Painted Turtle Questions. 2 part question.?

Question

I adopted a painted turtle a few months ago from a friend who couldnt take care of it. Being that I have a smaller apartment and two cats i keep him in my room in an aquarium. He smells really bad a few days after I clean his cage (which is every other week or so). The problem is though, will the fumes or anything thats in his water harm my lungs or health? Also, besides getting an expensive filter for the turtle aquarium, is there an easy way to keep the water relatively clean for longer than a week?

Answer 1

No you will not be harmed from the fumes coming from his water.  As you mentioned, other than getting a good filter i would feed him in a seperate tank.  You wouldnt believe how dirty they can get a tank in one feeding.  Make sure you dont add any chemicals to his water to get rid of the smell because turtles are very sensitive to that.  If you dont want to completely clean the tank every week just replace half of the water and then do a complete clean whenever its needed.