Anybody here have pet turtles?

led_zeppelin said:
... But care wise they are very easy to fead and with anunder gravel filter using a power head and since they breath out of the water and have no gills you dont have to worry about ammonia or any of that crap.
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Sorry led zepplin but I have to disagree

I've read on more than one turtle related site that you do need to be concerned about ammonia and nitrites as it will burn the skin and shell of the turtle and make them sick when they ingest it when they drink. Just Google 'turtle ammonia'and you'll get plenty of info+. I originally had the UG w/ powerhead setup.... ineffectual once the turtles are bigger. The turtles uncover the plate slowing down if not stopping the bio-filtration, and the solid wastes(and there will be alot) only get trapped in the gravel clogging it, if the waters not just going through a bare spot. IMHO over filtration w/ a canister and frequent gravel vacuuming are a must along with equally frequent water changes. BTW I have a male red eared slider and a female(I think) mud/stinkpot. If you get one be ready for a long commitment as they live quite a long time. They are kinda cool though. Agreed on them needing a large home. Good luck if you get one or more
 
and red ear sliders get really really big...they look so cute when you see them in the petstore and they're all of maybe 6 inches long, but they're only babies. i've seen RES in a pond near my house that are well over a foot long. and they need lots of room to swim.
there are other turtles that dont get quite as large. my female turtle will probably only reach 9". the male barely 6".
and most aquatic turtle owners will tell you that gravel is a bad idea in a turtle tank. turtles are messy, they dirty up the water and even with a good filter you will have to vaccum the gravel constantly. ammonia is a problem with ANY aquatic habitat. the turtle is urinating and defecating in the water. you have to do water changes to prevent a build up of ammonia. ammonia causes shell rot, eye problems, and respiratory problems. basically, swimming around in your own waste is not a good thing. :p: filters remove some of the solid crud but it doesnt eliminate the ammonia.
and turtles have been known to swallow the gravel causing blockages in their intestine. if you want stones in your tank, river rock or other larger smooth rocks are better.
 
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I agree with what Ramirezi said. You do need to do a lot of cleaning. And small gravel can be a problem too. I had my turtle so long ago I had forgotten, but we had problems with the gravel. He kept accidently swallowing it and spitting it out and stopped eating for awhile so we got rid of the gravel in favor of big smooth red rocks. Which looked nice by the way.
 
Softshells are cool, but the females of some SS sp. can get up to 24" in diameter. And SSs require a bit more care for shell scrapes and wounds than a regular turtle. And so many of these "pet turtles" are wild-released that it's just not funny... we have two ponds in our old neighborhood that were infested with RES and snappers. It was so bad that the apartment company couldn't catch them all and they were eating all the ornamental fish. The Management finally resorted to restocking the ponds every year with thousands of catfish to keep the turtles from doing any damamge. Some of the snappers were big enough to take out small dogs!

Stick with the tortises that live in your backyard. If it gets too cold where you are during the winter, buy a kiddie pool for indoors and put the turtle in it (along with heat lamp, food, water, etc.).
 
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Snapping turtles are great for ponds with duck problems.

No joke: I had a pair of Mottled Ducks (Florida Mallards) lay eggs and hatch babies close enough to the back porch to watch them. By the time they were old enough to fly, several were missing and one duckling only had one leg. In the same pond is an Alligator Snapping Turtle that is big enough to ride on most roller coasters. In case you were wondering, a one-legged duck does NOT, in fact swim, in a circle.
 
:(

Ducks aren't really a problem, are they?
 
Cool...


Thankx for all the help guys, I appreciate it.

I already have a empty 55 gallon tank along with UV lights, heat lamps, etc. from previous reptile keeping. When I was a kid my dad use to have some snapping turtles, he sold them for meat. I never thought they were that aggressive, I use to poke their heads with my finger and they wouldnt bite back.

I dont know though, I want a more exotic turtles. Maybe one of those south american leafed shaped turtles? What are those called?
 
Oh oh... like the one that's brown and has a strange shaped shell? Some one should answer because now this is going to drive me nuts. Curse my books all being not at this house!

The soft shelled turtles are pretty cool too. On the weekend perhaps I'll post some ideas... :D
 
Mata Mata
 
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