Question:

Turtle help!!!!?

by  |  earlier

0 LIKES UnLike

i need help with my turtle how can i get a daily schedule for my turtle like feeding him cleaning his cage and giving vitamins and what are some good places to shop for turtle food dont say pet store duh!!! i went there and....NOTHING i need help!!!!!

 Tags:

   Report

5 ANSWERS


  1. I have a turtle. It's the size of a silver dollar pancake. We feed him every other day, and give him water when he runs out. Vitamins can be given with his food. Turtles eat lettus you can get at Shop 'N Save, Dearbergs, ex. We don't give vitamins to out turtle and he is just fine. But you can get them at his/her vet.


  2. Smack on the wrist for not finding out how to care for an animal before getting one.

    I am assuming that this is an aquatic turtle, most likely a red eared slider.

    www.petco.com carries anything your petstore doesn't that you might need.  There are also a wide variety of other online vendors that can help if you can't get everything from a petstore.

    How big is the tank?  Aquatic turtles of any size or species need at least 10 gallons of water per INCH of shell. This doesn't include the space taken up by the "land"-one of those floating docks seems to work best and doesn't take up any swimming room. Most aquatic turtles only need a basking spot large enough for them to be completely out of the water-no other land needed. A cheap alternative to a large aquarium are those plastic storage tubs (the ones with wheels crack too easily). My 12 month old (I know when he hatched) *male* RES has a shell that is nearly 6" long and already needs 60 gallons of water. Females can get as large as 16 inches long-in just the shell.  Bigger tanks are also easier to take care of.

    ***No turtle or other animal will grow only to the size of it's container-that only works for goldfish and even then it doesn't work very well. The only way to keep a turtle small is to starve it...in which case whoever does so should be arrested for animal cruelty.

    Turtles of any size should be fed a good commercial pellet food (reptomin is one of the best and you can get it at Walmart) in a volume equal to the size of the turtle's head at every meal. Under 3", a turtle should have two such meals a day, 3-6" a meal once a day, >6" and it should get a meal every other day. Fruits and veggies can be fed whenever as their calories aren't very concentrated. Live food such as guppies, rosy red minnows, and bloodworms should also be available although many pet turtles are too lazy to do their own hunting. Never feed a turtle goldfish as they contain a poison that will slowly kill your turtle over time.  Further supplements aren't necessary if you are feeding remptomin or one of the other really good brands (the only good one available around here is reptomin) and supplementing with fresh fruits, veggies, and live food.

    DO NOT use any rocks or aquarium gravel smaller than the turtle's head or he could swallow them.  I personally like the look of a bare bottom tank and it's nearly care free.  It might take a couple of days for a turtle to get used to seeing right through the bottom.  Mine did but now he loves checking out the fish and the other turtle I keep below.

    The tank should have water filtered with a filter that has a capacity two to three times that of the tank-turtles are messy.  Even with the filter you should do a 50% water change weekly.

    The tank does need a sheilded heater to keep the water at 75-80 degrees: any cooler and the turtle can't digest its food.  The heater does need to be sheilded because reptiles don't realize they are getting burnt until it is far too late.  There nervous system doesn't work the same way as ours.  Below is the link to a pretty good one if your tank is on the small side.

    http://www.petmountain.com/product/heate...

    For the basking spot you need something stable that is large enough for the turtle to get completely out of the water and dry while not cutting into the swimming space.  Turtle docks (link below) work really well but you shouldn't use the suction cups that are supposed to go on the bottom as some people have had their turtle drown because it got stuck there.  You need a lamp focused on the basking spot powerful enough to raise the temperatures into the 90s (energy efficient bulbs don't work).  Ideally you should also have a UVB specific light on the basking spot (UVB can't travel through water) but if you're feeding reptomin you might be able to get away without one.  For my oldest turtle I use a mercury vapor bulb (MVB) that emits both UVB and heat, it can be a little expensive but it's cheaper than having two separate bulbs and fixtures.

    http://www.petco.com/product/12389/Zoo-M...

  3. Go to this site for more information--

    http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

  4. my eastern box turtle refuses to eat aquatic turtle food. Go to petsmart! buy canned box turtle food or try giving him mashed bananas. Make sure you're keeping your turtle warm or he'll refuse to eat.

    They usually don't eat but every other day, I only clean my turtle's tank every other day-3 days. Don't put anything natural from outside in your tank because it could carry pesticides or harmful substances that could really harm your turtle or threaten it with a disease.

    and remember, try petsmart! they have reasonable variety or land turtle food.

  5. Go to Walmart and go to the pet section and go to where the fish food is and its right next to it and right next to it there you see turtle food your welcome.
You're reading: Turtle help!!!!?

Question Stats

Latest activity: earlier.
This question has 5 answers.

BECOME A GUIDE

Share your knowledge and help people by answering questions.