Wat kind of turtle do I have? And how do i take care of it?

Question

I'm still not entirely sure of wat type of turtle it is. Can anyone help? It still has it's egg tooth so it's only a couple of weeks old. The shell looks semi-yellow and green, has 2 bumps on the spine, he has black spots all over his skin (like a leopard) and he has blueish eyes. Please, if anyone knows, let me know. Oh! And it's literally about the size of a dollar coin.

Answer 1

you need to find out that info before you buy pets

Answer 2

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

These are mine above.

Did you find it by water?

Texas diamond back..has black spots..

Where do you live? Thats important.

Answer 3

If you don't know how to take care of reptiles then you need to let it go where you found it.

Answer 4

Can you upload a picture?

Answer 5

no one can tell you what kind of turtle you have without a picture.  

Answer 6

If this is it: http://www.neoterrapin.com/care/hatchlin... it's a diamondback terrapin, and they're protected throughout their range and you need to let it go back where you found it. They are brackish water turtles with pretty specialized diets and are not reccommended for beginners, (sorry about this, but I think it needs to be said), which it's pretty obvious you are considering you don't know what it is, haven't taken any serious steps to identify it, don't know how to take care of it, and came on Yahoo Answers to try and find out these things.

Take it back to where you found it, and let it go so it can be whatever kind of turtle it is and have a chance of survival. You should NEVER bring home an animal without knowing what it is and without having at least some idea of how to take care of it.

Answer 7

to me it sounds like a yellow belly slider, but not with black spots. could be a form of a terrapin, they have many species of black spots. Depends where you live.  is it wild?  most likely if it still has it's egg tooth it's under a few days old, and most likely it is going to die no matter what you do.

Turtle nests range 3-60 eggs depending on the species. 95% of the babies are born as food for other animals. they are born to 'not' live. sounds weird but true.  they are made to be food, and born to be food. they are not as healthy as other babies, and not as smart. they wont take cover, and they are just dumb and get eaten. but thats what they were made for.

but you ending up with this turtle, theres a 5% chance he's a 'good' baby.  not saying turtles from the bad 95% side can't survive, but its hard and unlikely for an in experienced user. i'm assuming your inexperienced because you don't know what kind it is.

look up different kinds of terrapins in your area.  ie: diamond back terrapin, Mississippi terrapin, northeastern, etc.   look at baby pics and see if he matches.   if he does, he requires brackish water. (around 50% salt water and 50% fresh) kind of like a salt water marsh.

He will feed on small clams, crabs, mussels, fish, etc.  if you keep him in a cage in captivity, you can give him store bought food and keep him in fresh water, but he may develop a bone/shell disorder because of lack of salt, but that wont happen for a few years.  he needs the water and needs seafood. he also needs sand to bury himself in.  the salt water and minerals in the sand protect them from disease. they don't have as good immune systems as fresh water turtles do....  but i have seen a few successful cases of freshwater living. (clean fresh water)  THEY ARE THE MESSIEST TURTLES I HAVE OWNED!

google them.  lots of info

If he is not a terrapin:

Freshwater only!

feed him store bought turtle bites. (found at any pet or pond supply store)  as he gets older, a few gold fish and/or guppies are fun to watch him eat, and healthy.  they chase them and play with them, then eat them :)

Half land half water please!

for a baby, at least 6inch by 6inch land, and 2.5 inch deep water with 6x6 to swim.  so a 12x12 tank will due for a year, maybe to. (not likely though unless you want to torture him).

for larger, same setup, just more space. On land, you should be able to fit 8-9 of him on space on the land.  thats enough space.  and same amount for the water part too.

(imagine 9 of his size turtle laying next to each other taking up whole tank,  do they fit?)

bring him outside once in a while for natural sun rays. it's healthy :)

also, get a light for him to bask under. (not a normal light, a pet/reptile light).   no heating pads!   turtles need heat from above to digest properly, not from under neath.   under neath heating pads give them diarrhea!  yucky.

thats pretty much it.  they're great pets.   get him/her a friend.   in a year or less you'll be able to tell if its a him/her. that i cant help you with.  you need to compare to a picture.  it easy though.  google it.  

if you upload a picture of the little baby, i'll tell you in ten seconds flat exactly what it is.  

o, and , your welcome!