Turtle help? 10 points!?

Question

we've had two red ear sliders for about a year now, its the summer so its really hot in AZ. recently the turtle tank area smelled really bad so we changed there water and cleaned the tank and stuff. and within a few day it smelled again so we changed there water again and bleached the counter it was on and now its smelling bad again. what do we do? does it have to do with the heat?is there something wrong with the turtles? is it a bacteria? is there something we can put in it?

Answer 1

There is stuff you can buy at just about any pet store that is made JUST for turtles. you put so much of it in the water and it controls the smell and some of the bacteria. you only should change about 1/3-2/3 of the water a week and a full clean about once a month.

hope i helped!

Answer 2

Heat causes bacteria and mold to accumulate.

I would suggest put a cooler in.

Answer 3

There is probably nothing wrong with the turtles. Turtles stink. Try getting a filter rated for a tank two or three times the size of the tank you have. That will help some. If you can get some really large snails (large enough that the RESs can't crush them), they may be of some help too.

Answer 4

Do you have a canister filter? Any filter? Well if not, get a filter because they p**p A LOT and the water can get dirty very fast with no filter. Also just making sure, do you also have a 50+ gallon tank, heater, basking dock, uvb light, uva light, lots of diff. food?????????

Answer 5

you can put in a filter to keep the water clean and since you live in such a hot place their will be a lot of algee growng on the tank so that why you shoud put fish in the tank to prevent that

Answer 6

well there is a turtle  conditioner at petco that makes it smell good

Answer 7

Fish tanks gather algae very quickly. I would suggest a stronger filter and maybe even water purifying drops. You may have to clean the tank more often than you would like to, but it will help with the odor. I have a feeling that it has a lot to do with the heat that you mentioned. My fish tanks get a lot cloudier in the summer months than in the winter months. I think that algae thrives in the heat. Another thing that I have read but have not tried is putting a couple pennies (copper pennies, money) in the tank it will help reduce the amount of algae that grows in it. I read that it does not hurt the turtles at all. If you can, I would also suggest trying to move the tank to a cooler area of your house. I understand that they have to be at a certain temperature to survive, but if it is near a window or where it can get direct sunlight it may be causing the bacteria to grow faster. Apparently turtle p**p stinks pretty bad as it is.  Good luck!

Answer 8

i think its just the turtles.

I had a baby turtle an his tank was the same way its not as bad now but i thinkit was just them.espically two mine was one and smelled bad. so hope this helps ?

Answer 9

Turtle Conditioner?

Answer 10

Do you have a filter , is the tank at least a 55 gallon?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29035692@N0...

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.

Their water needs to be clean otherwise they get sick easily from dirty water cause they p**p allot.

You need a good filter system!

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! This way when they swim for their dinner they get exercise also!

They need leafy greens( Romaine, Butter lettuce. Iceberg and cabbage are bad for them, any leafy greens will do) for vitamins at least 3 to 4 times a week.

And a big tank 55 gallons or more..

If the tank is too small for 2 get a kiddy pool for the yard during the day and put some bricks a 12x12x1" cement slab and hold it up by 2 smaller 7x4x3" bricks(?) so they can go under the water and under the bricks for shade and saftey and or rocks that they can climb out of the water and toss a few feeders in the water and let them bask in the sun all day.

I had also made a cover out of chicken wire so no birds of prey would take them ,and bring them in at night.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29035692@N0...

email if ya need any help,K. I wish you luck!