Turtle questions...!?!?

Question

I have 3 baby Turtles.

Question 1 : I want to know what they eat...? I know they eat treats like shrimp and food are pellets. What can they eat that is homemade or another type of snacks.

Question 2 : What other type of species they can mix with? I just want to know...

Question 3 : Can baby turtles eat small fantail goldfish , small/meduim size ryukin or meduim size blackmoor? I just think the baby turtle won't eat cuz they are a baby.

Question 4 : What do baby turtles like to do? I just like to know wat else they do cuz they look so cute... :D and I just pick them up but if they have any other things they can do, that will b kool.

Answer 1

sliders ,cooter,maps,painted,yellow bellied can all live together cayse they all require the same food and care..

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 garden worns, flies crickets, basical if it moves its food to these guys.

**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.  They need to bask in sun light or reptile light up to 10 hrs plus a day! Taking a dip now and then and back to basking.  ( email me and I will send pic's of my 4 basking on top each other)

***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 or small goldfish. They  should be fed on a daily basis. The diet can be supplemented with live fish of an appropriate size (guppies, goldfish), tubiflex cubed 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

Turtle pellets, bits of raw shrimp, kale, snap peas,and  parsley are good. I wouldn't bother with giving live fish as sometimes they just bite at the fish instead of eating it.

Keep the turtle (or one other turtle) in a tank by themselves as they have special requirements such as a strong filter, dry land to dry off, a heat lamp and an all- spectrum lamp. Turtles like to walk around and to swim. You can teach him how to eat off of a spoon- mine do and it's fun to watch.

Answer 3

Oh dear.  I hope by "just picked them up" that you mean at a pet expo/shop or breeder?  If so - they should have come with care instructions.  Hmmmm....

If you live in the US; it's prohibited by Federal law to remove a native animal from its wild habitat.  The fines can be daunting, at the least.  MUCH more than buying three baby turtles which were born in captivity, and legal to own.

Next point - you should have researched the creatures and had their habitat set up long before you got them.  The time to find out about proper care is BEFORE you get the animal.

You didn't mention what kind of babies they are.  If you've grabbed a few snapper babies?  They are really protected, and going to grow (if you care for them right) to huge and dangerous reptiles eventually requiring an outside pond!  

IF you caught these things - do the right thing, and put them back where you found them.

Turtles have: light. UVB, vitamins, etc. requirements, and need enough swimming space (big tank for 3)...  They live a LONG time.  This is not a flippant undertaking, and you should be educated on what you're getting into.

I'd be happy to help you out here, if I thought they were purchased, but my gut is telling me you caught them.

Let them go, and then be responsible.  Google turtles and decide which species you'd like to own.  Learn their needs from hatchling right up to becoming an adult.  Have everything (tank, food, light, etc.) ready for them before you buy them.

If I've made a mistake, then I aplogize.  But - it just doesn't "seem" to me that you bought these babies.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.