I want to buy a turtle a Turtlesale.com?

Question

I want to buy a red ear slider from turtlesale.com

The question is... Do they ship the turtle to me?

and if so, How do they ship a live animal???

Answer 1

I have never heard of anything good from a live pet being shipped.This place has a high death rate..Save a turtle don't get one shipped,please..they can get sick so easily.

Have you read up on sliders? Do you  know it cost $$$ to support them and all the fish and leafy greens he needs..

I knew nothing when I got mine when I was 18!  They are 36 yrs old now..

Sliders are great for decorating ponds or large tanks. I have had two for 36 yrs now plus a 8 yr old and a 5 yr old..

I have had them in a 150gal pond for about 6 yrs now..

**Here is some important and a lot of info. If he or she is small get feeder guppies or small feeder goldfish, frozen brown worms ..even meal worms.

**Red-eared sliders, Gender especially juveniles, can be difficult to s*x. Gender in adults is determined by external physical characteristics and behavior. Males have longer fore claws (which are use in courtship), a longer tail length, a longer distance from the body to the vent opening, a tail that is thicker at the base and generally a smaller body size and shell length. Turtles are considered juveniles till after 5 yrs old.

Their Home **The tank  size for small  2” re-eared slider should be a 20-gallon aquarium minimum. As a general rule, the water depth should be at least 2 times the turtle's length, with several extra inches of air space between the surface of the water to the top edge of the tank to prevent escapes. So if your turtle is 4” around  he needs at least 10 to 12” of water to swim. For ONE 4 to 5 inch long sliders, the recommended minimum enclosure surface area is 50 gal plus tank with an extra square foot for each additional turtle.

What they EAT. ****In the wild, re-eared sliders eat both fish, crickets, worms basically anything that moves and  plant sources of food. However, juveniles are mainly meat eaters but still love the greens. The  diet for the lil guys \s should consist  of a commercial aquatic turtle pellets and small feeders guppies or goldfish or minows. Hatchlings and juveniles should be fed on a daily basis. The diet can be supplemented with live fish of an appropriate size (guppies, goldfish), tubiflex worms and earthworms. Plant matter, in the form of  leafy greens or finely chopped mixed vegetables romaine and butter lettuce, can be offered once weekly.

Fill tank with approx 20 feeder guppies and or 10 to 15 small goldfish. you’ll know when to replenish the live food supply. just count what’s left and then fill it up again. Get a cuttle bone from the bird dept and drop in the water for added calcium. Hopefully they may eat it and that’s what you want. They need the calcium for shell growth and a good healthy turtle. Adults diet may consist of some commercial turtle pellets. Plus 80% of their diet is fresh alive fish to catch in their water which also gives them exercise when trying to catch to eat. Adults should be fed greens , romaine, red leaf lettuce, mustard greens, dandelion, watercress, parsley. Swiss chard, shredded carrots, shredded squash, thawed frozen mixed vegetables and miscellaneous fruits. Adults can be fed every two to three days. NO iceberg or cabbage!!

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

Males have the longer foreclaws..

Water quality and Filtration ***Sliders are voracious feeders and tend to foul the water real quickly with their messy eating habits and frequent pooping.  You need a  filter for good water quality. Partial to full water changes can be performed. Many different filter systems are available.

*** Health Problems.  If you take proper care of your red-eared slider by providing excellent housing, nutrition, lighting, and heating, it is unlikely to ever become ill or injured. However, it’s still important to familiarize yourself with ailments common to sliders so that you can quickly identify them in your own slider, should it become ill. The following are some of the most common medical problems among red-eared sliders.

“Fungal infections” are fairly common among red-eared sliders, especially younger ones. If you notice what looks like a light layer of cotton on your slider’s shell or eyes or in its mouth, this is most likely some form of fungal infection. Although their appearance can be alarming, most infections in their early stages are fully treatable at home. If a fungal infection remains untreated, however, it can spread across the entire body and cause serious harm to your turtle.

To treat a mild fungal infection, immerse your red-eared slider in a warm saltwater bath for about half an hour each day, using a soft sponge to gently scrub the infected regions. You can also treat patches of fungus with topical applications of a mild antiseptic, such as povidone-iodine. As long as the problem isn’t severe, you should notice signs of recovery within a day or two, and a full recovery in about 10–14 days.

