What is the ideal habitat for an eastern painted turtle?

Question

Mostly water or mostly dirt?And do they like sunbathing? I have one but i'm not 100% sure what he likes?Also, if you know what they like to eat, 'cause i'm feeding him dried shrimp ( store bought ) and letuce ,oh and some worms. Thanks in advanced : )

Answer 1

half land and half water area. in the morning b4 10 or so they will bask for about 10 minutes or so for the whole day activity.

they feed mainly on fish, insects, mollusks, crustaceans and plants. keep it in two or three is better cause they some time live in group.

Answer 2

Painted turtles want three basic things:

1. GOOD WATER- figure lots of water (at least 10 gallons of water per inch of shell length), kept to about 75-80F with a good water heater, and filtered with a good powerful filter rated about 2-3 times larger than the tank you use.

2. GOOD SUN- turtles want to bask. Offer a place to climb out of the water, but don't use rocks, a 'shore' or 'beach'- try driftwood or a commercial ramp or dock. Light and heat the basking site to about 90F for 12-14 hours a day. Light the tank up nicely. UVB light is good if you can do it.

3. GOOD FOOD- try a mix of 1/2 good brand pellets, and 1/2 live or frozen/thawed 'fish foods' like shrimp, worms, bugs, krill, snails, beef heart, etc. Avoid freeze-dried, flakes, etc.

Try http://www.austinsturtlepage.com for more info.