the percentage of which depends on age.)

http://reslider.free.fr/backup/feeding.h...

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/ca...

General care and info:

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Info/in...

http://www.redearslider.com/

http://www.turtle-care.com/

http://theturtlesource.com/

http://www.petturtle.com/care.htm

Behavior:

http://redearslider.com/unusual_behavior...

Determining gender:

http://members.shaw.ca/turtles/sexing.ht...

I'll post some links below on illensses/ailments so you can see what to avoid.

Enjoy your new turtle and I hope this has been helpful.