If your turtle has a persistent fungal infection that home treatment isn’t curing, take it to the vet for treatment. Several medications are available that can address a fungal infection if it hasn’t spread too far.”

**Shell Rot. *** First make a dry box to keep the turtle in, shell rot needs water to grow.

Keep it warm and give it plenty of light. Scrub the shell gently with a toothbrush and water. Let the turtle swim for about 20 minutes a day in something other than his pond or tank that has real  clean water. 1-2 times a day take a cotton ball apply Hydrogen Peroxide to it then to his shell. It'll start bubbling which means its cleaning it. it. DO NOT get it in his eyes. Then clean the shell and apply providone-iodine solution to the shell, coat the shell and don't clean it off until he is ready to swim the next day.** Keep this up for several weeks and it should go away. . MOST important !!! TOSS in a bird cuttle bone in the water for calcium. it will dissolve real slow and if they eat it that’s fine!!

Respiratory Infections *****Sliders, cooter, map, painted, yellow bellied and other aquatic species are susceptible to respiratory infections. Many respiratory infections that can affect sliders are mild and easily treatable in their EARLY  stages, but there are also some particularly virulent infections that can kill a turtle very quickly without veterinary attention. Sliders usually develop respiratory infections when their tank is too cold. **Symptoms of an infection include a runny nose, wheezing, lopsided swimming (an ailing lung changes the turtle’s buoyancy), lethargy, and a refusal to eat. If you identify the illness in its early stages, you may be able to treat it by removing the sick slider from its quarters into a new, clean tank (especially if you keep multiple sliders, since the majority of respiratory infections are contagious) and keeping it a few degrees warmer than normal. Warmth is the most crucial factor in treating respiratory infections in the home. If the condition persists for more than a few days or worsens, bring your slider to your veterinarian, who will treat the infection with antibiotics.”

Contact the “herpetologicalsocieties.com, for a turtle vet in your city and state.

Answer 2

I used to wholesale water turtle hatchlings in Va. from a breeder friend in Fla.  In return, he wholesaled some of my snakes for me (we both got more for our animals out of state, so it was a good arrangement).

I've shipped hundreds of animals over the years, and never had trouble with a single one.  I recently shipped 10 leo geckos USPS from Arizona to Va.  

They arrived here the same time I did (I dropped them at the P.O. right before I boarded my plane, and picked them up when I arrived home), and in excellent condition.

They traveled well, and ate within hours of being unpacked and moved into their new quarantine habitats.

Folks who deal in reptiles know how to package and ship them.  They'll make sure your little turtle gets safely to you (the rest is up to you; picking it up, or having it delivered to your home).  After all - they guarantee the animal, and have no desire to have to replace it, not to mention they don't want to see any harm come to it.

There are shipping 'windows' envolved, but whoever you order from will let you know about that.  If it's too hot, or too cold in an area where the reptile has to be unloaded from the plane, and then reloaded to a truck... they won't ship.  They'll only ship when the conditions are good for the animal.

So, deal with a reputable breeder or supplier (one who offers a guarantee), and you shouldn't have any trouble at all.

I hope this has been helpful.

Answer 3

Most places will ship live animals to an airport where you pick it up. This is the ONLY way of shipping that i would recommend.

Fed Ex and UPS are very rough and can stress the animal out badly.

Look up your state for local reptile shows, you can save an animal stress and save yourself shipping costs.

Answer 4

most reptile breeders ship through fedex or ups overnight air service (I've received reptile as quick as 15hrs and never more than 24hrs after it was shipped). The turtle most likely will be shipped in a live animal box usually with a heat pad and some extra padding. Someone will need to be home to sign for the animal and some drivers won't give a package to someone under 18. Most breeders guarantees are void if you don't sign on the first delivery attempt.

This is very stressful for the animal you will need to have a good habitat set up and allow it to acclimate for a while.

PS I've heard some bad things about turtlesales.com. you should also look for a breeder that describes their shipping process. It never hurts to look

Good luck,