I wanna buy a turtle?

Question

little ones

about 1 inch long

maybe 2

and i know i have to buy a tank and put some water in it and have food

but is that all i need what else am i supposed to buy

Answer 1

if you don't want to spend a lot of money on the proper set up for a turtle, please do not get one.  they are not cheap, you need the proper size tank, not cheap, proper lighting, not cheap.  if you do not want to do it the right way, you will just kill it.

Answer 2

before you get one make sure they are legal in your state. I live in Tennessee and it is VERY illegal to own or sell a turtle in Tennessee as well as North Carolina. I work at Petsmart and we do not sell them BUT i live about 20 mins from Virginia and they ARE legal there and the Petsmart about 20 mins from me sells them

Answer 3

they cost allot and be prepared cause they allot of $$$.

If you don't have alot of money don not buy a turtle. They cost way to much.

Read all of what they need. I have had mine for 36 yrs!

A 20 gallon for now but in about 6 months upsize to a bigger one.

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

You will need a basking spot. A heat lamp and a UV light. You will also need a good filter if you don't want to clean the tank every other day. They p**p a lot and drink the water they go to the bathroom in so if it's not in clean water it can get very sick. I have a one inch baby red eared slider right now and so far I have spent around $150 on him and I haven't even had him for a month yet. In the future I will have to upgrade his tank size and get him various things he needs like more food and replacement bulbs for his lamps and it will cost even more money!  They are very expensive! If you don't want to spend so much money on such a little turtle then I would reccomend that you rethink getting a turtle and look into a different pet.

Answer 5

i have turtles too. i think you should buy like rocks so the turtles can have some space to like walk on instead of all water

Answer 6

Dont even think about buying a turtle if you aint going to look after it proparly. lighting, heating is all crucial for them to live. with out them the turtle WILL DIE. you need a UV light which gives out UVB rays. this helps their shells too grow and helps them use vitamin D3

without the heating its like taking the sun out, not letting is bask.

you need a basking light as well. and a basking spot. (try getting a zoo med turtle float...theyre great)